ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

Sec. Biomaterials

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1577321

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvanced Technologies for Oral and Craniomaxillofacial TherapyView all 10 articles

Patient-specific Dynamic Reference Frame for Navigation-assisted Surgery in Mandible: A Novel Noninvasive Technical Method

Provisionally accepted
Jinyang WuJinyang Wu1,2,3Lai JiangLai Jiang1,2,3Yingqi ChengYingqi Cheng1,2,3Wenbin ZhangWenbin Zhang1,2,3Jianfei ZhangJianfei Zhang1,2,3Xiaoyan GaoXiaoyan Gao2,3,4*Xiaofeng XuXiaofeng Xu1,2,3*Shilei ZhangShilei Zhang1,2,3*
  • 1Department of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 2National Center for Stomatology, Shanghai, China
  • 3National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai, China
  • 4International Medical Department, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

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Computer-assisted navigation has been established as a valuable tool in oral and craniomaxillofacial surgery. However, the steep learning curve associated with mandibular navigation surgery has hindered its widespread adoption. This study introduces a non-invasive, convenient, and accurate navigation method for mandibular surgery and evaluates its clinical effectiveness. Methods: a modified patient-specific dynamic reference frame (PS-DRF) was designed and fabricated based on the patient's lower jaw dental cast, integrating navigation technology with 3D printing. During surgery, the PS-DRF was securely affixed to the lower dentition, enabling automatic pair-point registration through fiducial localization via a navigation probe. The surgical procedure was conducted under real-time navigation guidance. Results: preoperative registration and intraoperative navigation were successfully achieved in this case. The navigation-guided mandibular surgery was completed without complications. Postoperative superimposition of the simulated virtual model and the actual surgical outcome demonstrated high accuracy, with a deviation of less than 2 mm. Conclusion: the PS-DRF system offers a convenient, effective, and adaptable approach by integrating navigation technology with 3D printing. This method has the potential to simplify navigation-assisted mandibular surgery and facilitate the broader clinical implementation of computer-assisted navigation in maxillofacial procedures.

Keywords: Computer-assisted navigation, 3D printing, Dynamic reference frame, Patientspecific, Mandible

Received: 15 Feb 2025; Accepted: 23 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Jiang, Cheng, Zhang, Zhang, Gao, Xu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Xiaoyan Gao, International Medical Department, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
Xiaofeng Xu, Department of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Shilei Zhang, Department of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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