Development and Evaluation of a Haptic-visual Learning System for Surgical Operations

Surgeons sometimes have to perform very complex operations on bony tissue, one example being surgical cochlear implants. It is important in such operations to avoid injuring delicate structures, such as nerves and blood vessels, and to ensure that the surgery does as little damage as possible. Before surgeons are able to carry out such an operation safely and without making any mistakes, they have to undergo comprehensive theoretical and practical training – some of it on the job – and need many years of experience.

In this context, Fraunhofer IIS has been working on the haptic (tactile) modeling of tissue, the segmentation and visualization of ear structures, and the evaluation of the demonstrator to be developed.

The continuing further education of medical staff in the field of minimally invasive surgery is not restricted to a few specialist centers, but can also be extended to smaller hospitals in more rural areas. Expanding practice-oriented education and further training in specialized surgical disciplines can go a long way toward remedying the lack of specialist doctors across the board.