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Needle insertion can be performed with the aid of an ultrasound (US) image. Detecting the position of a needle in a US image requires considerable technical expertise. To detect whether the needle has reached the target, the physician usually relies on physically sensing the amount of force being fed back from the tip of the needle to their fingertip. The goal of our research was to develop a force visualization system to assist physicians by providing them with a visual representation of the needle tip force. In this paper, we elucidated the characteristics of the force during the needle insertion, and designed the friction force estimation method. Needle tip force is difficult to estimate directly. The total insertion force acting on the needle was defined by adding the needle tip force to the friction force of the needle surface. Therefore, we proposed a method of estimating the change in the friction force by measuring the total insertion force during needle insertion using recursive least square method and a disturbance observer. The needle tip and friction forces were modeled on the basis of the results of in vitro experiments used pork back ribs. The experiments performed using the coaxial needle. This needle could measure the total insertion force and the needle tip force separately in real time. The validity of the designed estimator was evaluated by using the force values obtained by using a coaxial needle. As a result, the estimated friction force and measured friction force were found to be qualitatively consistent. However, a slight error was observed.

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Accidents such as dural puncture remain one of the problems of epidural anesthesia, and unskilled doctors can repeat such accidents. The purpose of the current research was to provide a new simulator for epidural insertion training. No reference data regarding the resistance force used when inserting a needle into patients have been reported. A comparative study was conducted to aid in the development of a new simulator. Pork loin (n=5) were employed as a substitute for patients. Thickness was set at 2 cm so as to improve the reproducibility. The authors took the conventional simulator apart, and picked a block as an analogue of muscle and ligamentum flavum. A new simulator was made of a melamine foam resin block and a latex rubber sheet. An epidural needle fixed on a motorized stage was inserted at the speed of 2 mm per second. The reaction force was measured while the needle was inserted into each specimen. Waveform of the pork loin exhibited two slopes of different inclines up to peaks and then falls after puncture. The conventional simulator showed a simple increase up to peak and a slow fall after puncture. In contrast, the new simulator showed two slopes up to peak and then a sudden fall after puncture. The insertion resistances were 2.5 N/s for the porcine, 0.8 N/s for the conventional and 2.1 N/s for the new simulator. The drop rates were 5 N/s for the porcine, 0.6 N/s for the conventional and 24 N/s for the new simulator. The higher insertion resistance and drop rate for the new simulator than the conventional simulator will be suitable for epidural insertion training.

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