High performance force feedback mechanism for virtual reality training of endotracheal intubation

A high-performance mechanism has been developed to provide force feedback during virtual reality simulations of endotracheal intubation for training purposes for the first time. The force feedback mechanism (FFM) prototype permits planar motion of the intubation tool with three degrees of freedom, each with force feedback. The FFM is computer controlled using a hybrid position-force feedback algorithm that includes a feedforward term to counterbalance the mechanism. This allows the intubation force profiles to be superimposed onto the FFM weight compensation to complete the overall force feedback effort. The development of a mechanism of this type introduces several theoretical and experimental design challenges that are addressed in this paper.