Roland Kent, MD, completed about 80 spine procedures with Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS robotic navigation system since Northwest Specialty Hospital installed the system in April, The Journal of Business reports.
The ExcelsiusGPS system is FDA-approved for placing pedicle screws but Dr. Kent expects its applications to expand to shaping rods that connect pedicle screws, inserting spacers between vertebrae and shaving off parts of bones.
The device costs more than $1 million, but the Post Falls, Idaho-based hospital acquired it for free after it agreed to buy an undisclosed number of implants and pedicle screws from Globus Medical.
The hospital employs three spine surgeons and two neurosurgeons and acts as a site for surgeons across the country to see the ExcelsiusGPS system in action.