First clinical application of a navigation-controlled shaver in paranasal sinus surgery.

Conventional, pointer-based navigated Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) has been shown to have certain limitations: necessity of instrument change for navigation, changes in the surgeon's line-of-sight axis, and limited length of use of the navigation information. These limitations result in negative consequences regarding the surgeon's attentiveness in any given situation, as well as in his cognitive work-load. The principle of Navigated Control offers advantages concerning these problems and limitations of the conventionally navigated FESS.

[Improvement of registration accuracy for navigated-control drill in mastoidectomy (autopilot)].

Background: The goal of this study is the improvement of the surgical accuracy of a navigate-controlled drill for mastoidectomy in a lab test.

Methods: For lab tests an artificial model of the temporal bone with color-coded injury identification of the facial nerve (solution of 0.5 mm) was used.

Navigated control in functional endoscopic sinus surgery.

This study designs and evaluates a mechatronic system to assist ENT surgery, taking as an example a navigation controlled shaver as used in paranasal sinus surgery. The on/off status of the shaver is regulated automatically, depending on the current position of the shaver tip. The working space for the navigation controlled shaver is planned preoperatively as a three-dimensional model and is based on the individual patient's CT data.

Surgery on the lateral skull base with the navigated controlled drill employed for a mastoidectomy (pre clinical evaluation).

Patients who are treated with a mastoidectomy usually suffer from an inflammation of the petrosal bone. The intervention is a time consuming landmark based surgery and usually performed with a powered drill. Delicate risk structures must be respected.

The navigation-controlled drill in temporal bone surgery: a feasibility study.

Background: This study examines the feasibility of a navigation-controlled (NC) drill for surgery on the petrosal bone in an experimental environment. According to the principle of NC, the drill is to be switched off automatically once the borders of the workspace are exceeded during a mastoidectomy.

Materials And Methods: The registration is based on an optical navigation system with navigation software (MiMed).