Haptic texture generation - A heuristic method for virtual body structures

Integration of haptic technology with Virtual Body Structures (VBS) has allowed us to start developing a library of three-dimensional Haptic Anatomical Structures (3D-HAS). This library provides a stepping-stone to future surgical training simulations. A number of difficulties must be overcome in order to create a realistic sense of touch. One of the problems is that the data of in-vivo tissue compliance properties needed to generate credible output forces does not exist. Without this "haptic texture", the sense of touch component remains relatively primitive and unrealistic. In this paper, we describe a system that generates Virtual Body Structures using Visible Human segmented data and adds haptic texture, thus creating 3D-Haptic Anatomical Structures. The system integrates an algorithm for the generation of VBS with a Graphics-to-Haptic (G₂H) tool that makes arbitrary 3D objects haptic without any additional programming. A method of creating, modifying, and applying heuristic text ure data is also described. The system makes it possible, for an expert in the field of anatomy or surgery, to generate a haptic texture appropriate to a given anatomical structure. Once generated, the haptic texture can be saved as a part of a heuristic database of tissue properties. The goal of this work is to create a library of 3D structures with haptic textures that can be used as canonical models for the development of surgical simulations.