analysis, which
showed keeping the
cases in-house
would let the facility
pay off an image-
guidance system of
its own within a
year.
"We're really
happy with the sys-
tem we chose and it's worked well for us for the last 4 years," says
Ms. Cunningham, who's constantly keeping tabs on new develop-
ments in image guidance so she's prepared for the inevitable technolo-
gy upgrade. When it's time for her (and you) to shop for a new sys-
tem, there are several cool new innovations to consider.
1. Augmented reality
"For a decade, there hadn't been much advancement in navigation sys-
tems for ENT," says Martin Citardi, MD, chair of the Department of
Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery in McGovern Medical
School at UTHealth in Houston and an attending physician at Memorial
Hermann-Texas Medical Center. "But now there are 2 or 3 systems with
new and competing technologies. It'll be interesting to watch how this
new technology gets a foothold."
Dr. Citardi isn't just watching; he's used one of these new systems to
perform the first U.S. sinus surgery using augmented reality (AR) for
navigating the sinus cavity. AR merges the digital with the real world.
"Five years ago, everyone was talking about virtual reality (VR), but
that's faded," says Dr. Citardi. "AR is much more applicable to sur-
gery."
A P R I L 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 7
• AUGMENTED REALITY (A) A CT scan shows the position of the instrument outlined
in green. (B) Colored rings light up and disappear as instruments pass through.
Martin
J.
Citardi,
MD
