Hemisphere Tabulation Method: An Ingenious Approach for Pose Evaluation of Instruments Using the...

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Surgical Instrument Navigation
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Accurate instrument positioning and orientation are critical in orthopaedic surgery, especially during bone drilling.
• Existing mechanical aids struggle with the free-form surfaces of confined anatomical spaces like the knee joint.
• The need for a reliable method to assess instrument pose accuracy in complex surgical scenarios is evident.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate an innovative Hemisphere Tabulation Method (HTM) for assessing instrument pose accuracy.
• To address the limitations of current methods in confined anatomical spaces with free-form bone surfaces.
• To provide a more accurate and reliable tool for surgical instrument orientation in orthopaedic procedures.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Hemisphere Tabulation Method (HTM).
• Utilizing an electromagnetic-based stereo imaging method with a custom optical measurement unit for HTM acquisition and assessment.
• Detailed description of HTM operational steps.

Main Results:

• Experimental validation with 50 tests demonstrated HTM's capability to identify ideal poses and evaluate instrument location pose on a hemisphere model.
• The mean error of pose localization was 7.24 degrees (range: 1.35-15.84, SD: 3.66 degrees).
• The HTM achieved higher accuracy compared to previous methods.

Conclusions:

• The Hemisphere Tabulation Method (HTM) is an effective and accurate technique for assessing instrument pose in orthopaedic surgery.
• HTM overcomes limitations of mechanical aids in free-form bone surface environments.
• This method enhances surgical precision and safety in complex anatomical regions.