Research and Technology
About our spine care research
Our passion for spine care research means that we are constantly engaged with the latest surgical techniques and innovations, enabling us to assess and provide the best course of action for the best possible outcome. Among these outcomes is an infection rate of less than 1 percent, which is way below the national average.
In addition to applying deep research knowledge expertise to our patient care, our doctors have paved the way in advanced surgical techniques for the broader surgical community. We have authored hundreds of scientific papers, delivered hundreds of scientific presentations at international meetings, and have been integral in developing several advanced reconstruction techniques.
Dr. Hughes Discusses Spinal Deformity
Featured research
Connective Tissue and Bone Quality Research Group
Dr. Alex Hughes has spearheaded this multi-specialty research group that is working towards developing a clinically accessible marker that accurately describes bone and connective tissue quality. This metric is critical in understanding and preventing complications in healing after surgery. To date, this effort has already led to improvements in how we indicate and treat patients both non-operatively and during and after surgery.
Total Disc Replacement
Dr. Andrew Sama is the principal investigator of a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a next-generation artificial cervical disc for the treatment of symptomatic cervical radiculopathy, which is a pinching or inflammation of a cervical nerve that can cause pain, numbness or weakness in different areas of the arm or hand. The surgeons of Spine Care of NY have been pioneers in the field of both cervical and lumbar total disc replacement. They have been in involved in multiple prospective studies regarding this technology.
Bone Biologics
Dr. Frank Cammisa has spent his career exploring and examining next generation advanced biologics that assist healing at the time of surgery. His research is designed to improve patients’ surgical outcomes by synergistically utilizing advanced biologics, surface technologies and point-of-care stem cell therapies. His initial focus was to study regeneration of bone utilizing biologic materials that promote bone formation and subsequently result in better and faster healing of fusions. Subsequently, Dr. Cammisa extended his focus to include development of surface technologies for surgical implants that would enhance healing at the surgical site. Now with the advancement of 3D printing (additive manufacturing), he’s involved in the design of implants and novel surfaces on the nanoscale that improve osteogenesis, integration of the implant and inhibit biofilm formation, further enhancing healing and fusion. He has also studied point-of-care stem cell therapies that improve the patient’s own healing mechanisms, again resulting in faster, better healing and allowing more minimally invasive procedures. The combined result of these research endeavors is the optimization of the surgical site for faster and better healing resulting in enhanced surgical outcomes.
For a complete listing of peer-reviewed, scientific publications, please click the links below.
Scientific Presentations
“The association of Spinal Lean Muscle Volume on Lumbar Spine MRI and Regional Volumetric Bone Mineral Density Measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography” – North American Spine Society, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2021
“Preoperative MRI-based Vertebral Bone Quality (VBQ) Score Assessment in Patients undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – North American Spine Society Boston, Massachusetts, September 2021
“The Association of Transversus Abdominis Plane Block with Length of Stay, Pain and Opioid Consumption After Anterior or Lateral Lumbar Fusion: A Retrospective Study” – North American Spine Society, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2021
“Evaluation of Cage Subsidence in Standalone Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Novel 3D-printed Titanium versus Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Cage” – North American Spine Society, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2021
“Comparison of Opioid Use in Multilevel Lumbar Spinal Fusion Patients Before and After Implementation of an Institutional Opioid Minimizing Program” – North American Spine Society, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2021
“A Comprehensive MRI Analysis of Paraspinal and Psoas Muscle Size, Lean Muscle, and Fatty Infiltration in Patients undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – ISSLS Virtual Annual Meeting, June 2021
“Thoracic Bone Mineral Density Measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography in Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery” – ISSLS Virtual Annual Meeting, June 2021
