Development of a Novel Virtual Foot and Ankle Model for Surgical Education and Preoperative Planning

Abstract This paper reports on a promising proof of concept for a novel interactive computer application that can simulate a specific patient's foot deformity and causative underlying condition, then simulate realistic surgical corrective foot and ankle (FA) procedures enabling clinicians to predict how their patient's anatomy will respond intra-operatively to different treatment options. This model is being developed with the goal of establishing better standards of care for foot and ankle surgery and allowing clinicians to preoperatively determine the optimal surgical procedures for each patient. The purpose of this paper is to describe the initial design of this foot model, which uses the Unity game engine to simulate human foot biomechanics. Preliminary results indicate that the current virtual model prototype can replicate normal foot biomechanics with reasonable fidelity; however, future work is still required to refine model parameters, and extensive validation is required to prove clinical accuracy.