Accuracy Identification of Markerless Registration with the DLR Handheld 3D-Modeller in Medical Applications

Abstract

Handheld systems for markerless, contact free registration such as the DLR 3D-Modeller are a current topic in research. These systems are advantageous due to their non-invasiveness, furthermore they do not take up valuable space in the operating room. The scope of this work is to provide a state of the art accuracy evaluation and feasibility study of the handheld DLR 3D-Modeller applied to markerless, contact free registration of the patient face. Therefore, the tested markerless methods are compared to a gold standard method based on titanium markers. A mean accuracy of approx. 2 mm is reported, and the registration procedure is very fast, taking between 1-2 min. Main source of inaccuracy is the used optical tracking system. An accuracy sufficiently high to allow for application in a variety of medical applications can be shown. These applications range from port placement in minimally invasive surgery to osteotomies, image guided bone segment navigation, and foreign body removal.