Skalpel-Ict: Simulation Kernel Applied to the Planning and Evaluation of Image-Guided Cryotherapy

Abstract

The SKALPEL-ICT project (Simulation Kernel Applied to the Planning and Evaluation of Image-guided Cryotherapy) aims at the developing of a virtual environment for the simulation of liver cancer cryotherapy. This simulator will mainly be used to plan the configuration and the positioning of the cryo-probes for an image-guided cryo-surgical intervention. Moreover, the prototype of the simulator will constitute an excellent training tool for future surgeons. The design of a simulator of this type involves several challenges related to the multidisciplinary nature of the project, which imposes the use of a modular approach. Presently, we are developing simultaneously three parallel models in the SKALPEL-ICT project: the thermal model associated with the prediction of the temperature of an ice-ball, the geometric model associated with the 3D reconstruction of hepatic tumours and the mechanical model which reproduces the real deformations of the liver and force feed-back during the cryo-probe insertion process. The final phase of the project is to deal with the integration of these three models into a virtual environment using an interaction-centric modeling approach.