Semi-automatic customization of internal fracture fixation plates

A new method for customization of fixation plates for repairing bone fractures is proposed. Digital models of plates are typically available as CAD models that contain smooth analytic geometry representations including NURBS. With the existing pre-operative planning solutions, these models are converted to polygonal meshes and adapted manually to the patient's bone geometry by the user. Based on the deformed model, physical bending is then performed by the surgeon in operating room. With the proposed approach, CAD models are semi-automatically adapted using NURBS to generate customized plates that conform to the desired region of the bone surface of patients. This enables an efficient and accurate approach that is also computationally suitable for interactive planning applications. Moreover, the patient-specific customized plates can then be produced directly from the adapted CAD models with a standard CNC machine before surgery. This may dramatically reduce time spent in OR, improve precision of the procedure and as a result improve the patient's outcome.