The MEPUC concept adapts the C-arm fluoroscope to image-guided surgery.
Image-guided surgery requires surgeons to be able to manipulate the imaging modality themselves and without delay. Intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging does not meet this requirement as the C-arm fluoroscope cannot be operated or positioned by the surgeons themselves. The Motorized Exact Positioning Unit for C-arm (MEPUC) concept aims to optimize the workflow of positioning the C-arm fluoroscope. The hardware component of the MEPUC equips the fluoroscope with electric stepping motors. The software component allows the surgeon to control the fluoroscope's movements. The study presented here showed that translational movements within the x-y plane are most frequently performed when positioning the C-arm fluoroscope. Furthermore, reproducing a former projection was found to be a frequent task during image-guided procedures. In our opinion, the MEPUC concept adapts the fluoroscope to image-guided surgery. The most important improvement being definition of a bidirectional data exchange between the surgeon and the C-arm fluoroscope: positioning data from the surgeon to the C-arm fluoroscope and-subsequently-image information from C-arm fluoroscope to the surgeon.
Suhm
Norbert
N
Department of Surgery, University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland. nsuhm@web.de
Müller
Paul
P
Bopp
Urs
U
Messmer
Peter
P
Regazzoni
Pietro
P
D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000601:surgery; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000379:methods*; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D009038:Motion; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*