The Preoperative Planner uses computer models of human joints plus biomechanical algorithms to predict the surgical outcome. With the aid of interactive animated computer graphics, the surgeon can optimize the planned location of the bone cuts.
Cut placement is critical in both joint replacement and various corrective surgeries.
The planner shown here is for a high tibial osteotomy, which is a corrective surgery for medial compartment osteoarthritis. The goal is to modify the load axes on the joint by removing a wedge of lateral bone, thus shifting the load to the less-affected lateral compartment. The surgeon can plan the operation by using the keyboard or a mouse to specify the two planes of the bone cuts. The system shows the preoperative individual bones, the planned cuts, and the result of extracting the wedge and reducing the tibia to its intended postoperative state. The approach and software were developed entirely in our laboratory.