A NEW CONCEPT IN DIGESTIVE SURGERY - THE COMPUTER-ASSISTED SURGICAL-PROCEDURE, FROM VIRTUAL-REALITY TO TELEMANIPULATION

Surgical simulation increasingly appears to be an essential aspect of tomorrow's surgery The development of a hepatic surgery simulator is a n advanced concept calling for a new writing system which will transfo rm the medical world. virtual reality: Virtual reality extends the per ception of our five senses by representing more than rite real state o f things by the means of computer sciences and robotics. It consists o f three concepts : immersion, navigation and interaction. Three reason s have led tts to develop this simulator: the first:rt is to provide t he surgeon with a comprehensive visualisation of the organ. The second reason is to allow for planning and surgical simulation that could be compared with the detailed flight-plan for a commercial jet pilot. Th e third lies in the fact that virtual reality is an integrated part of the concept of computer assisted surgical procedure. The project cons ists of a sophisticated simulator which has to include five requiremen ts, : visual fidelity: interactivity: physical properties, physiologic al properties, sensory input and output. In this report we will descri be how to get a realistic 3D model of the liver from bi-dimensional 2D medical images for anatomical and surgical training. The introduction of a tumor and the consequent planning and virtual resection is also described as are force feedback and real-time interaction.