Ultrasound volume based surgical planning for prosthesis implantation in the shoulder joint

Abstract

Surgical planning for the implantation of a prosthesis in the shoulder joint is at present usually done using CT, MRI and X-ray imaging. Apart from being expensive and hard to use in some settings, modalities like CT and X-ray additionally expose the patient to ionizing radiation. In comparison, ultrasound is an easy to use, cheap modality. By combining a conventional two dimensional probe with a localizer system, even larger anatomical structures like the humerus can be examined and delineated using ultrasound. In a pilot study, we investigated the use of such three-dimensional volumes for surgical planning in the shoulder joint.