Mobile devices in the context of bone fracture reduction: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

In recent years, many computational techniques have been proposed to help specialists in the fracture reduction process. This field of research is open and faces important challenges due to its intrinsic high complexity. The reduction of a complex bone fracture requires identifying the bone fragments, to estimate their proper position and to select and place adequate fixation devices in order to stabilise the fracture. The development of computer-assisted techniques aids the planning and the execution of those tasks. In this paper, the possibilities of mobile and wearable devices in a fracture reduction process are introduced and discussed from a global perspective. Specifically, we have reviewed opportunities and challenges of mobile and wearable devices in the following stages of the treatment of a bone fracture: diagnosis, planning, training, aiding and rehabilitation. Regarding mobile devices, the focus is placed on the visualisation of medical data, the human–computer interaction-specific issues, collaborative aspects and augmented reality possibilities.

Keywords:

• Mobile devices
• bone fracture reduction
• 3D medical images
• visualisation
• computer-supported cooperative work
• user interaction
• augmented reality

Notes

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the European Union (via ERDF funds) through the research project [DPI2015-65123-R].