Functional endoscopic sinus surgery training simulator

Area of Science:

• Medical Simulation
• Surgical Training Technologies
• Virtual Reality in Medicine

Background:

• Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) requires precise anatomical understanding and surgical skill.
• Virtual reality (VR) simulators offer a safe environment for training FESS procedures.
• Haptic feedback enhances the realism and effectiveness of VR surgical simulators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a haptic device in a FESS training simulator.
• To compare the performance and user preference between isosurface and volumetric models within the FESS simulator.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study was conducted with otolaryngology faculty and residents.
• Objective trials assessed the haptic device's stereognosis capabilities (3D shape perception).
• Ethmoidectomy tasks were performed using both isosurface and volumetric FESS simulators, followed by comparative surveys.

Main Results:

• The haptic device demonstrated 77% effectiveness in stereognosis tasks.
• Participants showed a preference for the isosurface model over the volumetric model.
• The isosurface model was favored for visual representation, comfort, haptic-visual fidelity, and overall performance.

Conclusions:

• The haptic device is accurate within its current limitations for VR surgical training.
• The isosurface-based FESS simulator is preferred by users for its realism and performance.
• VR simulators with haptic and visual feedback are valuable tools for teaching FESS anatomy and techniques to residents.