| Spinal System Used | Good Features | Limitations & Shortfalls |
|---|---|---|
| PediGuard® (SpineGuard S.A., St Mandé, France) | Likened as a pedicle screw "parktroni" system | Noisy |
| Easy to use | Different feel to normal pedicle finder | |
| Sensitivity problems | ||
| Expensive | ||
| Delicate | ||
| Slightly short probe | ||
| C-Arm X-ray Image Intensifier |
Quick | X-ray dose to patient and surgical team |
| Available at all hospitals | Difficult with scoliosis | |
| Good visualisation. | Need to move image intensifier | |
| Helps with ideal placement & most appropriate angles in the lumbar/thoracic spine | Does not provide a 3D image; risk of encroaching on the spinal canal | |
| Easily adjustable | Difficult with small pedicles | |
| Portable | Occasional image quality problems | |
| Inexperienced staff | ||
| Learning curve for junior staff | ||
| Touch/feel | Increased certainty of placement | Does not provide 100% certainty |
| Special probe designed by a surgeon 20 years ago |
Safe method Inexpensive |
Not good for porotic bone |
| Mehdian™ pedicle screw system (Corin Group PLC, Cirencester, UK) |
Simple Easy to use |
|
| The StealthStation® iNAV™ (Medtronic Navigation, Louisville, Colorado, USA) | Accurate | Increased surgery time |
| Provides security | Heavy reliance on imaging | |
| PRAXIM Medivision navigation system (PRAXIM Medivision SA, Grenoble, France) | Provides 3D images | Long set-up and training time |
| Accurate | Bulky | |
| Complex equipment; prone to breaking down | ||
| BrainLAB VectorVision® Spine (BrainLAB AG, Feldkirchen, Germany) | Easy to use | No real-time pictures |
| Cannulated screws (Ulrich GmbH & Co.KG, Ulm, Germany) | Easy to insert using a guide wire |