Virtual Reality in Orthopedic Surgeons Training

Abstract

Nowadays the use of Virtual Reality (VR) based surgical simulators or training environments is becoming more and more spread in the medical world. These are usually dedicated to the development and improvement of novice trainees’ skills by helping them to learn different surgical techniques, to use proper instrumentation or to practice surgical protocols, but also in the training of expert surgeons for conserving their skills, for planning or rehearsing new, complicated or rare procedures. In this general context of interest, our paper aims at answering the following questions: What are the main requirements for a haptic device in order to be successfully used in the virtual training of orthopedic surgeons? What requirements are mandatory to be included in an orthopedic surgery haptic-based training application for providing a realistic user’s experience? These are legitimate questions considering that surgical education can really benefit the advantages offered by such virtual simulators only if they can satisfy a list of requirements among which high level of immersion and interactivity, realistic 3D virtual models and constraints of anatomical structures, good correspondence between real and simulated cases (i.e. a natural ‘behavior’ and ‘feeling’ of simulated anatomy). The focus of the literature review presented in this paper will be on orthopedic VR simulators for drilling, sawing and fixing implants screws, pins and plates, with an emphasize on devices’ characteristics and applications features. This study enrolls in the trend of improving user’s immersion experience at a cost as low as possible, representing the basis on which an innovative and affordable haptic device and an application for training basic orthopedic surgical skills are proposed for development in further research.