A CAD-based human interface for preoperative planning of total knee surgery

To aid an orthopedic surgeon in performing total knee replacement surgery, a computer-aided-design (CAD)-based graphic system is proposed for preoperative planning. This system consists of two parts. The first part reads the computed tomography (CT) scan data for the patient´s leg and performs image analysis on the graphics computer. To interact with the surgeon´s examination, CT images are manipulable on a high-resolution monitor. The output of this image analysis will be the extracted wire-frame data of the patient´s leg bones and certain pins inserted previously into the femur and tibia for surgery. These data will be the input of the second part of the system, a 3-D graphic training system that emulates the procedures of total knee arthroplasty. This system will allow a surgeon to simulate the bone alignment, cutting, and implant placement