A phantom for cadaverless evaluation of targeting systems for distal locking of intramedullary nails

One of the most challenging parts of intramedullary nailing is finding the location of the distal holes of the intramedullary nail following its insertion along the medullary canal. The preferred method for locating the distal holes involves the use of x-ray imaging. In order to reduce the exposure of the medical personnel and patient to ionizing radiation several alternative methods are being investigated and their feasibility and accuracy are being assessed by performing surgery on cadavers. Due to several issues associated with cadavers, this paper introduces a phantom as an alternative tool for the evaluation of such techniques. The features associated with this phantom should allow researchers to assess the performance of their distal locking systems at a reduced cost and without the need for surgical skills.