Using a three dimensional model of the pediatric skull for pre-operative planning in the treatment of craniosynostosis - biomed 2009.

Spring mediated cranioplasty and cranial vault reconstruction are two surgical interventions for the treatment of craniosynostosis. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of three-dimensional models in pre-operative planning for these procedures. The methods for this study included the creation of the model and the integration of the model into pre-surgical planning. The patients in this study all received a pre-surgical computed tomography scan as part of the standard pre-operative procedure. The first step in model creation involved processing this image data. From the CT scans, using an automated thresholding command in an image analysis software, the bones of the cranial vault were isolated. Once the identification of the bone was complete a CAD file of the anatomy was created. Then, this geometry was imported into the pre-processing software of the three dimensional printer. The model was printed and hardened using cyanoacrylate. After the model was complete, it was used by the plastic surgery department in their pre-surgical planning. One of the primary uses for this model during the planning process was as a template for pre-bending the springs used in spring cranioplasty. The advantage of this technique was that the surgical procedure was less invasive since less of the skull had to be exposed. Additionally, the force characteristics of the spring could be better quantified. Based on the addition of this pre-surgical planning tool, the plastic surgeons have noted a shorter procedure time and a less invasive approach.