A cost-effective surgical navigation solution for periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Surgical navigation technologies
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is a complex orthopedic procedure.
• Traditional surgical navigation systems often rely on optical tracking, which can be hindered by line-of-sight obstructions.
• Accurate intraoperative measurement of acetabular fragment orientation is crucial for successful PAO outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel, low-cost inertial sensor-based surgical navigation system for PAO.
• To assess the system's ability to overcome the line-of-sight impediment inherent in optical navigation.

Main Methods:

• Two commercial inertial measurement units (IMUs) were attached to the patient's pelvis and acetabular fragment.
• Patient registration was achieved by orienting the anterior pelvic plane (APP) using an IMU.
• Acetabular fragment orientation was tracked and visualized on a computer model derived from CT scans.

Main Results:

• The inertial navigation system demonstrated no statistically significant difference compared to a previous optical system in measuring acetabular component reorientation.
• Experiments on plastic bones (eight hip joints) showed a mean absolute difference below four degrees.
• The system successfully tracked the orientation of the acetabular fragment.

Conclusions:

• A low-cost, two-IMU system can accurately measure acetabular fragment orientation (inclination and anteversion) during PAO surgery.
• This inertial navigation approach effectively eliminates the line-of-sight limitations of optical systems.
• The developed system offers a viable alternative for navigation in PAO procedures.