Dr. Burak Ozgur
DIRECTOR
SPINE CENTER AT THE PICKUP FAMILY NEUROSCIENCES INSTITUTE
HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
Dr. Adam Kanter
ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE MEDICAL DIRECTOR
SPINE CENTER AT THE PICKUP FAMILY NEUROSCIENCES INSTITUTE
HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
WHY: Last year performed the first spinal fusion surgery utilizing its own augmented reality software called SyncAR, which received FDA clearance in September after demonstrating an improved accuracy of more than 99% for screw placement in the spine.
BACKGROUND: The doctors adapted AR technology from cranial surgery being done by Hoag colleagues Dr. Robert Louis, Hoag’s chief of neurosurgery and the Empower360 Endowed Chair in Skull Base and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, and Dr. Daniel Yanni, vice chair of the division of neurosurgery.
FUTURE PLANS: Early research suggests the hologram technology can be used on any body part. “It’s like a cellphone, which was like a brick when it was introduced. Every year, it got better,” Ozgur said. “For spines, it’s just the beginning. It’s going to get better than it already is. We’re excited about it.”
IN THEIR WORDS: “Without opening up the patient, we can now see what their spine looks like. When you add augmented virtual reality, we can maybe make incisions even smaller and do even more complex things that we couldn’t do before because now we can visualize it,” Ozgur told the Business Journal.
