Microrobotic simulator for assisted biological cell injection

This paper presents a complete computer-based biological training system to simulate intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures in a virtual environment (VE). Using the proposed system, the technician can practice and improve his control by developing a gesture similar to that performed in reality. The human-machine user´s interface also provides an efficient haptic-based guidance tool to minimize the risk of damaging membranes during the injection. The key challenge of deformable simulation is to satisfy the conflicting requirements of real-time interactivity and physical realism. The compromise between the realism of bio-mechanical models used, the accuracy and stability of computational algorithms for real-time haptic rendering are fullfilled with the use of a mechanical modeling based on a hyperelastic model (St-Venant-Kirchhoff) and the writing of a specific dynamic finite element code. Simulated responses are compared to experimental data to show the effectiveness of the proposed physically-based model.