Passive Navigation Concept for MR-Assisted Orthopedic Interventions - Evaluation in Retrograde Drilling of Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OD) of the Talus

Christian Jrgen Seebauer¹, Ulf Teichgrber², Florian Wichlas¹, Tobias Jung¹, Jens Rump², Ren Schilling², Thula Walther², Hermann Josef Bail¹

Drilling under conventional X]ray guidance often leads to damage of the bone and cartilage, due to poor visualization and the complex anatomy of the ankle. We propose a passive, simple and inexpensive navigation concept, based on the cross-sectional nature of MRI for retrograde drilling of osteochondral lesions of the talus under MRI-guidance. For navigation, we used a custom]made MR]compatible drilling device. The passive navigation concept was fast and safe in practice. Saw cut specimens showed that the artificial lesion was hit in all cases. We conclude that our method is a viable alternative to conventional navigation concepts.