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Designing Touch-Sensitive Virtual Reality Tools To Train and Test Tomorrow's Surgeons
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Researchers
Receive $2.3 Million NIH Grant To Develop and Validate Virtual
Reality Hardware, Software for Training and Certifying
Laparoscopic Surgeons
A medical student from Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center is shown testing the new
haptically-enhanced virtual surgery simulator.
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Minimally invasive surgery is increasingly common and
effective for operating inside the human abdomen. In these
laparoscopic procedures, which use slender, handheld tools
inserted into the body of the patient, the skill of the surgeon
is the most important factor determining the success of the
operation. A team of interdisciplinary researchers led by
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has won a $2.3 million federal
grant to develop a touch-sensitive virtual reality simulator
that will standardize how surgeons are trained and certified to
perform laparoscopic procedures.
As surgeons perform most of the procedure with remote
control tools that can be inserted into the body using only
small incisions, laparoscopic surgery foregoes the need for
large incisions and, in turn, usually results in shorter
recovery times for patients. The skills needed to perform most
minimally invasive laparoscopic operations — including, for
example, gallbladder removal and gastric band surgery — can be
reduced to a handful of basic tasks: cutting in very specific
patterns, tying knots, stitching, and manipulating very small
items. Studies show that being proficient at these tasks is
critical for performing laparoscopic surgery.
The new four-year grant, awarded by the National Institute
of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National
Institutes of Health, tasks Rensselaer Professor Suvranu De and
his team of researchers with developing new hardware and
software that effectively trains surgeons to perform these
fundamental tasks, as well as objectively assesses the
performance of physicians who are seeking to become certified
in laparoscopic surgery. This new testing and training system
will employ haptic technology, or touch feedback, which
realistically replicates the sensation a surgeon would feel in
his or her hands during an actual procedure. De, an expert in
multiscale computer modeling and haptics, is joined by
researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Tufts
University.
“We want to give surgeons the best tools possible, so they
can better hone their skills and successfully treat their
patients,” said project leader De, associate professor in
the Department of Mechanical,
Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. “Just as
training on virtual reality simulators has shown to be highly
effective for jet pilots, we know that physicians show
increased success in surgery the more times they perform it.
We’re creating new tools that make it easier than ever for them
to practice. These same tools will also be used in
certification tests to make sure surgeons have all the required
skills mastered before they start operating on patients.”
It has been reported that physicians who performed less than
100 laparoscopic procedures have significantly more
complication rates in contrast to experienced surgeons, De
said. The new virtual reality simulator will be developed to
adhere to the standard and recommendations laid out in the
Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery – a comprehensive program
being developed by a joint committee of the Society of American
Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgery (SAGES) and the American
College of Surgeons (ACS) for training and credentialing
surgeons.
The new system features real laparoscopic tools, which are
connected to equipment nearly identical to that used in actual
surgical situations. Realistic computer-generated models of the
simulation scene are displayed on a monitor, and the users
interact with simulation both visually and using their sense of
touch. The haptics technology ensures that a physician cutting
or stitching tissue with the simulator will feel with their
hands the lifelike toughness, sponginess, and resistance of
virtual tissue. By pairing haptics with automation, the
simulator will also be able to literally guide the hands of
trainees, so they can see and feel the correct movements as
they learn specific surgical tasks. The research team plans to
make these simulations available over the Internet.
To watch a video demo of a similar simulator developed by
De, visit:
http://blogger.rpi.edu/approach/2010/02/22/dr-de-and-the-digital-lap-band/
De said the team expects the new system to significantly
change the current paradigm of surgical education and
assessment, in which performance is subjectively measured by
exam administrators. The current system not only places a time
burden on the individual being tested and the administrator, it
generally requires travel as there are only a few test sites
around the country. The new virtual reality simulator will
assess test-takers objectively against board-certified
standards and criteria, possibly over the Internet. The new
system is also expected to be more cost effective, with a lower
price point that should lead to a wider availability across the
country.
After developing the new system, the research team will work
to test and validate the effectiveness and usefulness of the
system as a testing and training tool at the Carl J. Shapiro
Simulation and Skills Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center in Boston.
Along with De, investigators working on this new study are
Harvard Medical School Professor Daniel B. Jones and human
factors engineering expert Caroline G. L. Cao, associate
professor of mechanical engineering at Tufts University.
For more information on De’s research at Rensselaer,
visit:
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Published
July 15,
2010 |
Contact: Michael Mullaney
Phone: (518) 276-6161
E-mail: mullam@rpi.edu |
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