Build-and-insert: Anatomical structure generation for surgical simulators

Abstract

Development of surgical simulators remains a complex task, especially when the virtual environment (VE) needs modification. In this paper, we describe a build-and-insert mechanism that allows for creation of new anatomical models and their insertion into an existing simulator while preserving the existing tasks (e.g., vessel clipping and cutting) and evaluation metrics. Tools used to generate virtual structures from the Visible Human and patient-specific (CT, MRI, ultrasound, etc.) datasets and insert them into a simulator are presented. A laparoscopic nephrectomy simulator is used as an example to show the feasibility of the build-and-insert mechanism. The nephrectomy simulator is a part of our haptic laparoscopic simulator, LapSkills, which allows a surgeon to master a set of fundamental skills such as instrument and camera navigation, handeye coordination, grasping, and applying clips to vessels and cutting them. By interfacing to our tools, existing simulators can take advantage of this dynamic anatomical structure generation and insertion capabilities. © Springer-Verlag 2004.