THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTHROSCOPIC SURGICAL SIMULATOR WITH HAPTIC FEEDBACK

Interest in improved training methods for minimally invasive surgery ( MIS) has led to the development of a number of computer graphics based surgical simulators. These provide a safe environment for training in surgical procedures and offer potential advantages over conventional techniques. This paper starts with a brief review of existing work in the area, then goes on to describe a surgical simulator for Knee arthr oscopy developed at the University of Hull. This provides real time si mulation of the arthroscopic view, collision detection between instrum ents and objects within the joint, interaction with deformable objects and limited haptic feedback through the instruments. (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science B.V.