Computer-Assisted Navigation in Knee Surgery

Abstract

Although computer-assisted navigation has been used in clinical practice for more than 15 years, it has only recently started to gain acceptance in a variety of orthopedic procedures. Different types of computer-assisted navigation are available, which allow the surgeon to obtain real-time feedback and offer him the potential to decrease intraoperative errors. However, its increased cost and lacking evidence of long-term superiority have made many surgeons skeptical about its clinical usefulness. The scope of this article is to review the clinical applications of computer-assisted navigation in orthopedic surgery of the knee joint.

Trends in the Charges and Utilization of Computer-Assisted Navigation in Cervical and Thoracolumbar Spinal Surgery

“…This change in the coding system could contribute to the trends found in this analysis, so future studies should include data recorded in 2019 onward to confirm the continuation of the trends identified in this study. The number is low because most cervical cases (>80%) are anterior fusion cases [22,23], which are usually not subjected to computer-aided navigation because instrumentation in these procedures can normally be placed without aided visualization [7,22]. Additionally, this study found that the adoption of navigation in cervical cases was greater than that in thoracolumbar cases.…”

“…Previous studies explored the application of computerassisted navigation in orthopedics and analyzed its impact on patient outcomes in specific orthopedic subspecialties [7,8]. Some prior studies claimed that computer-assisted navigation in orthopedic surgery has gained increased acceptance in practice in recent years [7], but studies have yet to examine the trends associated with the utilization of computer-assisted navigation for cervical and thoracolumbar spinal surgery on a broader scale via a national-level database. In the present study, computer-assisted navigation procedures involve stereotactic navigation through computed tomography or fluoroscopic images to provide a projection of a patient's anatomy (Fig.…”