Image-Guided Robotic K-Wire Placement for Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Robotics
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Pelvic fractures require precise surgical fixation.
• Current robotic assistance in orthopedics faces workflow integration challenges.
• Image-guided systems are crucial for accuracy in trauma surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an initial image-based solution for robotic assistance in pelvic fracture fixation.
• To enable robot-to-patient registration from a single radiographic view for improved workflow.
• To create a broadly applicable system for orthopaedic trauma surgery.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 3D-2D known-component registration for robot end-effector localization.
• Employed preoperative CT and intraoperative radiographs for patient registration.
• Integrated robotic manipulation and offline hand-eye calibration for target pose calculation.

Main Results:

• Achieved a translational difference of 1.3 mm for single-view patient registration (0.4 mm with dual views).
• Demonstrated robot registration accuracy of ~1.4 mm for K-wire placement, comparable to existing trackers.
• Validated the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed registration method in phantom studies.

Conclusions:

• The developed image-based robotic approach is feasible for pelvic fracture fixation.
• The system addresses workflow challenges in integrating robotic assistance into trauma surgery.
• This represents a preliminary step towards a comprehensive image-guided robotic system for orthopaedic trauma.