Minimally Invasive Surgery Simulator with Haptic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical joint repair procedures, such as arthroscopic surgery, face challenges in training due to limited access to cadavers and difficulty in evaluating the accuracy of practiced procedures, as surgeons struggle to simulate specific movements and visualize tools relative to target tissues.
Innovation Solution
A simulator system that tracks the position and movement of user tools within a virtual anatomy environment, providing haptic, visual, and audio feedback to mimic authentic surgical procedures, allowing surgeons to practice and improve their skills in a controlled, realistic setting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgeons practice joint repair procedures on cadavers or anatomical models, then they can gain hands-on experience, but access to cadavers is limited and it is difficult to evaluate the accuracy of practiced procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the surgical procedure environment using computer-generated 3D models of anatomy and surgical tools. This virtual replica allows unlimited access to training scenarios without requiring physical cadavers, while maintaining anatomical accuracy for realistic practice and automated evaluation of surgical performance
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a computer-based simulation environment as an intermediary between the surgeon and the actual surgical procedure. This intermediary provides haptic feedback to simulate tissue resistance and visual feedback to show tool positions relative to anatomical structures, enabling accurate practice and evaluation without direct access to cadavers
2Measurement precision
If surgeons attempt to simulate specific movements and visualize tools relative to target tissues during practice, then they can improve procedural accuracy, but the complexity of tracking and visualizing tool positions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical tracking systems with electromagnetic or optical tracking technologies. These systems use magnetic fields or optical markers to detect tool positions and orientations, providing precise measurement data without requiring complex mechanical linkages or physical contact with the surgical tools
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system is designed to simultaneously perform multiple functions: tracking tool positions, visualizing anatomy, providing haptic feedback, and evaluating surgical performance. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate complex systems into a unified platform
3Ease of operation
If a simulator system provides real-time haptic feedback to guide tool movements, then surgical skill development is enhanced, but the system complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements real-time feedback loops where sensor data from tool positions is continuously processed to generate haptic resistance forces and visual updates. This feedback mechanism guides surgeons toward correct surgical movements by providing tactile cues when approaching anatomical boundaries or targets, accelerating skill acquisition through immediate correction
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a simulator system may simulate one or more minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures associated with bone removal. The simulator system comprises an input device configured to detect a position of a portion of a user tool relative to an operation envelope, a simulation device defining one or more surfaces that define one or more boundaries for a movement of the user tool relative to the operation envelope during a simulated surgical procedure, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to receive, from the input device, information indicative of the position of at least the portion of the user tool relative to the operational envelope, generate a performance metric based on the position of at least the portion of the user tool relative to the operational envelope over a period of time, and output, for display to a user, the performance metric.