Chief, Neuro Spine Surgery & Additional Director, Neurosurgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, India
Part 8 of 13 in Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
What Is the O-Arm and How Does It Make Spine Surgery Safer?
August 6, 2026
The O-arm is an intraoperative 3D imaging system that allows surgeons to navigate a patient's anatomy in real time during spine surgery, achieving more than 99% safety for minimally invasive keyhole procedures. Dr. S. K. Rajan, Chief and Unit Head, Orthopaedics and Spine Neurosurgery at Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, describes it as one of the central technologies behind safe spine surgery in India.
How the O-Arm Works
The O-arm, sometimes referred to as computerised spine surgery, provides continuous, real-time anatomy-based navigation during the operation. Dr. S. K. Rajan explains that this allows surgeons to place screws accurately without cutting through muscles, a significant advantage over older techniques that required larger incisions to visualise the spine directly.
Why This Technology Is Rare in India
Dr. S. K. Rajan notes that the O-arm is available at very few centres in the whole of India, making it a distinguishing feature of the spine programme at Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon. Combined with keyhole instrumentation, spine navigation, the latest microscope, intraoperative neuromonitoring and a special positioning frame, this forms what he calls a circle of safety that is rarely available together under one roof anywhere in India.
What This Means for Patients Considering Spine Surgery in India
For patients evaluating spine surgery in India, access to O-arm-guided navigation can make a meaningful difference in the safety and precision of minimally invasive procedures. Dr. S. K. Rajan's masterclass highlights this technology as a key reason spine surgery at Artemis Hospitals has achieved such a strong safety record.
← When Is Spine Surgery Actually Needed? Signs You Shouldn't Ignore | Series index | Keyhole (Minimally Invasive) Spine Surgery Explained →
This article is based on a Jivo Masterclass session conducted by Dr. S. K. Rajan, Chief and Unit Head, Orthopaedics and Spine Neurosurgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, India. The article has been summarised with the assistance of an AI tool from the original masterclass recording. Watch the full Masterclass recording
This guide is based on a live Jivo Masterclass — Dr. S. K. Rajan taught doctors across Africa on September 15, 2024.
FROM THE LIVE Q&A
Dr. Buffa
What about the cost of treatment, and the duration of treatment, for a spine problem?
Dr. S. K. Rajan
The cost of surgery in our hospital for spinal problems can range anything from $3,500 for a discectomy and decompression to $5,500 or $6,000 for fixation of the spine at one level, and even up to $10,000 for more complicated cases — that's usually the range of costs patients most commonly have to bear. Most of these patients, who come walking because of pain in the neck, arm, or lower back going into the legs, usually stay in the hospital for about three to four days, and in the country for about two weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you use intraoperative neuromonitoring?▼
Yes, we do use intraoperative neuromonitoring — we are one of the very few centres in the country who have been using this quite regularly. We were focusing on minimally invasive spine surgery and spine navigation in this talk because of limited time, but yes, we do have neuromonitoring available to us as well.
Do you have provisions for doing spine surgeries for children with neural tube defects?▼
Yes, we have specialist spine surgeons and pediatric surgeons also, and I myself do a lot of spine surgery in children — whether they have neural tube defects such as meningocele, Chiari malformation, or tethering of the spinal cord which can cause weakness of the legs. In all those patients we do spine surgeries, also in children who've got scoliosis or hemivertebra deformities, or tumours of the spine. All those patients we have been tackling from the age of 6 months to 18 years of age.
What about the cost of treatment, and the duration of treatment, for a spine problem?▼
The cost of surgery in our hospital for spinal problems can range anything from $3,500 for a discectomy and decompression to $5,500 or $6,000 for fixation of the spine at one level, and even up to $10,000 for more complicated cases — that's usually the range of costs patients most commonly have to bear. Most of these patients, who come walking because of pain in the neck, arm, or lower back going into the legs, usually stay in the hospital for about three to four days, and in the country for about two weeks.
What does the O-arm do during spine surgery?▼
It is an intraoperative 3D imaging system that provides continuous, real-time, anatomy-based navigation during the operation.
How does the O-arm improve the accuracy of screw placement?▼
Continuous real-time navigation lets surgeons place screws accurately without cutting through muscles, an advantage over older techniques that required larger incisions to visualise the spine directly.
How widely available is O-arm technology at spine centres in India?▼
Dr. Rajan notes it is available at very few centres in the whole of India, making it a distinguishing feature of the programme at Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon.
What other technologies work alongside the O-arm to improve safety?▼
Keyhole instrumentation, spine navigation, the latest microscope, intraoperative neuromonitoring and a special positioning frame, together forming what Dr. Rajan calls a circle of safety.
In This Series: Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
- 1.Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
- 2.Cement Augmentation for Osteoporotic Spinal Fractures
- 3.Cost of Spine Surgery in India
- 4.Why an Integrated Spine Clinic Matters: Team-Based Spine Care
- 5.Intraoperative Neuromonitoring in Spine Surgery
- 6.Keyhole (Minimally Invasive) Spine Surgery Explained
- 7.Lumbar Canal Stenosis: Keyhole Surgery and Recovery
- 8.What Is the O-Arm and How Does It Make Spine Surgery Safer?
- 9.Pediatric Spine Surgery in India: Conditions Treated
- 10.Scoliosis Correction Surgery in India
- 11.Treating Spinal Tuberculosis in India
- 12.What Causes Spine Surgery Complications, and How They're Prevented
- 13.When Is Spine Surgery Actually Needed? Signs You Shouldn't Ignore