A strategy for simulating and validating the Nuss procedure for the minimally invasive correction of pectus excavatum

Surgical planners are used to achieve the optimal outcome for surgery. They are especially desired in procedures where a positive aesthetic outcome is the primary goal, such as the Nuss procedure which is a minimally invasive surgery for correcting pectus excavatum (PE) — a congenital chest wall deformity. Although this procedure is routinely performed, the outcome depends mostly on the correct placement of the bar. It would be beneficial if a surgeon had a chance to practice and review possible strategies for placement of the corrective bar and the associated appearance of the chest. Therefore, we propose a strategy for the development of a Nuss procedure surgical trainer and planner, taking into account the biomechanical properties of the PE ribcage, emerging trends in surgical planners, deformable models, and visualization techniques. Additionally, we present the initial results of before and after surgery surface scans analysis as a means to validate results, comparison of an average chest shape with post-operative to quantify the outcome of the surgery, and the hardware setup of the simulator.