3D printing and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Medical technology
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) offers advantages over total knee arthroplasty but requires high precision.
• Technical demands and limited error tolerance in UKA highlight the need for improved accuracy.
• Assistive technologies show promise in enhancing the precision of implant positioning during knee surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the concept of 3D detailed planning for UKA.
• To describe 3D printing technology for delivering intraoperative plans using patient-specific instrumentation (PSI).
• To discuss guide designs for accurate registration and report system accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Review of 3D planning concepts for UKA.
• Description of 3D printing applications in creating patient-specific instrumentation (PSI).
• Analysis of varying guide designs for surgical registration and system accuracy assessment.

Main Results:

• 3D planning and PSI enable detailed intraoperative delivery of surgical plans.
• Various guide designs facilitate accurate registration in UKA procedures.
• Reported system accuracy for PSI in UKA procedures.

Conclusions:

• Patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) through 3D planning and printing is a viable assistive technology for UKA.
• Further investigation is required to confirm if PSI improves patient-reported outcomes and reduces revision rates, particularly for surgeons with lower case volumes.
• The accuracy achieved with PSI in the operating theatre needs to be correlated with clinical benefits for patients undergoing UKA.