Improving inter-fragmentary alignment for virtual 3D reconstruction of highly fragmented bone fractures

Abstract

This article describes two new algorithms that, when integrated into an existing semi-automatic virtual bone fragment reconstruction system, allow for more accurate anatomic restoration. Furthermore, they spare the user the painstaking task of positioning each fragment in 3D, which can be extremely time consuming and difficult. The virtual interactive environment gives the user capabilities to influence the reconstruction process and that allows idiosyncratic geometric surface reconstruction scenarios. Coarse correspondences specified by the user are refined by a new alignment functional that allows geometric surface variations such as ridges and valleys to more heavily influence the final alignment solution. Integration of these algorithms into the system provides improved reconstruction accuracy, which is critical for increasing the likelihood of satisfactory clinical outcome after the injury.