A framework for determining component and overall accuracy for computer assisted surgery systems

Abstract

Computer assisted surgery (CAS) systems have generated a great deal of interest in the research and medical communities due to their promise of improved results with less invasive access to the surgical site. While some systems have been checked against a minimum acceptable standard set by the system's developers, no overall methodology is in place to insure that a system is thoroughly characterized. A framework to assess the accuracy of CAS systems will provide developers and researchers with a common starting point with which to test their systems, and will provide surgeons with a consistent basis for comparing different systems. We describe this framework and its application to the HipNav system.