Virtual simulator mimics real-life surgery training

By combining the sense of touch with 3-D computer models of organs, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are developing a new approach to training surgeons, much as pilots learn to fly on flight simulators.

With collaborators at Harvard Medical School, Albany Medical Center, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the team is developing a virtual simulator that will allow surgeons to touch, feel, and manipulate computer-generated organs with actual tool handles used in minimally invasive surgery (MIS).

MIS allows doctors to perform operations through small incisions with long, slender instruments and video cameras, which can result in minimal postoperative pain, less blood loss, lower risk of complications, and a shorter hospital stay.

The number of MIS procedures has grown dramatically in recent years, but despite its many advantages, the technique deprives surgeons of the depth perception, dexterity, sense of touch, and hand-eye coordination that they are accustomed to in open surgeries.

Now, De and his colleagues at Rensselaer are seeking to improve MIS training for surgeons through a new virtual simulator.

To date, it has been difficult to replicate the feel of soft tissue in training models.

To overcome this, De has created a new computer programme that gives a more realistic feel and can also recreate blood flow and the generation of smoke during cauterisation.

The researchers are also using video images of actual surgical procedures to enhance the visual realism of their computer-generated graphics.

The team hopes the simulator could standardise the assessment of surgical skills and avert the need for cadavers and animals currently used in training.

After developing a successful prototype, De hopes to apply the model to a much wider class of medical procedures.

The grand vision, he said, is to develop “a giant database of human anatomy that provides real-time interactivity for a variety of uses, from teaching anatomy to evaluating injuries in a variety of scenarios.

“In the long run, a better simulator could even help in the design of new surgical tools and techniques.”

In a paper published in the June/July issue of the journal Presence, the researchers describe their new computational technique, which is now supported by a US $1.4 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This funding will extend the original three-year exploratory NIH grant De received in 2004 to support the initial phases of the research.

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