SPINECAD-Software Algorithms for Three-Dimensional Characterization and Clinical Classification of Spinal Deformity
INVENTORS:
Jeffrey Shilt, M.D. Department of Orthopedics and Pediatrics, WFUHS
(Joint Invention with Various Faculty and Students Virginia Tech-WFUHS School of Biomedical Engineering)
STATUS:
Patents Pending
TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION:
The technology is a computer-aided system for three-dimensional characterization and classification of spinal deformity due to scoliosis. The SPINECAD software application enables three-dimensional reconstruction of the spinal geometry from two-dimensional radiographs, automated classification of the spinal geometry according to the Lenke scheme, and statistical assessment of the sensitivity of reliability and reproducibility. As a tool for preoperative evaluation of treatment outcome, for example, integrated with a database of shared pre- and postoperative spinal geometries, SPINECAD can reduce the incidence of adverse outcomes, resulting in improved quality of life for the affected individuals. The current clinical paradigm for quantifying the degree and nature of a spinal deformity caused by scoliosis, assessing the need for external bracing or surgical correction, and designing the surgical corrective instrumentation is poorly resolved and highly personnel intensive. In clinical practice, diagnosis of deformity is largely done through coarse-grained, single-plane angular measurements from visual inspection of two-dimensional radiographs without the ability to assess the full three-dimensional nature of the deformity, involving local curvature, local torsion, and vertebral rotation. More sophisticated tools, such as CT and MRI scans, may be used to provide three-dimensional information; however, these are not routinely employed due to their association with increased exposure to radiation and high cost. SPINECAD sidesteps these problems by using conventional x-ray images as a basis for computation that fits into conventional clinical classifications.
COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS:
Patients undergoing surgical spinal implementation for scoliosis deformity
Licensing Contact:
Josh Schwartz M.D.
Assistant Director
Email: jschwart@wfubmc.edu
Phone: (336) 716-3729