Multimodal Interfaces for Laparoscopic Training

Abstract

Multimodal interfaces are providing promising simulation solutions for training different practitioners as surgeons. These environments present visual and haptic interaction to the trainee, as in a real intervention. They offer numerous advantages over the traditional learning process, like the possibility of monitoring the skills and delivering constructive feedback. This chapter presents a multimodal interface for laparoscopic training describing the functionality and the main technical components of the SINERGIA laparoscopic simulator. The reader will learn about how the visual and haptic interaction of the surgeon is emulated, and how different multimodal training scenarios can be designed and built. Simulator’s architecture and some of its core technologies such as the collision detection and handling algorithm are described in more detail. On the other hand, this chapter introduces two recent research contributions in this field: a better understanding of how surgeons perceive the consistency of tissues, and a conceptual framework for the analysis, design and validation of multimodal simulation technologies in surgical training. In the near future, physicians will be trained and accredited using these multimodal solutions, leading to a safer and more efficient surgery.