[Computer-aided surgery planning for implantation of artificial ear]

In conventional ear implantation surgery, clinical physicians usually make a surgery planning based on their observation on series of 2D X-ray images or CT images. Such a planning method requires the physicians to have a high level of clinical experience. Besides, the whole operation is unintuitive, and might have certain risk. Considering these facts, we have developed a computer-aided system for the surgery planning of the implantation of artificial ear based on CT imaging and 3D reconstruction techniques. The system effectively overcomes the main drawbacks in conventional surgery planning techniques, and it makes the surgery planning procedure more precise, safe, and intuitive.