European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Significant progress has been seen in the field of spine in recent years as a consequence of worldwide contributions. However, the national productivity to the field of spine is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the national contributions in the field of spine. ⋯ The majority of the spine articles are published by authors from high-income countries while few publications from low-income countries. The United States is the most productive country in the field of spine. However, some European countries may be more productive when normalized to population size.
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Current solutions for navigated spine surgery remain hampered by restrictions in surgical workflow as well as a limited versatility and applicability. Against this background, we report the first experience of navigated spinal instrumentation with the mobile AIRO(®) intraoperative computed tomography (iCT) scanner. ⋯ The AIRO(®) system is an easy-to-use and versatile iCT for navigated spinal instrumentation and provides high pedicle screw accuracy rates. Although the authors' experience suggests that the learning curve associated with AIRO(®)-based spinal navigation is steep, a systematic user-based approach to the technology is required.