Utilization of a 3D printed dental splint for registration during electromagnetically navigated mandibular surgery

Purpose A dental splint was developed for non-invasive rigid point-based registration in electromagnetically (EM) navigated mandibular surgery. Navigational accuracies of the dental splint were compared with the common approach, that is, using screws as landmarks. Methods A dental splint that includes reference registration notches was 3D printed. Different sets of three points were used for rigid point-based registration on a mandibular phantom: notches on the dental splint only, screws on the mandible, contralateral screws (the side of the mandible where the sensor is not fixated) and a combination of screws on the mandible and notches on the dental splint. The accuracy of each registration method was calculated using 45 notches at one side of the mandible and expressed as the target registration error (TRE). Results Average TREs of 0.83 mm (range 0.7–1.39 mm), 1.28 mm (1.03–1.7 mm), 2.62 mm (1.91–4.0 mm), and 1.34 mm (1.30–1.39 mm) were found, respectively, for point-based registration based on the splint only, screws on the mandible, screws on the contralateral side only, and screws combined with the splint. Conclusion For dentate patients, rigid point-based registration performs best utilizing a dental splint with notches. The dental splint is easy to implement in the surgical, and navigational, workflow, and the notches can be pinpointed and designated on the CT scan with high accuracy. For edentate patients, screws can be used for rigid point-based registration. However, a new design of the screws is recommended to improve the accuracy of designation on the CT scan.