Computer aided planning device for preoperative bending of osteosynthesis plates

Area of Science:

• Craniofacial Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Device Design

Background:

• Titanium miniplates are crucial for fixing bone fractures and repositioned segments in craniofacial surgery.
• Current methods require repeated manual bending and fitting of miniplates, consuming significant surgeon time (up to 20 minutes per plate).
• Prolonged operative times due to manual plate fitting lead to extended anesthesia for patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present a computer-aided planning system for preoperative positioning and bending of titanium miniplates.
• To reduce the time and complexity associated with fitting osteosynthesis plates in craniofacial reconstructions.
• To minimize patient anesthesia exposure by streamlining the surgical workflow.

Main Methods:

• Development of a planning system utilizing patient-specific skull models for preoperative miniplate positioning.
• Computation of optimal miniplate bending based on patient anatomy.
• Storage of bending data for use with automated bending devices and intraoperative aids.

Main Results:

• The proposed system enables preoperative computation and storage of precise miniplate bending data.
• This computer-aided approach facilitates efficient intraoperative positioning and fixation.
• The system is designed to significantly decrease the time needed for plate adaptation.

Conclusions:

• The developed computer-aided planning system offers a novel solution for optimizing titanium miniplate application in craniofacial surgery.
• This technology has the potential to improve surgical efficiency and patient outcomes by reducing operative time and anesthesia duration.
• The presented principles lay the groundwork for advanced, patient-specific surgical instrumentation.