Smartphone photogrammetry for rapid 3D surface modeling of head and neck specimens to support frozen section communication: A feasibility pilot study

• Smartphone scans produced rapid 3D models of fresh head and neck specimens. • Annotated 3D models supported frozen section communication. • Surgeons and pathologists evaluated the approach positively. • Thickness measurements showed the largest soft-tissue deformation errors. (1) The complete resection of a solid tumor is a vital part of the current oncological therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in a complex anatomical region. Studies show that surgical resections of head and neck tumors are scarce or incomplete in up to 30–40%. This study investigates the feasibility of generating 3D models of the surface topography of the resected tumor using a mobile phone-based approach and implementing them into visualization software to improve communication between surgeons and pathologists during frozen section (FS) pathology. (2) Materials and Methods: We conducted a pilot study on 10 head and neck cancer patients undergoing surgical resection. A digital 3D model of the surface topography of fresh surgical specimens was created using a mobile phone with photogrammetry software and implemented into software to annotate regions of interest. Utility was assessed using a 0–5 Likert questionnaire completed by four pathologists and four head and neck surgeons; inter-rater reliability was quantified using average pairwise quadratic-weighted Cohen’s kappa. (3) Results: 3D model generation was feasible in 10/10 cases with a median scanning time of 4.2 min. A soft-tissue deformation experiment demonstrated good agreement in lateral dimensions but larger deviations in height consistent with soft-tissue compression. Both pathologists and surgeons rated the approach favorably, with an overall utility median of 4.2 (pathologists) and 4.8 (surgeons). (4) Discussion: Smartphone-based photogrammetry enables rapid 3D surface modeling of fresh head and neck specimens and can be integrated into dedicated software for orientation and communication during FS pathology.