Optimized marker for template-guided intraoral surgery

Template-guided intraoral surgery is attracting interest due to its accuracy and convenience. Usually, fiducial markers are used for registration of the different model coordinates for patients or plaster and fabrication coordinates in template-guided dental surgery. The accuracy of markers is important because it is directly related to the accuracy of the template-guide, which ultimately affects the success of surgical results. In this paper, we present the methods of determining optimal marker parameters such as size, shape, and material. We have defined parameters that could potentially influence the accuracy of markers and tested them with various values for each parameter. Experiments were performed to measure repeatability, and we tested accuracy and minimized potential error by comparing the actual and calculated dimensions. As a result, the following optimal marker parameters were identified: 3-mm diameter, positively tapered cylindrical shape, and titanium composition.