Enhanced computer modelling offers improved training for trainee surgeons
12 Feb 2023
Modelling improvements have enabled a research team at Bristol University to refine the use of virtual needles during simulations of surgical operations.
It is hoped that the breakthrough by a team led by Athanasios Martsopolos of Bristol’s Department of Aerospace Engineering will enable computer-generated exercises to more closely replicate real-life conditions for trainee surgeons. It also has the potential to be employed for developing surgical robotic solutions.
“The computational efficiency of the methods, combined with their accuracy allows their integration into surgical simulation environments, aimed at the training of junior surgeons,” explained Martsopolos.
“Surgical simulation constitutes an integral part of modern medical practices, as it offers a safe environment for surgeons to train in, but also a framework for planning, researching, and better understanding surgical interventions.”
The research work ‘Modelling and real-time dynamic simulation of flexible needles for prostate biopsy and brachytherapy’ was published in Mathematical and Computer Modelling of Dynamical Systems, the work employed continuum mechanics theory, focused on the mechanical behaviour of materials modelled as a continuous mass.
The researchers developed mathematical models of flexible medical needles that combined computationally efficiency and high levels of accuracy, while reducing the computational complexity of preceding experiments.
The Bristol team now intends to test the needles using with computationally efficient and accurate human tissue models.
