Digital Templating of Hip Arthroplasty Using Microsoft PowerPoint: A Pilot Study with Technical Details

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Templating is crucial for hip arthroplasty, aiding implant size prediction and surgical rehearsal to minimize complications.
• Existing methods include acetate and digital templating (2D/3D), but acetate templating has limitations like physical template requirements and result preservation issues.
• Specialized digital templating software is not universally accessible, creating a barrier for many surgeons.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present Microsoft PowerPoint as an accessible and effective alternative for 2D digital templating in hip arthroplasty.
• To demonstrate a method for performing 2D digital templating without specialized software, improving accessibility for clinical use.
• To enable surgeons to easily create and share arthroplasty plans, overcoming limitations of traditional acetate templates.

Main Methods:

• A novel 2D digital templating technique using Microsoft PowerPoint 365 is described.
• The method involves scanning acetate templates and manipulating the images within PowerPoint for size, position, and calibration on patient radiographs.
• Preliminary reliability assessments were conducted using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).

Main Results:

• High agreement was observed for cup and stem size templating (ICC = 0.860 and 0.841, respectively).
• Moderate agreement was found for neck length templating (ICC = 0.592).
• The PowerPoint-based method proved reliable for 2D digital templating in hip arthroplasty preparation.

Conclusions:

• Microsoft PowerPoint offers a user-friendly and accessible platform for 2D digital templating in hip arthroplasty.
• This method significantly enhances the accessibility of digital templating, overcoming the need for specialized software.
• The technique allows for efficient arthroplasty planning and seamless sharing of plans among surgeons.