Invited lectures 2018

Pedicle screw placement using a freehand technique has a high incidence of pedicle perforation. The said risk can be reduced with intra-operative fluoroscopy or navigation, which have some disadvantages. A promising principle for solving most of the issues is the use of Additive Manufacturing technology. 

It makes manufacturing of patient-specific drill guide templates possible that enable optimal pedicle screw placement. In the last decade, many studies have featured relatively successful implantations of pedicle screws through the use of drill guide templates, though mostly on cadavers. We performed a similar clinical study involving the manufacture of templates for the lumbar and sacral regions that enable simultaneous multiple-level screw implanting.