A New Template and Teleoperation System for Human‐Guided Spine Surgery

Application of a customized 3D-printed osteotomy guide plate for tibial transverse transport

Enhance the efficiency of tibial transverse transport by employing customized 3D-printed osteotomy guide plates and striving to improve precision through CT evaluation for enhanced guide design. 17 diabetic foot patients were treated with the plate for tibial transverse transport. Preoperatively, we collected DICOM data from the affected tibia's CT and designed the geometric parameters of the tibial cortical bone window. A customized 3D-printed osteotomy guide plate was then fabricated using 3D printing technology. Postoperative X-ray and CT evaluations, conducted at two and five weeks post-surgery, assessed five crucial geometric parameters of the bone window. Measurements included the distance from the upper edge of the tibial cortical bone window to the tibial plateau, the distance from the anterior edge of the tibial cortical bone window to the bone ridge, the height of the tibial cortical bone window, the center-to-center distance between the 4.0 mm diameter Schanz pin and the osteotomy Kirschner pin, and the center-to-center distance of the 4.0 mm diameter Schanz pin. These measured parameters were subsequently compared to the preoperative design parameters. The Clinical trial registration number is ChiCTR2400087174. CT measurements showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) from preoperative design parameters across the five evaluated aspects. The average osteotomy duration was 35 ± 15 min with no bone window fractures. The bone window aligned effectively with the tibial shaft, achieving complete incorporation after distraction. A 4 to 8-month postoperative follow-up confirmed full healing of the tibial surgical wound and diabetic foot wounds. Utilizing customized 3D-printed osteotomy guide plates in tibial transverse bone transport surgery enables accurate translation of preoperative virtual designs into real-time procedures, enhancing surgical efficiency and quality.

Is Previously Implanted Osteosynthesis Material an Obstacle for the Use of Customized Guides?: A Case Report

CASE

We present the case of a 46-year-old patient with asymmetric deformity in the posterior tibial slope after previous high tibial osteotomy surgeries with the presence of a medial osteotomy plate. A customized cutting guide was designed to fit on the plate to perform a single surgery and avoid possible soft-tissue complications after multiple surgeries.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of a previous internal fixation device may affect the manufacture of 3-dimensional cutting guides. However, in this case, the previously placed osteosynthesis plate was used as an aid for creating the guide.

Clinical applications and prospects of 3D printing guide templates in orthopaedics

Background

With increasing requirements for medical effects, and huge differences among individuals, traditional surgical instruments are difficult to meet the patients' growing medical demands. 3D printing is increasingly mature, which connects to medical services critically as well. The patient specific surgical guide plate provides the condition for precision medicine in orthopaedics.

Methods

In this paper, a systematic review of the orthopedic guide template is presented, where the history of 3D-printing-guided technology, the process of guides, and basic clinical applications of orthopedic guide templates are described. Finally, the limitations of the template and possible future directions are discussed.

Results

The technology of 3D printing surgical templates is increasingly mature, standard, and intelligent. With the help of guide templates, the surgeon can easily determine the direction and depth of the screw path, and choose the angle and range of osteotomy, increasing the precision, safety, and reliability of the procedure in various types of surgeries. It simplifies the difficult surgical steps and accelerates the growth of young and mid-career physicians. But some problems such as cost, materials, and equipment limit its development.

Conclusions

In different fields of orthopedics, the use of guide templates can significantly improve surgical accuracy, shorten the surgical time, and reduce intraoperative bleeding and radiation. With the development of 3D printing, the guide template will be standardized and simplified from design to production and use. 3D printing guides will be further sublimated in the application of orthopedics and better serve the patients.

The translational potential of this paper

Precision, intelligence, and individuation are the future development direction of orthopedics. It is more and more popular as the price of printers falls and materials are developed. In addition, the technology of meta-universe, digital twin, and artificial intelligence have made revolutionary effects on template guides. We aim to summarize recent developments and applications of 3D printing guide templates for engineers and surgeons to develop more accurate and efficient templates.

Tele-orthopaedics: A systematic mapping study

INTRODUCTION

The use of telemedicine in orthopaedics can provide high-quality orthopaedic services to patients in remote areas. Tele-orthopaedics is widely acknowledged for decreasing travel, time and cost, increasing accessibility and quality of care. In the absence of a comprehensive review on tele-orthopaedics applications and services, here, we systematically identify and classify the tele-orthopaedic applications and services and provide an overview of the trends in the field.

METHODS

In this study, a systematic mapping was conducted to answer six research questions, we searched the databases Scopus, PubMed, IEEE Digital Library and Web of Science up to 2019. Consequently, 77 papers were screened and selected on the basis of specific inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS

We found that mobile-based teleconsultation was mostly asynchronous, while non-mobile teleconsultation was synchronous. The results showed that the physician-patient relationship was more common than other interactions, such as physician-physician and physician-robot interactions. In addition, more than half of the services provided by tele-orthopaedics have been used for orthopaedic diseases/traumas in which joint replacement and fracture reduction have been the most important orthopaedic procedures. It has been noted that more attention has been paid to tele-orthopaedics in developed countries such as the USA, Australia, Canada and Finland.

DISCUSSION

Telemonitoring (teleconsultation and telemetry) and telesurgery (telerobotics and telementoring) were found to be the two major forms of tele-orthopaedics. Mobile phones were used asynchronously in most of the teleconsultations. The development of different applications may result in the use of multiple smartphones applications in real-time teleconsultation. The use of smartphones is expected to increase in the near future.