Bone Segment Navigation - Surgical Segment Navigator

Surgical Segment Navigator

The first system that allowed a seamless bone segment navigation for preoperative planning was the Surgical Segment Navigator (SSN), developed in 1997 at the University of Regensburg, Germany, with the support of the Carl Zeiss Company. This new system does not need any mechanical surgical guides (such as a headframe). It is based on an infrared (IR) camera and IR transmitters attached to the skull. At least three IR transmitters are attached in the neurocranium area to compensate the movements of the patient's head. There are three or more IR transmitters are attached to the bones where the osteotomy and bone repositioning is about to be performed onto. The 3D position of each transmitter is measured by the IR camera, using the same principle as in satellite navigation. The workstation of the Surgical Segment Navigator (SSN) is constantly visualizing the actual position of the bone fragments, compared with the predetermined position, and also makes real-time spatial determinations of the free-moving bony segments resulting from the osteotomy. Thus, fragments can be very accurately positioned into the target position, predetermined by surgical simulation.