Mount Carmel Health System’s Bradford Mullin, MD, FAANS, FACS and a surgical team at Mount Carmel East just recently completed the first spinal fusion procedure using SpineMask, which is a tool that maps the spine for safer and more accurate screw placement.  The device is made up of a thin sheet of plastic that is surrounded with circuits, and the device creates a map of a patient’s spinal area using LED lights to be used for surgical navigation.  The lights indicate to the surgeon where their surgical instruments are positioned and where their instruments are in relation to a patient’s spinal anatomy.  This device makes it easier  for surgeons to more accurately place screws during spinal fusion.  This technology enables a safer and less invasive procedure for patients undergoing spinal surgery. According to an interview with Dr. Mullin with Channel 10 Columbus and posted on Youtube by Mount Carmel, this procedure will lead to “less chance of needing to go back to the operating room to re-operate on somebody for example and less chance of injuring the nervous system.”   For more information: http://www.mountcarmelhealth.com/body.cfm?id=901&action=detail&ref=238   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piq0Kg–e7k