[Cadaver study: robot-assisted cranial resection and implantation of titanium plates]

A processing chain for the prefabrication of individual titanium implants for cranioplasty was developed at the Ruhr-University Bochum. In patients with tumours a simultaneous resection of cranial bone and insertion of the individual implant is desirable. At first resection templates were used for this. New developments aim at a preoperative definition of resection trajectories for surgical robots corresponding to both the planning of the resection and the implant. This study used ovine cadaver skulls for robot resection experiments. The results demonstrate possible applications, limitations and necessary prerequisites in robot assisted cranial surgery.