Smith & Nephew公司开发出自动椎间盘造影系统

 
一种用于椎间盘造影的新型系统能够诊断椎间盘相关的背部或者颈部疼痛，该系统可以自动完成并且比现存系统更加精确。

椎间盘造影是根据这样的前提，压迫产生疼痛的椎间盘以增加内部压力，可以重现患者的疼痛。在此过程中，将对比染料溶液注射进椎骨椎间盘以鉴别该椎间盘或者产生疼痛的椎间盘。对压力的精确记录是该诊断程序质量的关键所在。

这种新型椎间盘刺激系统叫做CDS，能够自动并且控制液体输送。这套系统是由Smith & Nephew公司的内窥镜部(Andover, MA, USA)研制开发的。其控制单元能够在整个过程中测量椎间盘压力，将不同操作人员之间的技术变异降低至最小，从而提高了精确性。远程控制单元能够让指挥操作过程的医生在无菌区域以外指挥，从而将关注重点从设备转换至患者。

Texas Back研究院(Plano, USA)的脊柱外科医生Richard Guyer医生说：“CDS系统为我们将作为客观工具的椎间盘造影检查，提供了所欠缺的标准。”

Smith & Nephew公司脊柱部门副总裁John Mullen说：“医生会为下腰部疼痛提供不同的治疗方案，医生对患者病情和疼痛程度了解的越多，他们就能够作出更好的治疗决策。”
 
 
Automated System for Discography
 
A new system for discography, which diagnoses the source of disc-related back or neck pain, is automated and designed to be more accurate than existing systems.

Discography is based on the premise that stressing a pain-generating disc by increasing its internal pressure should reproduce the patient’s pain. During the procedure, a contrast dye solution is injected into a vertebral disc to identify the disc or discs causing the patient’s pain. Accurate pressure recordings are critical to the diagnostic quality of the procedure.

The new disc stimulation system, called CDS, provides automated, controlled fluid delivery. The system was developed by Smith & Nephew’s Endoscopy Division (Andover, MA, USA). Its control unit measures disc pressure throughout the procedure, minimizing the possibility of technique variations from one clinician to the next and improving accuracy. A remote control unit provides the clinician with command over the procedure from outside the sterile field, shifting the focus from the equipment to the patient.

“The CDS system provides the standard we have lacked for discography as an objective tool,” said Dr. Richard Guyer, a spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute (Plano, USA).

“Physicians can prescribe a spectrum of treatments for lower back pain,” said John Mullen, vice president, Spine Division, Smith & Nephew. “The more information physicians have about the patient’s condition and pain level, the better decisions they can make about treatment options.”