Development of a Haptic Interface for Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery Simulation

Area of Science:

• Medical Simulation
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Robotics and Control

Background:

• Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) offers reduced trauma but demands advanced skills.
• Current NOTES training methods have limitations in accessibility and patient risk.
• Developing effective, safe training tools is crucial for advancing NOTES procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a virtual reality (VR) simulator, VTEST, for Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) training.
• To design and integrate a novel 2-Degrees of Freedom (DOF) haptic device for realistic force feedback within the VTEST simulator.
• To assess the performance and behavioral characteristics of the developed haptic device.

Main Methods:

• Design and development of a decoupled 2-DOF haptic device for VR-based surgical simulation.
• Implementation of a feedforward friction compensator to enhance interaction realism.
• Experimental evaluation of the haptic device's force rendering capabilities and bandwidth.

Main Results:

• The haptic device demonstrated capability in rendering significant continuous force (5.62N) and torque (0.190 Nm).
• Force bandwidth measurements confirmed effective dynamic response in both translational (18.1 Hz) and rotational (5.7 Hz) DOFs.
• Successful implementation of a friction compensator improved the fidelity of user interaction.

Conclusions:

• The VTEST simulator, equipped with the novel haptic device, offers a promising platform for realistic NOTES training.
• The developed haptic device provides essential force feedback, crucial for mastering complex NOTES procedures.
• This VR-based approach enhances training accessibility and safety, potentially accelerating the adoption of NOTES surgery.