Radiological and clinical differences among three assisted technologies in pedicle screw fixation of adult degenerative scoliosis

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and radiological differences among three advanced guided technologies in adult degenerative scoliosis. A total of 1012 pedicle screws were inserted in 83 patients using a spine robot (group A), 886 screws were implanted in 75 patients using a drill guide template (group B), and 1276 screws were inserted in 109 patients using CT-based navigation (group C). Screw positions were evaluated using postoperative CT scans according to the Gertzbein and Robbins classification. Other relevant data were also collected. Perfect pedicle screw insertion (Grade A) accuracy in groups A, B, and C was 91.3%, 81.3%, and 84.1%, respectively. Clinically acceptable accuracy of screw implantation (Grades A + B) respectively was 96.0%, 90.6%, and 93.0%. Statistical analysis showed the perfect and clinically acceptable accuracy in group A was significant different compared with groups B and C. Group A exhibited the lowest intra-op radiation dose and group B showed the shortest surgical time compared with the other two groups. Robotic-assisted technology demonstrated significantly higher accuracy than the drill guide template or CT-based navigation systems for difficult screw implantations in adult degenerative scoliosis and reduced the intra-op radiation dose, although it failed to reduce surgery time.