SlicerOrbitSurgerySim is a 3D Slicer extension for interactive registration, evaluation, and comparison of preformed orbital plates used in the repair of orbital fractures. The extension supports systematic comparison of plate fit across different vendors, plate sizes, and placement strategies, enabling quantitative assessment for research and clinical decision support.
📖 If you use SlicerOrbitSurgerySim in your research, please cite:
Zhang, C., Gunn, B., & Read-Fuller, A. M. (2025).
SlicerOrbitSurgerySim: An Open-Source Platform for Virtual Registration and Quantitative Comparison of Preformed Orbital Plates.
arXiv:2512.19534 — https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.19534
For clinical background on the use of preformed and customized plates in orbital fracture repair, see this AO CMF reference:
https://surgeryreference.aofoundation.org/cmf/trauma/midface/orbit-floor/reconstruction
Example of a widely used preformed orbital plate registered to a reconstructed orbit using the PlateRegistration module.
At present, the extension includes two primary modules:
The PlateRegistration module enables users to:
- Interactively adjust plate position using 3D transform handles
- Register preformed orbital plates to reconstructed or native orbit models
- Compute repeatable, quantitative plate-to-orbit fit metrics
- Compare plate fit across vendors, plate sizes, or alternative placements of the same plate
The generated metrics support plate ranking, visualization, and downstream statistical analysis.
The MirrorOrbitRecon module reconstructs the fractured orbit using a mirrored model of the contralateral (uninjured) side. A reconstructed orbit is strongly recommended for robust and interpretable plate fit assessment.
Core functionality includes:
- Rigid and affine registration
- Dependency: SlicerMorph extension
SlicerOrbitSurgerySim is distributed through the official 3D Slicer Extension Manager.
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Install 3D Slicer 5.10.0 from:
https://download.slicer.org/ -
Open Extension Manager (top-right corner of the Slicer interface).
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Search for SlicerOrbitSurgerySim, install the extension, and restart Slicer.
Follow the step-by-step Quick Tutorial: Plate Registration and Fit Comparison
(~10–20 minutes, prepared sample data included and downloadable directly from Slicer)
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Plate registration workflow
Tutorial 1: Plate registration -
Generate plate fit metrics
Tutorial 2: Generate fit metrics -
Compare fit of multiple plates
Tutorial 3: Compare plate fit -
Edit pre-registered plates and combine results
Tutorial 4: Edit pre-registered plate -
Fractured orbit reconstruction using contralateral mirroring
MirrorOrbitRecon tutorial
Detailed tutorials explaining the underlying registration, reconstruction, and fit metric methods will be added soon.
The 3D Slicer community offered important technical advice and feedback during development, especially Kyle Sunderland (Perk Lab, Queen’s University), who developed the Interaction Transform Handle in Slicer, as well as Dr. Andras Lasso (Perk Lab, Queen’s University) and Dr. Steve Pieper (Isomics, Inc.).
Dr. Andrew Read-Fuller (Texas A&M University College of Dentistry) contributed essential clinical insights that helped shape the design and evaluation of this work. Braedon Gunn (Texas A&M University College of Dentistry) meticulously segmented numerous fractured orbital datasets and tested the extension on multiple patient scans, providing critical validation and feedback.
The rigid (ITK-based) and affine registration components build upon methods originally developed for the ALPACA and FastModelAlign modules of the SlicerMorph extension, developed by Dr. A. Murat Maga’s laboratory.
This project was supported by a Seedling Grant from the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, awarded to Chi Zhang.