Abstract
Background
CT-based navigation system in total hip arthroplasty(THA) is widely used to achieve accurate implant placement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of initial error correction according to the differences in the shape of the acetabulum, and correction accuracy associated with operation approach after localization of registration points at anterior or posterior area of the acetabulum.
Methods
We set the anterior pelvic plane(APP) as the reference plane, and defined the coordinates as follows: X-axis for external direction, Y-axis for anterior direction, and Z-axis for proximal direction. APP is defined by the anterior superior iliac spines and anterior border of the pubic symphysis. We made a bone model of bilateral acetabular dysplasia of the hip, after rotational acetabulum osteotomy(RAO) on one side, and performed registration using infrared-reflective markers. At first, we registered the initial error on navigation system, and calculated the accuracy of the error correction based on each shape of the acetabulum as we increased the surface matching points. Based on the actual operation approach, we also examined the accuracy of the error correction when concentrating the matching points in anterior or posterior areas of the acetabulum.
Results
For the rotational acetabular osteotomy model, the range of possible initial error correction increased as the surface matching points increased on both X-axis and Y-axis: On the X-axis, the range increased from 6mm to 10mm as the surface matching point increased from 10 to 20; and on the Y-axis, the range increased from 2mm to 10mm as the point increased 10 to 50. The range did not increase on the Z-axis. For the acetabular dysplasia model, the range of possible initial error correction increased on the X-axis(the range increased from 2mm to 8mm as the point increased from 10 to 50); however, no increase was observed for the Y- and Z-axis. Furthermore, concentrating the surface matching points in the posterior area around the acetabulum was more effective for the correction of the initial rotational error.
Discussion
Because of the different anatomical shapes of the acetabulum, the error directions that were difficult to correct tended to vary between dysplasia and post-RAO. The error correction of Z-axis was difficult on both shapes of the acetabulum. Thus, the careful initial setting on Z-axis is important to minimize the error. Surface matching point on the posterior part of the acetabulum is more effective in correcting the initial rotational error compared with the anterior part of the acetabulum. It was shown that the difference in the error correction was affected by the localization of the registration points around the acetabulum. We presumed that using surface matching points on posterior area of the acetabulum improves the accuracy of the CT-based navigation system on the anterior approach. When using the system, it is important to understand the tendency that the shape of the acetabulum and the localization of the surface matching points have influence on correction of the initial error.
