Implant and guide

1. A method for configuring a surgical guide and an associated implant for maxillofacial osteosynthesis, the method comprising:

accessing data indicative of a pre-operative maxillofacial anatomy of a patient and generating a three-dimensional model of said anatomy using said data;

simulating an osteotomy on the three-dimensional model of the pre-operative maxillofacial anatomy, said simulated osteotomy defining at least one cut that results in a second bone portion that is separated from a first bone portion, said osteotomy resulting in an absence of any bone coupling the first and second bone portions together;

arranging the second bone portion in relation to the first bone portion to generate a modified three-dimensional model indicative of a desired post-operative orientation of the first and second bone portions, said arrangement comprising at least one or more of a translation of the second bone portion in relation to the first bone portion and a rotation of the second bone portion about an axis that is orientated at a non-zero angle to a plane of the osteotomy;

defining, on the modified three-dimensional model, a first plurality of attachment points for the implant on the first bone portion and a second plurality of attachment points for the implant on the second bone portion,

wherein said first and second plurality of attachment points are defined on the modified three-dimensional model based on at least one location of one or more anatomical features of the patient such that at least a spacing distance between a first set of adjacent attachment points is different from a spacing distance between a second set of adjacent attachment points, and

wherein the first and second sets of adjacent attachment points comprise two sets of attachment points with each set comprising adjacent attachment points on the same bone portion, or two sets of attachment points with each set comprising a first attachment point on the first bone portion and a second, adjacent attachment point on the second bone portion;

determining a monolithic three-dimensional structure for the implant that couples the first and second plurality of attachment points in the modified three-dimensional model, wherein the monolithic three-dimensional structure for the implant has a shape that varies in each of three dimensions to arrange the second bone portion relative to the first bone portion in accordance with the desired post-operative orientation, each of at least one of the attachment points corresponding to an aperture for a bone fixation device in said structure for the implant;

mapping the first and second plurality of attachment points to corresponding locations on the three-dimensional model of the pre-operative maxillofacial anatomy; and

determining a monolithic three-dimensional structure for the surgical guide that couples the corresponding locations in the three-dimensional model of the pre-operative maxillofacial anatomy, wherein each of at least one of the corresponding locations corresponds to a guide aperture in said structure for the surgical guide.

2. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the three-dimensional structure for the surgical guide defines an inner surface that varies in each of three dimensions,

wherein the inner surface has a shape that aligns with an outer surface defined by the first bone portion and the second bone portion in a pre-operative state, and

wherein the three-dimensional structure for the implant is configured such that the inner surface aligns with the outer surface at a single position in three-dimensional space.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

defining a drill bush for at least one selected guide aperture in the monolithic three-dimensional structure for the surgical guide,

wherein said defining comprises determining a height for the drill bush based on at least one location of one or more anatomical features of the patient.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

defining one or more osteotomy guides on the monolithic three-dimensional structure for the surgical guide, each osteotomy guide indicating a location for at least one cut.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

defining one or more attachment points for attaching the monolithic three-dimensional structure for the surgical guide to one or more of the pre-operative first and second bone portions.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

for a selected attachment point, defining an angle of orientation for an axis associated with a bore based on at least one location of one or more anatomical features of the patient.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein at least one of said one or more attachment points for attaching the monolithic three-dimensional structure for the surgical guide is co-incident with a defined osteotomy cut.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second bone portion comprises a plurality of bone portions that result from a plurality of cuts.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the axis has an angle of orientation that is offset from a plane that is perpendicular to a surface of one of the first and second bone portions.

10. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the method is repeated to determine a plurality of monolithic three-dimensional structures for one or more of a plurality of implants and a plurality of surgical guides,

wherein the method is repeated for a plurality of first bone portions and a common second bone portion.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

defining a portion of a first structure for a first implant or first surgical guide that distinguishes said first structure from a second structure for a second implant or second surgical guide.

12. The method of claim 10 ,

wherein one structure for a surgical guide corresponds to a plurality of structures for an implant, or

wherein a plurality of structures for a surgical guide corresponds to one structure for an implant.