A haptic surgical simulator for laparoscopic cholecystectomy using real-time deformable organs

This paper describes a laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgical training software system we have developed using the Immersion Laparoscopic Surgical Workstation™ and the Verefi Technologies USB thirty-degree endoscopie Vcamera™ hardware. The trainer is designed to train and test for many laparoscopic skills such as manipulation of the laparoscope, grasping and stretching the gallbladder to expose the cystic duct, applying a clip to the cystic duct, cutting the cystic duct, and removing the gallbladder from the abdomen. A texture motion algorithm simulates patient breathing. The gallbladder, cystic duct, and bile ducts are deformed using a physically based particle model with a mass-springs-damper connectivity. We developed an implicit predictor to speed up calculations during each time step. The solution involves repeated application of Newton's 2^nd Law of motion (F = ma), using the implicit solver for numerically solving the differential equations. The intent is to provide an effective method to learn the laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure using a surgical simulator.