Laparoscopic colorectal surgery simulation using real-time deformable model with anisotropic tissue properties

Laparoscopic surgery allows surgeons to conduct minimally invasive surgery and on the lower digestive tract We have been developing a surgery simulation system for laparoscopic colectomy. in order to allow a surgeon to practice surgical manoeuvres on the lower digestive tract that requires greater skills than in the conventional surgery. In this paper, we demonstrate tissue deformation effects for the mesentery and blood vessels caused by manipulations during laparoscopic colectomy. These tissue models were created by the sphere-filled method that enables visualization of real-time deformations and is based on patient-specific data. We aimed to represent anisotropic deformations of these models by analyzing the direction of the vessel structures. Forceps manipulation was emulated by manipulation of two PHANToM devices. As a result, the surgical maneuvers of laparoscopic colectomy such as pushing and grasping of the mesentery and its vessels could be simulated.