This study proposes to develop a computer-based software tool that will allow surgeons to plan and simulate surgery for patients with jaw trauma.
The proposed tool will allow surgeons from different specialties to simulate, plan and iterate on complex procedures based on individual patient data in 3-D from a CT scan. The software will allow surgeons to both see and feel the results of their interventions - for example, the quality of the bite or bone alignment of a reconstructed jaw following severe trauma - before the actual surgery, leading to better planning, fewer errors, shortened surgery time and improved outcomes for the patients. The purpose of this study is the evaluation of a visuohaptic planning system for mandibular trauma surgery that is based on interactive manipulation of CT data.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
3
Patients will undergo whatever needed surgical repair of maxillofacial trauma that is necessary. Records such as CT imaging and plaster models of the jaws will be utilized in the standard way to plan and carry out the surgery. The CT scan will also be used within the visuohaptic computational environment to develop and evaluate the user interface. The amount of time taken to work up and plan surgery using standard surgical practice and using the computational platform will be compared. Real surgical outcome will be compared to the simulated surgical outcome using the proposed software tool.
VA Medical Center, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
Percentage of Deviation From Actual Surgical Outcome During Virtual Repair of Mandibular Fractures, Using the Novel Visuohaptic Computational Platform That Was Developed by the Investigators
The virtual surgical outcome was compared to the actual surgical outcome. This was accomplished by measuring distances (mm) and angles between specific mandibular anatomic points in the virtual environment and comparing it to the same distances (mm) and angles between specific mandibular anatomic points in the actual surgical outcome, as seen in a 3D rendering derived from the patient's postoperative CT scan. The actual surgical repair was considered to be the gold standard. A deviation of more than 10% between the virtual surgical repair and the actual surgical repair was considered to be above threshold (inaccurate virtual fracture repair).
Time frame: 6 months
Development and Evaluation of Automation Features for the Visuohaptic Virtual Surgery Planning Environment
The addition of automation features for the visuohaptic virtual surgical planning environment was envisioned to make it possible to predict the number, type, size, and position of reconstruction hardware (bone plates and screws) that would best fit the virtually repaired mandibular fractures. The goal was to compare the hardware configuration selected and used in the actual surgical repair for the 3 participating patients with what the software predicted. Unfortunately, the software development proved to be difficult to add this automated feature.
Time frame: 3 years
Implementation and Test of the Telemedicine Prototype
Measurement of the accuracy of the virtual surgical repair generated by the surgeon operating the software when a remote surgeon digitally sends a CT scan of a patient with an acute mandibular fracture(s). The telemedicine interface would require an automated method to segment the CT scan into the fractured components. The operator would manipulate the bone fractures, select the hardware type and size for "best fit", and generate a report back to the remote surgeon.
Time frame: 3 years
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