An illuminating retractor for intracranial microneurosurgery.

Mirsky, R; McCullough, T M; Grady, M S; Winn, H R; Howard, M A; Gillies, G T · IEEE Trans Biomed Eng · 1998

case_series · Level IV

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Abstract

During certain microneurosurgical procedures, the illumination provided by current coaxial microscope light sources is suboptimal. One potential solution is the surgical light blade (SLB), a malleable retractor incorporating a flat fiberoptic bundle along its surface. The SLB provides intense illumination within the surgical field without decreasing the amount of limited operating space. A prototype of the SLB was tested in six patients. Results suggest that with further development the SLB could become useful for intracranial microneurosurgery.

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