The acquisition of force feedback data for a virtual environment knee arthroscopy training system

The Virtual Environment Knee Arthroscopy Training System (VE-KATS) has been developed as a joint project between Orthopaedic Surgeons and Computer Scientists at the University of Hull. The objective is to develop a realistic surgical simulator, incorporating both simulated video from the arthroscopic camera and force feedback through the instruments. The small working volume during surgery, and the need to interact with both soft tissue and rigid joint surfaces, makes the provision of force feedback a particular challenge. In order to support the design of force feedback devices, and verify that the simulator accurately models behaviour seen during surgery, we have developed a system to measure forces and torque transmitted through the instruments. Force measurement experiments were conducted on both a synthetic model of the knee, and a cadaver pig knee. Participants, ranging from trainee level to experienced surgeon, carried out a number of pre-defined tasks, for which force data was acquired. The resulting data was analysed to identify the range of force and torque that must be reproduced by the simulator.