On 19 August 2013, Nizam Razack performed the world’s first deep brain stimulation using the Renaissance Guidance System (Mazor Robotics) at Celebration Health hospital in Orlando, USA. Razack then performed the same procedure on two more patients with positive results.
Deep brain stimulation is a procedure to surgically implant a small battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator to deliver electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement. This blocks the abnormal nerve signals that cause the debilitating neurological symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, such as trembling and slowed movement.
Using Renaissance’s proprietary pre-operative planning software, surgeons can determine the optimal trajectory for implanting the electrodes beforehand and use the guidance unit to execute the implantation with precision. In Razack’s cases, Alpha Omega’s microdrive, NeuroDrive, was used in conjunction with Renaissance to carefully position the electrode in the right area of the brain.
“Mazor Robotics’ Renaissance increases guidance accuracy during the procedure and adds an extra element of safety for patients undergoing this major operation,” said Razack. “The technology also allows for less time in the operating room.”
Renaissance has also been successfully used in 36 brain biopsy procedures in Germany. Mazor Robotics plans a wider commercial launch for the brain application in early 2014, and to showcase the application at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) meeting in April 2014.
Renaissance is currently being used in spine procedures at 54 institutions worldwide and thousands of cases have been performed from minimally-invasive one-level fusions to complex deformity reconstructions. When compared to traditional freehand spine surgery, clinical studies have shown an increased accuracy rate of over 98% with Mazor Robotics technology.
