Interaction model for 3D cutting in maxillofacial surgery planning

Our main research work is the realization of a completely computer-based maxillofacial surgery planning system [1]. An important step toward this goal is the availability of virtual tools for the surgeon to interactively define bone segments from skull and jaw bones. The easy-to-handle user interface employs visual and force-feedback devices to define subvolumes of a patient's volume dataset. The defined subvolumes together with their spatial arrangements lead to an operation plan. We have evaluated modern low-cost, force-feedback devices with regard to their ability to emulate the surgeon's working procedure.