Real time simulation for computational surgery: a review

Abstract

In this paper a non-exhaustive review is made on the existing literature for real-time simulation in the field of computational surgery. Many methods have been proposed so far to deal with the very astringent assumption of real-time response in the field, specially for simulators equipped with haptic peripherals. A special emphasis is made on techniques that respond to the so-called second generation of surgery simulators, that able to adequately model the mechanics of the problem. Techniques employing supercomputing facilities, notably those base upon parallel implementations on GPUs will be covered, while special attention will be paid to techniques based upon model order reduction, a promising technique in the field. Finally, some review is made on techniques able to give some insight in the so-called third generation of surgery simulators, i.e., that able to include physiological details into the simulation.

Towards a pancreatic surgery simulator based on model order reduction

“…This is usually accomplished by employing a greedy algorithm in which one sum is computed at a time, and within each sum, each function is determined by a fixedpoint, alternate directions algorithm. The interested reader can consult more details of this approach in [2]. Should we need to consider (non-linear) dynamics, for instance, the PGD approach looks always for a sort of surface response, in this case in the form of an energy and momentum conserving integrator that provides the response of the system within a time increment t in the form…”

“…(2) for every possible load position, orientation and modulus (which in this case could be a contact reaction), we can compute the distance field for each of these deformed configurations and store them in memory in the form of a sequence of separated vectors, as in Eq. (2). Once the collision between the pointshell(s) and the zero-level iso-surface of the distance field vademecum is detected, a penalization force F = −k c · d · n is applied to both solids, so as to prevent penetration.…”

“…And this is despite the well-known limitations that nowadays surgical simulators have [2,3]. This is due to the complexity of the problem and the need for a feedback response at some 500 Hz to 1 kHz.…”

An error estimator for real-time simulators based on model order reduction

“…For the ease exposition, a Kirchhoff-Saint Venant constitutive law with E = 160,000 Pa and ν = 0.48 is considered. More sophisticated constitutive laws are equally possible, see [7] and references therein. In Fig.…”

“…Probably, the field in which more effort has been paid to the development of real-time simulation techniques is that of computational surgery [5][6][7][8][9][10]. This is because surgery training systems are equipped with haptic peripherals, those that provide the user with realistic touch sensations (force feedback).…”