The accuracy of image guided surgery based on cone beam computer tomography image data

Area of Science:

• Maxillofacial Surgery
• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Navigation

Background:

• Precision navigation in maxillofacial surgery relies on accurate patient-to-image registration.
• Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a developing imaging modality with potential applications in surgical guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of patient-to-image registration using CBCT data for precision navigation in maxillofacial surgery.
• To compare the registration accuracy of CBCT with conventional computed tomography (CT).

Main Methods:

• A maxillary registration template with markers was applied to a plastic skull phantom.
• Imaging was performed using both CBCT and CT scanners.
• An infrared navigation system was used for pair-point registration, and target registration error (TRE) was assessed.

Main Results:

• A total of 243 registrations were analyzed.
• The average target registration error (TRE) was 1.50 +/- 0.82 mm for CBCT and 1.57 +/- 0.84 mm for CT, with no significant difference.
• Error distribution showed strong correlation between CBCT and CT, with inaccuracies increasing with distance from markers.

Conclusions:

• CBCT provides registration accuracy comparable to CT for image-guided maxillofacial surgery.
• The strong correlation in error distribution validates CBCT as an equivalent alternative to CT in this surgical context.