Virtual reality AYRA software for preoperative planning in facial allotransplantation

The purpose of this study was to validate a virtual reality software for the recording of anthropometric measurements as a first step towards matching donors with recipients in the preoperative planning process which precedes the harvest of a facial allograft.

Anthropometric measurements of both soft and bone tissue were recorded in 5 cryopreserved human heads to compare conventional analogue measurements with digital measurements obtained from 3-dimensional (3D) reconstructions produced using AYRA software. To test the degree of correlation between both measuring methods, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was applied to each pair of measurements.

ICCs calculated were greater than 0.6 (substantial or almost perfect correlation) for all of the pairs of variables, with the exception of 2 of the measurements studied in bone tissue.

In facial transplantation, preoperative planning is crucial to select an allograft whose anatomical compatibility with the recipient defect is as close as possible. The dimensions of the potential face donor must be congruent to ensure the procedure's feasibility and the adequate insertion of the allograft into the defect. The recording of anthropometric measurements with the virtual reality software displayed an equivalent correlation to those produced using a conventional analogue method. The 3D reconstructions obtained by using a virtual reality software can play a useful role to facilitate the characterization of the donor face.