Minimally invasive surgery: the surgeon's interface

Surgeons performing video-assisted 'keyhole' surgery have faced the challenges of losing tactile sense from their fingers, operating on three-dimensional organs whilst looking up at a two dimensional monitor, and viewing magnified anatomy in unusual perspectives. Surgeons are now seeking a new interface with the patient via novel instrumentation and imaging techniques. Prototypes of haptic force feedback simulation and three dimensional imaging are being tested. Virtual reality simulators have been developed to aid training but have had to be scaled down from complex graphical representations of organs to a basic skills trainer (MIST VR).