[The advanced technology of three-dimensional medical imaging in spine, bone and joints].

The advanced technology of three-dimensional (3-D) medical imaging allows us to understand the patient specific anatomy in detail. Especially, in orthopedic surgery, treated spinal diseases or the disorders of bone and joints, the 3-D computed tomography(CT), such as multi-slice CT and helical CT is a useful tool for clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment. Since 1995, by the use of these 3-D CT image data, computer navigation system and surgical robot were developed and applied to a spinal instrumentation surgery and an artificial joint replacement. Now surgeons can perform the precise and safe surgical procedure by the computer guidance on the base of 3-D medical imaging.