Coimbatore : Around 10,000 school children will be screened for spine abnormality in Coimbatore in two years, as part of nation wide exercise taken up by Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI).

ASSI’s project aims to screen up to 1.5 lakh school children nationwide in 2 years and create awareness about the importance of screening of spinal deformities and 10,000 children will be screened in Coimbatore.

Spinal deformities characterized by abnormal curvature of the spine are usually found in children below 14 years of age and due to lack of awareness and absence of medical screenings, late presentation of disease remains a major problem in India.

Under the project, ASSI is working with a series of schools in Coimbatore, with an objective of screening an estimated 10,000 children studying across different schools.

The study will help the organization collect much-needed data on the prevalence of spinal deformity while identifying kids who need medical intervention.

Recent advances in spine surgery including neuro monitoring, navigation, robotic technology and minimally invasive surgery have helped make spinal surgery highly safe and effective today.

Innovations in spine care and deformity surgery have also helped significantly improve outcomes in affected people”, Dr. Ajoy P. Shetty, Secretary, ASSI, Ganga Hospital here, said in a release. .