Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

The proposed research program consists in a computational modeling of the human trunk from non invasive data in order to numerically simulate the effect of a spinal and/or rib surgical correction on the external shape of the trunk in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. On the basis of the orthopaedic surgeon's own experience and combining techniques from biomedical engineering and image processing, the proposed system will assist the surgeon, together with the patient, in deciding on the best surgical approach (anterior vs posterior, with or without rib resection) based on the resulting external trunk appearance. The initial assumption is that the surgeon is able, based on clinical experience and/or using a spinal surgery simulator, to predict the degree of correction of the spinal deformity that can be achieved on the bone structures for a given patient. The proposed system will propagate the predicted spinal correction (expressed in terms of clinical indices or a 3D geometric representation) to visualize in 3D the simulated external geometry of the patient's trunk. This research project is strategic because apart from routine X-ray images used for diagnosis, it will require only non invasive additional data obtained from MRI images and trunk surface topography to generate a generic 3D model of the whole trunk including soft tissues. Furthermore, a simulation of the correction, not only of the bone structures but also of the external appearance, will allow the clinician to illustrate to the patient the potential result of the surgical intervention and will help in the decision to accept or refuse a treatment that could improve his/her appearance, namely the rib resection that optionally follows the spinal surgery. In deciding on a surgical strategy, the surgeon will thus be able to take into account such factors as the external trunk asymmetry and residual rib hump remaining after a spinal surgical correction. This is all the more useful given that, for an adolescent patient, such factors can be of paramount importance. Finally, this will benefit the surgeon by providing an enhanced preoperative planning tool and the patient by allowing her/him to readily understand the outcome of surgery.