Real needle for minimal invasive procedures training using motion sensors and optical flow

Area of Science:

• Medical Simulation
• Surgical Training Technologies
• Minimally Invasive Procedures

Background:

• Minimally invasive percutaneous insertion procedures are critical in modern medicine.
• Successful execution relies heavily on practitioner skill and experience.
• There is a need for effective training tools to develop these specialized skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a haptic simulator for training percutaneous insertion procedures.
• To enhance the realism and effectiveness of surgical training simulators.
• To provide healthcare professionals with a tool for acquiring necessary procedural skills.

Main Methods:

• Development of a haptic simulator featuring a real percutaneous needle with an integrated sensory system.
• Utilization of an embedded vision system for estimating needle attitude and insertion depth.
• Implementation of optical flow techniques for depth estimation and sensory fusion with Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data for attitude calculation.
• Real-time tracking of needle movement using an embedded computer.

Main Results:

• The system accurately estimates needle attitude to tenths of a degree and displacement to millimeters.
• The haptic needle location data is used to drive a virtual needle in a simulation application.
• An ergonomic and realistic training simulator was successfully constructed.

Conclusions:

• The developed haptic simulator provides a realistic and effective platform for training percutaneous insertion procedures.
• It enables healthcare professionals to build the essential mental models and motor skills for successful procedures.
• This technology represents a significant advancement in surgical training tools.