A 3-D image of the post-procedure imaging for a patient who had four implants. Images courtesy of Manraj Bath
“When you work in the range of millimeters, micrometers matter.”
So says oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Manraj Bath, inspired by the opportunities afforded by a new piece of technology in his world: the X-Guide dynamic 3-D navigation system
The technology, developed by XNAV Technologies, offers a guided surgical pathway for doctors such as Bath, who has four offices in central Ohio, the oldest in Pickerington.
It all started in April 2015, when Bath attended, and contributed to, an American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ACOMS) meeting in Florida. There, he met two XNAV representatives, and when he learned what they were developing, he quickly realized the difference it could make in his line of work.
“I knew immediately that I wanted the technology and to be involved with its development,” says Bath. “It truly reinvigorated my surgical creativity and how it could be applied to dental implant surgery and jawbone reconstruction. In my mind’s eye, its benefits, adaptations and uses are limitless.”
All that was left was FDA approval, and when that came, Bath made medical history by acquiring X-Guide for his practice.
“After its FDA approval in late 2015, we are excited to have purchased and received the first one of its kind in the world,” he says. “We are the first to use it in Ohio, and we are proud to be making dental implant and oral surgery history here in Columbus with some new off-label procedures for bone grafting and augmentation.”
X-Guide puts central Ohio on the international map for dental health, Bath says, thanks to the improvements the device heralds. It has the capability to place implants “within a fraction of a millimeter of their desired location,” he says.
By using a cone beam CT scan, one that contains a three-dimensional look at the area of interest, Bath is able to thoroughly investigate a patient’s area of concern. Then, the heavily integrated software allows for a plan for the surgery and a step-by-step path for the doctor to take, allowing for a remarkably precise procedure. Bath likens it to a GPS – only instead of mapping the quickest route to a restaurant, it maps the best route for a surgical procedure.
A 3-D view of an implant to be given to a patient
Before X-Guide, cone beam CT scans required splints, and the process as a whole took up more time and money, and was more prone to errors to boot.
Though Bath has only had the technology a short time, he and his patients are starting to see substantial results, he says.
“I am picking up information during surgery, which earlier I would not have until after the procedure was completed. Ultimately, this makes me a more accurate surgeon,” he says. “If the plan was not what I initially thought it would be, I am able to make the necessary adjustments during surgery and complete it with confidence. Patients can’t beat that for the results and the commitment it shows in putting their outcomes and care above all else.”
Bath hopes to see more doctors adopting the technology as its existence becomes more widely known.
“I believe that dynamic guided surgery will eventually become the gold standard in dental implant surgery. This technology will likely lead the way into true robotic surgery for dental implant placement,” he says. “Imagine if a patient would one day themselves be placed into a device, and emerge after the surgery was completed. We as surgeons must adapt and advance our skills to reflect the technology around us – not eventually, but in real time, like the X-Guide.”
David Allen is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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