A navigation system for computer assisted unicompartmental arthroplasty

Abstract

This work presents an overview of a prototype navigation system for computer assisted unicompartmental arthroplasty. The navigation system allows the surgeon to use a minimally invasive surgical technique, solving the problems due to a restricted knee exposure with an augmented reality environment. The key feature of the system is an interactive graphical interface in which a 3D model of the patient’s joint and two 2D projections (frontal and lateral) are shown together with the model of a sensorized custom surgical cutting guide. The position of the sensorized instruments are tracked in realtime by an optoelectronic localizer and reproduced in the virtual scene. The 3D model of the joint is reconstructed from a preoperative CT/MRI data set and matched to the actual anatomy by means of an ICP-based non-fiducial registration algorithm. The prototype system has been positively evaluated by a selected group of skilled orthopaedic surgeons.