Finite-Element Simulation of Soft Tissue Deformation

Thispaperwill presentourwork on thesimulationof soft tissuedeformationwithin thecontext of maxillofacialsurgery. Our approachis basedon finite elementmethodson tetrahedral grids.Thesegridsrepresent differenttissueregionsandareautomaticallygeneratedwith guaranteedtopologicalcorrectnessandscalableresolutionfrom segmented3D tomographicdata. We describethecompletepipelinefrom creating3D modelsof thepatients’anatomy, thesurgical planning,and the numericalsimulationof soft tissuedeformation. As a result of our investigationwe will assessour approachwith a view to providing a completeplanningand simulationsystemfor clinical use.