“Comparison of Opioid Use in Multilevel Lumbar Spinal Fusion Patients Before and After Implementation of an Institutional Opioid Minimizing Program” – ISSLS Virtual Annual Meeting, June 2021
“Endplate Volumetric Bone Mineral Density Is a Predictor for Cage Subsidence Following Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Risk Factor Analysis” – ISSLS Virtual Annual Meeting, June 2021
“Preoperative MRI-based Vertebral Bone Quality (VBQ) Score Assessment in Patients Undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – ISSLS Virtual Annual Meeting, June 2021
“Thoracic Bone Mineral Density Measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography in Patients undergoing Spine Surgery” – Global Spine Congress, Paris, France, May 2021
“Preoperative MRI-based Vertebral Bone Quality (VBQ) Score Assessment in Patients undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – Global Spine Congress, Paris, France, May 2021
“Endplate Volumetric Bone Mineral Density Is a Predictor for Cage Subsidence following Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Risk Factor Analysis” – Global Spine Congress, Paris, France, May 2021
“Endplate Volumetric Bone Mineral Density Is a Predictor for Cage Subsidence following Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Risk Factor Analysis” – LSRS Virtual Annual Meeting, April 2021
“Workers’ Compensation Status May Negatively Impact Post-Operative Dysphagia and Dysphonia Following Anterior Cervical Fusion” – Cervical Spine Research Society, Las Vegas, Nevada, December 2020
“Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Teriparatide Therapy for the Prevention of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis/Failure and Subsequent Revision after Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, November 2020
“Hyoid Position as a Novel Predictive Marker for Postoperative Dysphagia and Dysphonia after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion” – Global Spine Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 2020
“Intravenous vs Oral Acetaminophen Administration in Perioperative Care of One- and Two-Level LLIFs with Instrumented Posterior Lumbar Fusion: A Comparative Effectiveness Study” – North American Spine Society, San Diego, California, October 2020
“Concordance Between Patients’ and Surgeons’ Expectations of Cervical Spine Surgery” – North American Spine Society, San Diego, California, October 2020
“Fostering Physical Activity After Complex Lumbar Spine Surgery: Long-Term Results of A Randomized Trial” – North American Spine Society, San Diego, California, October 2020
“Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Teriparatide Therapy for the Prevention Of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis/Failure and Subsequent Revision After Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery” – North American Spine Society, San Diego, California, October 2020
“Risk Factors for Postoperative Dysphagia and Dysphonia following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Comprehensive Study Utilizing the Hospital for Special Surgery Dysphagia and Dysphonia Inventory (HSS-DDI)” – EuroSpine, Vienna, Austria, October 2020
“Hyoid Position as a Predictive Marker for Postoperative Dysphagia and Dysphonia after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion” – EuroSpine, Vienna, Austria, October 2020
“Fostering Physical Activity after Complex Lumbar Spine Surgery: Long-term Results of a Randomized Trial” – EuroSpine, Vienna, Austria, October 2020
“Endplate Volumetric Bone Mineral Density Measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography as a Predictive Measure of Severe Cage Subsidence after Standalone Lateral Lumbar Fusion” – Global Spine Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 2020
“Cervical Bone Mineral Density Measured by QCT in Patients undergoing Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery” – Global Spine Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 2020
“Risk Factors for Postoperative Dysphagia and Dysphonia following Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: A Comprehensive Study Utilizing the Hospital for Special Surgery Dysphagia and Dysphonia Inventory (HSS-DDI)” – American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Orlando, Florida, March 2020
“The Association between Endplate Changes and Risk for Severe Cage Subsidence among Standalone Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion Patients” – American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Orlando, Florida, March 2020
“Fostering Physical Activity After Complex Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Randomized Trial” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2020
