3-d orthognathic surgery simulation

A device for determining an angle and a position of an upper dental arch with respect to a skull, comprising:

• a cranial anchoring section adapted to releasably anchor the device in a stable position to a plurality of bolts that are adapted to be screwed into such skull;
• a first calibrated rod, preferably having a half-circular cross-section over at least part of its length;
• a coupling locking device releasably locking said first calibrated rod and a teeth indexing member at a fixed angle and position;
• and
• an articulated member coupling said cranial anchoring section to said first calibrated rod and comprising a first ball joint coupling the articulated member to the cranial anchoring section, a second ball joint coupling the articulated member to the first calibrated rod and an articulated joint interposed between the first and the second ball joints, wherein the first and second ball joints and the articulated joint are arranged to be releasably locked at fixed angles.

A system for transposing simulation handlings onto a patient, the system comprising:

• a simulation device configured to simulate a surgical intervention on the maxilla of a skull to enable adjustment of the position of the upper dental arch in a skull of a patient;
• a first and second teeth indexing member, the first teeth indexing member being adapted for carrying a first mould of the initial position of the upper dental arch with respect to a fixed point of such skull, and the second teeth indexing member being adapted for carrying a second mould of the displaced position of the upper dental arch with respect to a fixed point of such skull as determined by the simulation device, and
• a device for determining an angle and a position of an upper dental arch with respect to such skull, said device comprising:
• a plurality of bolts screwable into such skull and a cranial anchoring section adapted to releasably anchor the device in a stable position to the bolts;
• a first calibrated rod;
• a coupling locking device releasably locking said first calibrated rod and the first or second teeth indexing member at a fixed angle and position;
• and
• an articulated member coupling said cranial anchoring section to said first calibrated rod and comprising a first ball joint coupling the articulated member to the cranial anchoring section, a second ball joint coupling the articulated member to the first calibrated rod and an articulated joint interposed between the first and the second ball joints, the first and the second ball joints and the articulated joint being arranged to be releasably locked at fixed angles.

Method of simulating an orthognatic surgery operation that includes a surgical intervention on the maxilla of a skull to adjust the position of the upper dental arch in a skull of a patient, and wherein a 3D orthognatic surgery simulator is used, said simulator comprising an upper mounting plate for mounting a model of said upper dental arch, said upper mounting plate being mounted on an arm;

• said method comprises the steps of:
• mounting said upper dental arch model on the upper mounting plate of the simulator;
• adjusting the angular and translational position of the upper mounting plate so as to place the upper dental arch model in a first position representative of the initial position of said upper dental arch with respect to a fixed point in a skull;
• and
• readjusting the angular and translational position of the upper mounting plate so as to simulate the displacement of the upper dental arch caused by the surgical intervention to be applied to the maxilla during the orthognathic surgery;
• readjusting the angular and translational position of said upper mounting plate of the simulator by rotating said upper mounting plate around at least two of three orthogonal axes X,Y and Z with respect to a rotation point fixed to said arm, and translating said arm substantially parallel to at least one of the same three orthogonal axes X, Y, Z.