Evaluation of in-house, haptic assisted surgical planning for virtual reduction of complex mandibular fractures

Purpose The management of complex mandible fractures, i.e. severely comminuted or fractures of edentulous/atrophic mandibles, can be challenging. This is due to the three-dimensional loss of bone, which limits the possibility for accurate anatomic reduction. Virtual surgery planning (VSP) can provide improved accuracy and shorter operating times, but is often not employed for trauma cases because of time constraints and complex user interfaces limited to two-dimensional interaction with three-dimensional data. Methods In this study, we evaluate the accuracy, precision, and time efficiency of the haptic assisted surgery planning system (HASP), an in-house VSP system that supports stereo graphics, six degrees-of-freedom input, and haptics to improve the surgical planning. Three operators performed planning in HASP on computed tomography (CT) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of a plastic skull model and on twelve retrospective cases with complex mandible fractures. Results The results show an accuracy and reproducibility of less than 2 mm when using HASP for virtual fracture reduction, with an average planning time of 15 min including time for segmentation in the software BoneSplit. Conclusion This study presents an in-house haptic assisted planning tool for cranio-maxillofacial surgery with high usability that can be used for preoperative planning and evaluation of complex mandible fractures.