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Haptic Suturing Simulator

Abstract. A new haptic simulation designed to teach basic suturing for simple wound closure is described. The simulator incorporates several interesting components such as real-time modeling of deformable skin, tissue and suture material and real-time recording of state of activity during the task using a finite state model. Initial work and results with the simulator are encouraging. Actual needle holders are attached to the haptic device as the graphics of the hemostats, needle, sutures, and virtual skin are displayed and updated in real-time. Although somewhat realistic tactile force feedback is provided to the learner, we are currently experimenting with the haptic programming issues of trying to simulate 6DOF twist constraints with a 3DOF device, and angular collision force feedback of a curved needle with the tissue model. Ongoing development is focused upon providing users with more accurate force feedback, a scoring mechanism, and added instructional functions. The goal is to provide an efficient method to learn the suturing procedure by measuring surgical skills in a simulator.

Virtual Medical Environments Laboratory of the Washington area Surgical Simulation Centre

Proponents of using virtual reality technology to train medical students and residents liken their efforts to those used by the military and the airline industry to train new pilots. “You wouldn’t dream of boarding a plane with a pilot whose skills have not been certified,” says Alan Liu, Ph.D., a research scientist for virtual reality at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Md. “A pilot doesn’t say to his passengers, ‘We’re having a resident come in today to practice her skills. She hasn’t done many landings, but I’m going to watch over her shoulder to make sure she doesn’t make mistakes.’ Unfortunately, that is still somewhat the case in medical training.”