A novel haptic interface for the simulation of endovascular interventions

Abstract

Endovascular interventions are minimally invasive surgical procedures that are performed to diagnose and treat vascular diseases using flexible instruments known as guidewire and catheter. A popular method of developing the skills required to manipulate the instruments successfully is through the use of virtual reality (VR) simulators. However, the interfaces of current VR simulators have several shortcomings due to limitations in the instrument tracking and haptic feedback design. A major challenge in developing training simulators for endovascular interventional procedures is to unobtrusively access the central, co-axial guidewire for tracking and haptics. In this work, we designed a haptic interface using novel approaches to both. Instrument tracking is performed using a combination of an optical sensor and a transparent catheter. Haptic feedback is supplied by both off-the-shelf actuators and a bespoke electromagnetic actuator embedded within the catheter hub. Initial test results by expert interventionists have shown positive responses and further development is ongoing.