A method is provided for determining the shape of a surgical linking
device that is to be attached to a bony body structure such as the spinal
column based on digitized locations of a plurality of attachment means
engaged to the bony structure. The method is implemented by a computer
system through a GUI to generate an initial bend curve to mate with the
plurality of attachment means. The initial bend curve may be simplified
based on user input to the GUI to reduce the number of bends necessary to
produce a well-fitting linking device and may be altered to help obtain
the goals of the surgery.