Combining volumetric soft tissue cuts for interventional surgery simulation

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework to simulate soft tissue cuts for interventional surgery simulation. A strained status of soft tissues is modeled as internal tension between adjacent vertices in a particle based model. Both remodeling particle systems and an adaptive scheme in tetrahedral subdivision provide volumetric and smooth cuts on large virtual objects. 3D MRI datasets are applied to a developed system with a force feedback device. Measurement of the calculation time and visualization of simulation quality confirms that the framework contributes to surgical planning and training with tissue cutting.