“Compared to Patients’ Preoperative Expectations, Surgeons’ Preoperative Expectations More Often Correspond to Patient-Reported Fulfillment of Expectations Two Years After Lumbar Surgery” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2020
“Intravenous V Oral Acetaminophen Administration in Perioperative Care of 1 and 2 Level LLIFs with Instrumented Posterior Lumbar Fusion: A Comparative Effectiveness Study” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2020
“Comparison of Generic vs Spine-Specific Pain Surveys Administered Before Surgery and Fulfillment of Expectations Measured After Surgery for Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2020
“Patients with L4/5 Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis Have Decreased Bone Mineral Density at L4 Measured by Quantitative CT” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2020
“Cervical Bone Mineral Density Measured by QCT in Patients undergoing Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery” – Cervical Spine Research Society, New York, New York, November 2019
“CTA in Addition to MRI may not be necessary in Detecting Subaxial Vertebral Artery Anomalies in Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery” – Cervical Spine Research Society, New York, New York, November 2019
“Risk Factors Associated With Vertebral Artery Anomalies In The Subaxial Cervical Spine” – Cervical Spine Research Society, New York, New York, November 2019
“A Novel and Reproducible Classification of the Vertebral Artery in the Subaxial Cervical Spine” – EuroSpine, Helsinki, Finland, October 2019
“Cervical Bone Mineral Density measured by QCT in Patients undergoing Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery” – EuroSpine, Helsinki, Finland, October 2019
“Greater Disability Associated with Patients’ Unrealistic Expectations of Lumbar Surgery Compared to Surgeons’ Expectations” – EuroSpine, Helsinki, Finland, October 2019
“Dissatisfaction after Lumbar Surgery Associated with Clinical Variables and Not Patients” – EuroSpine, Helsinki, Finland, October 2019
“Fostering Physical Activity after Complex Lumbar Spine Surgery: a Randomized Trial” – EuroSpine, Helsinki, Finland, October 2019
“Comparison of Generic vs Spine-Specific Pain Surveys Administered before Surgery and Fulfillment of Expectations Measured after Surgery for Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis” – EuroSpine, Helsinki, Finland, October 2019
Chair of International Session: Sagittal Profile Worth the Discussion: “Sagittal Profile Correction and ASD: More than XRAY Measurements” – DKOU: German Congress of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Berlin, Germany, October 2019
“The Regional Effect of Lumbar Fusion Surgery on Volumetric Bone Mineral Density measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography in Adjacent Vertebrae: A Longitudinal Cohort Study” – North American Spine Society, Chicago, Illinois, September 2019
“Fostering Physical Activity after Complex Lumbar Spine Surgery: a Randomized Trial” – North American Spine Society, Chicago, Illinois, September 2019
“Improvement in Multiple Domains of Functional Status with Increasing Physical Activity after Lumbar Surgery: Longitudinal Analysis” – North American Spine Society, Chicago, Illinois, September 2019
“Greater Disability Associated with Patients’ Unrealistic Expectations of Lumbar Surgery Compared to Surgeons’ Expectations” – North American Spine Society, Chicago, Illinois, September 2019
“Compared to Patients’ Preoperative Expectations, Surgeons’ Preoperative Expectations More Often Correspond to Patient-Reported Fulfillment of Expectations Two Years after Lumbar Surgery” – North American Spine Society, Chicago, Illinois, September 2019
“Comparison of Generic vs Spine-Specific Pain Surveys Administered before Surgery and Fulfillment of Expectations Measured after Surgery for Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis” – North American Spine Society, Chicago, Illinois, September 2019
“Local Mechanical Environment Plays a Role in Spinal Bone Mineral Density by Quantitative Computed Tomography: A Study on Lumbar Lordosis”– International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS) Annual Meeting, Kyoto, Japan, June 2019
“Ultrasound Measurement of the Skin as a Potential Marker of Bone Quality: A Prospective Pilot Study of Patients undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS) Annual Meeting, Kyoto, Japan, June 2019
“The Impact of Obesity, Diabetes, and Epidural Steroid Injections on Regional Bone Mineral Density (BMD) Measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) in the Lumbosacral Spine” – International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS) Annual Meeting, Kyoto, Japan, June 2019
