Northwell Health is already a leader in healthcare in New York and beyond, but that care has made another step forward with the first use of new, less invasive spinal surgery technology in the state at North Shore University Hospital.
The Teligen Spine Surgical System is the first technology of its kind that uses small, disposable cameras to increase visibility for surgeons during these complex surgeries.
It is made up of a tower with a 4K monitor and the camera attached to a flexible wire that is inserted into the patient. If the camera gets blurry during surgery, it also has a windshield wiper-like self-cleaning mechanism.
“Northwell’s investment in technologies such as Teligen enables us to take on the most complex spinal surgeries and do them in ways that are innovative and pioneering,” Dr. Daniel Sciubba said. “We can do these surgeries in less time, with smaller incisions and less damage to surrounding normal tissues. It allows us to treat patients more safely and efficaciously.”
Sciubba is the senior vice president of neurosurgery at Northwell and co-executive director of the Northwell Spine Institute. He was the first to use the Teligen system at Northwell Health and in the state during a Dec. 3 surgery to remove a spinal tumor from a 65-year-old woman.
The technology can be used in varying levels of spinal surgery, from advanced to minimally invasive.
“In the past, the issue with taking out a spinal tumor in one piece was that it was hard to see all
the cuts to make from one approach, so it had to be done in multiple stages,” Sciubba said. “Teligen uses a mobile camera, so we can look around corners within the surgical site.”
Teligen was developed by DePuy Synthes, the orthopedics company of Johnson & Johnson. It received FDA clearance in October 2022 after a study determined the system was able to reduce patient exposure through X-rays by 47%, the number of surgical instrument trays needed and costs.
