[Three-dimensional computer reconstruction of the pelvic and hip area in the preoperative planning of orthopedic interventions and surgical simulation]. / Dreidimensionale Darstellung der Becken- und Hüftregion am Computer zur präoperativen Planung von orthopädischen Eingriffen und Operationssimulation.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Osteotomies are elective operations which require exact pre-operative planing. Computer assisted three-dimensional planning of orthopedic procedures requires a three-dimensional reconstruction of the region of interest. To be applicable, such a three-dimensional reconstruction must be an accurate mathematical description of the region of interest, and not only a 3-D-image. The purpose of this study was to create such an accurate 3-D reconstruction. METHODS: We describe a method to create an exact reconstruction from CT-data, from the data acquisition, contour determination by an algorithm, triangulation of the resulting data and reconstruction of the region of interest. CONCLUSION: The described method is a useful tool to obtain exact individual three-dimensional reconstructions of any skeletal region of interest. This makes pre-operative planning and simulation of the results of orthopedic procedures at the computer possible.