Improving Medical Simulation Using Virtual Reality Augmented by Haptic Proxy

Abstract

This chapter explores how the realism of haptic perception in virtual reality can be significantly enhanced with the help of the concept of haptic proxy. In haptic proxy, the position and orientation of physical objects are tracked in real-time and registered to their virtual counterparts. A compelling sense of tactile immersion can be achieved if the tracked objects have similar tactile properties to their virtual counterpart. A haptic proxy prototype was developed, and a pilot study was conducted to determine if the haptic proxy system is more credible than standard virtual reality. To test our prototype, we performed simple medical tasks such as moving a patient’s arm and aiming a syringe to specific locations. Our results suggest that simulation using a haptic proxy system is more believable and user-friendly and can be extended to developing new generations of open surgery simulators.