“A Novel and Reproducible Classification of the Vertebral Artery in the Subaxial Cervical Spine” – Joint Meeting of Istanbul Spine Masters & The International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS),Istanbul, Turkey, May 2019
“Cervical Bone Mineral Density Measured by QCT in Patients Undergoing Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery” – Joint Meeting of Istanbul Spine Masters & The International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS), Istanbul, Turkey, May 2019
“The Impact of Degenerative Disc Disease on Regional Volumetric Bone Mineral Density (vBMD) measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography” – AOSpine Society Global Spine Congress, Toronto, Canada, May 2019
“Local Mechanical Environment Plays a Role in Spinal Bone Mineral Density Measured by Quantitative Computed Tomography: A Study on Lumbar Lordosis” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2019
“Does L4/5 Pose Additional Neurologic Risk in Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion?” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2019
“Ultrasound Measurement of the Skin as a Potential Marker of Bone Quality: A Prospective Pilot Study of Patients undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2019
“Ultrasound Measurement of the Skin as a Potential Marker of Bone Quality: A Prospective Pilot Study of Patients Undergoing Lumbar Spinal Fusion” – Orthopaedic Research Society. Austin, Texas, February 2019
Hibbs Clinical Research Award Nominees: “Unfulfilled Expectations after Surgery for Adult Lumbar Scoliosis Compared to Other Degenerative Conditions” – Scoliosis Research Society 53rd Annual Meeting (SRS), Bologna, Italy, October 2018
EOA/OREF Resident Travel Grant Award: “Culture Patterns in Aseptic Revision Spine Surgery” – Eastern Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting, Amelia Island, Florida, October 2018
“Degree of Mobility at L4-L5 in Preoperative and Intraoperative Images in Patients with Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), Toronto, Canada, April 2018
“Does L4/5 Pose Additional Neurologic Risk in Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion?” -EuroSpine, Barcelona, Spain, September 2018
“Patients Have Greater Expectations Than Surgeons Have for Improvement in Psychological Well-Being from Lumbar Surgery” – EuroSpine, Barcelona, Spain, September 2018
“Factors Associated with the Decision to Culture and Positive Growth in Aseptic Revision Spine Surgery” – North American Spine Society, Los Angeles, California, September 2018
Best Paper: “Single-Center, Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravenous versus Oral Acetaminophen Administration in Perioperative Care of Circumferential Lumbar Fusion: A Comparative Effectiveness Study” – North American Spine Society, Los Angeles, California, September 2018
“Culturing Patterns and Results in Presumed Aseptic Revision Spine Surgery” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2018
“A Novel Quantitative Computed Tomography Bone Mineral Density Assessment of the Sacrum Does Not Predict Sacral Fractures following Instrumented Spinal Fusion” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2018
Best Paper Award: “Does Lumbar Spine Pathology Affect Bone Mineral Density Measurement by Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT)?” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2018
“Regional BMD Differences Measured by QCT: Is the Clinically Used L1/L2 Average Representative of the Entire Lumbosacral Spine?” – Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2018
“Restoring Physical Fitness after Complex Lumbar Spine Surgery: Measuring Activity Levels Starting Three Months Postop” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), Toronto, Canada, April 2018
“Intraoperative Imaging for Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis Identifies Instability Otherwise Missed on Flexion-extension Radiographs” – International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS), Toronto, Canada, April 2018
“A Novel Quantitative Computed Tomography Bone Mineral Density Assessment of the Sacrum Does Not Predict Sacral Fractures following Instrumented Spinal Fusion” – American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 2018
Technology
At SpineCare of NY, we are committed to applying the most innovative technologies available to surgeons, which is why we have integrated Brainlab’s surgical software to our practice. Brainlab develops products for each stage of the surgical procedure, including systems for surgical navigation. The advanced surgical software tracks the surgical device being used by the surgeon and displays its movements in real time on a screen in the operating room, which is like a second set of eyes assisting our physicians so that they can be even more precise when operating on patients. Take a look at the videos below to see how these technologies are applied.