Design and implementation of a collaborative virtual haptic surgical training system

The high level design of a hapto-visual telementoring virtual environment consisting of two networked stations allowing two users to collaborate within the learning environment is outlined. The physical implementation and the operation of the system are described. This system is designed to be used for remote surgical training. It would allow surgeons to remotely train students in a networked hapto-visual virtual environment to perform simple tasks. Moreover, the system provides a platform for studying many aspects of collaborative virtual environment (CVE) systems and their applications.