System and method for creating a three-dimensional bone image of a bone

A system for creating a three-dimensional (3D) bone image of a bone to assist orthopedics surgery, the system to be used with a 3D bone model of the bone, the 3D bone model being constructed by scanning the bone using X-ray computed tomography, the 3D bone model including a plurality of bony landmarks, the system comprising:

• a 3D scanning device to scan the bone and to generate a bone contour image;
• and
• an image processing device that is coupled to the 3D scanning device for receiving the bone contour image, and that includes
• a positioning unit to process the 3D bone model so as to obtain a plurality of spatial locations respectively of the bony landmarks, and to process the bone contour image so as to identify a plurality of features that correspond respectively with the bony landmarks and to obtain a plurality of spatial locations respectively of the features,
• an image alignment unit to perform image registration for the 3D bone model and the bone contour image by aligning the spatial locations of the bony landmarks respectively with the spatial locations of the features, so as to create the 3D bone image by proportionally overlapping the 3D bone model and the bone contour image, and
• a display unit to display the 3D bone image.