Surgical Templates and Guides

Translating the virtual or physical plan from the virtual or physical model, to the operative field, is facilitated by a cutting or drilling template or guide.

These are available in a range of materials from our in-house laboratory, but we are also pleased to liaise with your own laboratory service.

Our templates and guides are used wherever bone is prepared or manipulated. Guides may be used to precisely position pre-bent fixation plates or craniofacial or orthopaedic implants.

Surgical accuracy may be measured by our scientific team using a variety of software techniques. We are certified in the Implant Studio Ready Program allowing us to maximise cost, efficiency and delivery in surgical guide manufacture.

Cavendish Imaging is very well-placed to offer services related to the quantification of 3D changes. This service combines our technical experience and academic background with the computing capabilities available through our extensive multi-platform software suite, and is applicable to surface, and CBCT scans, alone or in combination.

Let’s look at a specific example to illustrate the usefulness of 3D quantification:

The surgeon planned the desired aesthetic changes by manipulating the 3D photo (surface scan) on-screen to restore symmetry by augmenting a specific feature. This objective can be discussed with the patient. In order to translate the virtual plan to reality, the surgeon needs to first quantify and then replicate the planned changes in three dimensions.

Our measurements include volume difference and 3D measurements in each plane. This helps to manage and achieve realistic expectations and results.

This technique can also be used to measure the accuracy of a surgical template planned on the bone.

The images below show a preoperative plan on an mandibular anatomical model, the postoperative result and the three-dimensional distance between the planned and actual drill holes.