Patient-Specific Surgical Guidance System for Intelligent Orthopaedics

Clinical benefits for image-guided orthopaedic surgical systems are often measured in improved accuracy and precision of tool trajectories, prosthesis component positions and/or reduction of revision rate. However, with an ever-increasing demand for orthopaedic procedures, especially joint replacements, the ability to increase the number of surgeries, as well as lowering the costs per surgery, is generating a similar interest in the evaluation of image-guided orthopaedic systems. Patient-specific instrument guidance has recently gained popularity in various orthopaedic applications. Studies have shown that these guides are comparable to traditional image-guided systems with respect to accuracy and precision of the navigation of tool trajectories and/or prosthesis component positioning. Additionally, reports have shown that these single-use instruments also improve operating room management and reduce surgical time and costs. In this chapter, we discuss how patient-specific instrument guidance provides benefits to patients as well as to the health-care community for various orthopaedic applications.