The Kalamazoo, Michigan-based orthopedic giant began surveillance cases for the image-based planning and intraoperative platform in May.
The company previously launched the system for spinal applications in September 2022. The latest iteration offers support for cranial surgeries. Stryker received FDA clearance for it in February.
Q Guidance with cranial guidance software provides assistance in instrument positioning and patient anatomy identification during cranial surgery. Uses include craniotomies, skull base and transsphenoidal procedures, plus shunt placements and biopsies.
This launch comes on the heels of last week’s Ortho Q fully autonomous guidance system launch.
“With Cranial Guidance Software powered by Q, neurosurgeons have more surgical planning and guidance capabilities than ever before, with a special focus on biopsies and shunt placements,” said Robbie Robinson, president of Stryker’s Spine division. “This technology has the potential to become the standard of care and a possible means to increase accuracy and efficiency in the operating room.”
Features of the Stryker Q Guidance System with cranial guidance software
The platform uses both active and passive technology to offer “groundbreaking planning and guidance capabilities,” Stryker said.
Features include Stryker’s new, fourth-generation FP8000 camera. This proprietary product offers increased speeds compared to others currently on the market, the company said.
Additionally, Q Guidance with cranial guidance software has a dual-PC system. One PC powers the operating system’s applications while the other provides real-time patient data. The system’s diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tractography use anisotropic diffusion to estimate the brain’s axonal organization, reconstructed in 3D.
Q Guidance with cranial guidance software also features a precision targeting system. It enables navigated biopsy of cranial tissue by using comprehensive guidance data and imaging to pre-plan an approach for the entry point. Finally, the platform’s electromagnetic catheter placement capabilities enable pinless shunt procedures.
“With Stryker’s new camera technology, we were able to quickly register patients using the CranialMask Tracker,” said Dr. J.D. Day of UAMS Health in Little Rock, Arkansas. “The new user interface and workflows are slick, and our staff loves the intuitive new views like 3D targeting and the new skull stripping feature.”
