Comparative evaluation demonstrates improved rod-contouring accuracy and shorter operative times in patients undergoing spinal fixation, suggesting enhanced feasibility for automated surgery.
BACKGROUND: In spinal pedicle screw-rod fixation, rod contouring quality influences insertion ease, construct stability, and corrective effect. Conventional bending relies on surgeon experience and is limited by insufficient support, repeated adjustment, and inefficient workflow. METHODS: This study developed a tracking-based robot-assisted system for rod bending comprising an acquisition unit, software, and actuator. The system acquires screw-head coordinates, generates target rod shape, and discretises the curve into bending positions, axial rotations, and angles. RESULTS: In five in vitro experiments, five assisted-versus-manual comparisons, and twenty paired cases, planned rods showed high consistency with target curves, with mean angle, rotation, and length errors within acceptable ranges. Assisted bending improved efficiency and reduced placement errors versus manual bending; clinically, the assisted side had a shorter operation time. CONCLUSIONS: The system achieves a workflow from acquisition to rod formation, improving quantifiability, consistency, efficiency, and conformity, thus providing a pathway towards automated spinal rod shaping.
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Zhang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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