Laparoscopic Simulator with Augmented Reality Tissue Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laparoscopic surgical training faces challenges with high costs and limited accessibility due to expensive high-fidelity simulators, which are often unaffordable for individual surgeons, and traditional training methods are time-consuming and costly, lacking in realism and objective feedback.
Innovation Solution
A mixed reality laparoscopic surgical training platform combining physical tissue models with embedded sensors and digital augmentation, providing a realistic and affordable simulator that overlays digital textures onto real physical models, allowing for immersive and accurate training with performance tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-fidelity simulators with virtual reality and haptic feedback are used, then training realism and immersion are improved, but cost and accessibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The simulator is divided into separate functional modules: a physical tissue model component, a camera system, a computing unit, and a display component. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently and enables the system to achieve high-fidelity training realism through coordinated interaction of simpler, more affordable components rather than requiring an expensive monolithic system.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges physical tissue models with digital augmentation by overlaying digital textures and visual information onto the physical model through the camera and display system. This combination creates an immersive training experience that achieves high-fidelity realism while avoiding the need for expensive haptic feedback mechanisms, as the physical model itself provides the tactile component.
2Reliability
If traditional surgical training on patients is used, then learning effectiveness is improved, but time consumption and cost deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy of the surgical training experience through a physical tissue model that replicates the tactile and visual properties of real tissue. This copy allows unlimited repetitions of surgical procedures without the time and ethical constraints of training on actual patients, enabling trainees to practice extensively and master skills efficiently while maintaining learning effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The simulator enables preliminary practice and skill acquisition before actual surgical procedures. Trainees can perform multiple rehearsal procedures on the physical tissue model to master techniques and handle complications in a controlled environment, ensuring readiness for real surgery and reducing overall training time requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If low-fidelity box trainers with webcams are used, then cost is reduced, but training realism and immersion deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enhances visual realism by dynamically changing the appearance of the physical tissue model through overlaid digital textures and color information displayed on the screen. This allows the simulation to present realistic tissue appearance, bleeding, and other visual effects that would be impossible in a basic box trainer, thereby improving training realism while maintaining the low cost of the physical hardware platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera and display system act as intermediaries between the physical tissue model and the trainee. Rather than requiring direct visual contact with the tissue (as in traditional surgery), the intermediary system captures images of the physical model and presents augmented versions to the trainee, enabling realistic training experience while keeping the physical hardware simple and affordable.
4Reliability
If expensive high-fidelity simulators are used, then training quality is improved, but accessibility and democratization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the simulator into modular components including an affordable physical tissue model, standard camera equipment, and software running on conventional computers, the system achieves high training quality without requiring expensive specialized hardware. This modular approach enables widespread accessibility and democratization of surgical training across different institutions and regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical tissue model is designed as an affordable, replaceable component that can be easily manufactured and swapped. This approach allows the system to maintain high training quality through realistic tissue simulation while keeping the overall system cost low enough for broad accessibility. The model can be replaced rather than requiring expensive, permanent infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for laparoscopic surgical training, comprising: a physical simulator unit; a physical tissue model; and a computing and display unit; wherein the physical simulator unit comprises at least one side wall and a removable internal base plate; wherein the side wall comprises: a central opening through which a camera is arranged to view the removable internal base plate; and two or more laparoscopic surgical tools entry openings; wherein the internal base plate is arranged to hold the physical tissue model in the camera's field of view and in a position accessible to laparoscopic surgical tools when inserted in the two or more laparoscopic surgical tools entry openings; and wherein the computing and display unit is arranged to acquire video data from the camera and signal data from the physical tissue model, and to then utilise the data sets to generate and display in real-time a customised mixed reality or augmented video.