Poster: Modeling insertion point for general purpose haptic device simulations for minimally invasive surgeries

Minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized surgical procedures over the last decades. This trend has impacted the surgical simulation field and promoted a wide use of haptic devices. The majority of minimally invasive surgery simulators follow a visuo-haptic setup where ports are mounted stationary and physical constraints are used to simulate the pivot of surgical tools. This setup may add limitations to certain procedures and result in negative training, as those assumptions may not hold true during surgery. In this work, we investigate challenges in modeling general purpose haptic device simulations for minimally invasive surgeries, namely accurate pivoting around the insertion point, collisions with surrounding objects during procedure, and system scalability for various devices. The system behavior is evaluated on a Nuss procedure surgical simulator and tested by experienced surgeons on the field. The findings are promising and may benefit other surgical simulators in which the kinematics and dynamics of the surgical tool are utilized within the context of minimally invasive surgeries.