Background: All intraoperative navigation systems need a referencing procedure prior to utilization, usually requiring an additional computed tomography (CT) or cone beam computed tomograph (CBCT) scan. As new techniques in the field of Computer-aided design / Computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) have evolved, it seemed favourable to develop a new referencing method not relying on additional CT or CBCT scans.
Methods: A digital maxillary dental scan was used to create a referencing splint by CAD/CAM containing four reference points. By matching scanned dental model and initial trauma-CT, the splints position and thus the reference points were digitally simulated. These splints data were imported into the navigation system in Standard Tessellation Language (STL) format. These data were also 3D printed and the resulting piece was placed on the anatomical models' teeth. The methods accuracy was then assessed in vitro.
Conclusion: Our method for referencing of intraoperative navigation can be feasible to avoid an additional CT or CBCT prior to navigation.
Keywords: 3D-printing; CAD/CAM; navigation; radiation exposure; registration computer-assisted surgery; stereotactic surgery.
© 2021 The Authors. The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.