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8 SPINE SURGEONS 20 best hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery By Alan Condon B est Hospitals for Neurology & Neurosurgery 2019-20 was published by U.S. News & World Report, with Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore ranking No. 1. U.S. News collected and assessed data from neurology and neurosurgery programs at 1,226 hospitals and focused on hospitals that treated at least 325 Medicare inpatients from 2015 to 2017. Here are the top 20 hospitals: 1. Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) 2. Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.) 3. University of California San Francisco Medical Center 4. New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell (New York City) 5. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago) 6. University of California Los Angeles Medical Center 7. New York University Langone Hospitals (New York City) 8. Rush University Medical Center (Chicago) 9. Stanford (Calif.) Health Care-Stanford Hospital 10. Cleveland Clinic 11. Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix) 12. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles) 13. Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) 14. Mount Sinai Hospital (New York City) 15. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) 16. Keck Hospital of University of Southern California (Los Angeles) 17. Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston) 18. Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center (Houston) 19. University of Michigan Hospitals-Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor) 20. Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis) n Dr. Roger Frankel on the future of robotics in spine By Alan Condon B oard-certified neurosurgeon Roger Frankel, MD, is president of Atlanta Brain and Spine Care and med- ical director of the Piedmont Hospital Spine Center Quality Program in Atlanta. Here, Dr. Frankel shares his thoughts on the future of ro- botics in spine. Question: How do you see robotics developing in spine? Dr. Roger Frankel: Robotics is an emerging technology in spine surgery. It is in its earliest generations of develop- ment and shows great promise to increase accuracy and efficiency of spinal instrumentation. As newer iterations of the technology are more closely integrated with stereotac- tic navigation and new tools and capabilities are added to robotic arms, the number of surgical applications will increase exponentially. Currently most machines accurately hold a guide in po- sition for the surgeon to manually place screws. Future technology will allow the robot to place screws accurately without the level of surgeon planning currently needed. It would not surprise me if screw length measurements, rod placement, spinal deformity correction software and rod bending capabilities would be automated and included in future generations of this type of technology. n 5 new spine-focused ASCs By Rachel Popa H ere are five spine ASCs and practices that have been opened or announced this year: 1. Morristown, N.J.-based Altair Health opened a 16,000-square-foot ASC devoted to spine care and pain management procedures in Florham Park, N.J., in August 2. Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital opened a 27,000-square-foot center dedicated to spine surger- ies in May in Nashville, Tenn. 3. Mercy Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. opened a minimally invasive spine center and tapped neurosur- geon Frederik A. Pennings, MD, as its leader in May. 4. San Rafael, Calif.-based Marin Specialty Surgery Center is moving to a larger location later this year to accommodate outpatient total joint and spine pro- cedures. 5. Greenbrae, Calif.-based Marin Health Ventures leased 17,280 square feet in May in a medical office building to build an ASC. After renovating the space, Marin will expand its orthopedic capabilities to in- clude joint replacements and spine surgery. n