Virtual surgery using a deformable organ model created by the sphere-filled method

We are developing a virtual surgery system to conduct realistic surgical procedures in a virtual world; its purpose is to master and practice surgical techniques and to improve planning for operations. In this study, we present a deformable organ model created using the sphere-filled method. Further, we equipped this model with senses of touch and force by connecting it to a force feedback device. The result was that the sphere-filled model allowed our system to perform various physical manipulations, including blood vessel deformation. In addition, by applying tactile sensations in virtual space our system provided the user-surgeon with a realistic simulation.