A grid-enabled software application co-developed by UK researchers is helping surgeons to perform facial reconstructions by simulating possible results prior to an operation.

And if a pilot project in Germany is successful it could mean a change in the way doctors operate in the future.

The pilot, led by Dr Thomas Hierl at the department of oral and maxillo-facial surgery at University Clinics Leipzig, allows the hospital to run complex medical simulations without investing in an expensive server infrastructure.

Supplier NEC is providing the clinic with a computer and secure connection to a remote grid-enabled computing platform that provides the necessary high-performance processing.

The system allows doctors to input a patient's scan data to produce a model that can simulate the effects of various surgical procedures.

By performing the planned facial reconstruction virtually, doctors can predict the effect on a patient's teeth, ability to breathe, and appearance following the operation.

"The problem is with large facial deformations. It's very complicated for doctors to determine the best option for surgery," said NEC project co-ordinator Dr Jochen Fingberg.

"In the procedure, the doctor has to cut a part of the bone free, which is then pulled into the correct location. To plan this, the doctor either uses an artificial model that is created through expensive rapid prototyping, or else he relies on his past experience. This application lets him test how various possible procedures would turn out."

NEC is developing the application with researchers at Southampton University and Sheffield University's IT innovation centre, as well as several other European institutions.

The trial is part of a wider grid-enabled medical simulation services project (GEMSS), which researches ways of using distributed computing to help doctors and surgeons make better judgements prior to surgery.

It is one of a range of programmes by Gridstart, a European Commission-sponsored initiative that aims to consolidate technical advances in grid applications and stimulate take-up by industry.

Other projects being tested include applications to support neurosurgery, to improve drug delivery to the lung and to improve treatment planning for cancer destruction.