Articles

Simulation of Gallbladder Removal Using Both Octree-based Deformable Models and Textured Transparent Particles

Rintaro MIYAZAKI, Yuichiro HAYASHI, Masahiro ODA, Kazunari MISAWA, Kensaku MORI
JSCAS Special Issue, Advance Publication

Laparoscopic surgery is technically demanding and requires extensive training to master. Simulation-based training methods provide the advantage of repeated practice in a virtual environment. While previous studies have developed various simulation methods, modeling the interaction between multiple connected organs has not been sufficiently investigated. In this study, we propose a method that simulates the deformation of multiple organs, specifically the liver and gallbladder, using octree-based cube structures. We also model the connective tissue linking the two organs and simulate gallbladder dissection. Organ deformations are computed using octree cube structures with shape constraints, and surface vertices are updated by trilinear interpolation within a position based dynamics framework. The connective tissue between organs is represented by numerous textured transparent spheres. Instead of computing forces for each sphere, the cube elements are connected by springs. The strength of each connection is determined by the number of surrounding particles. As the electro hook approaches, the number of fat particles decreases and the connection is eventually released. This approach introduces a mechanism to simulate the interactions between multiple cube structures via connections, which was not used in previous methods. The proposed method successfully simulated the dissection of connective tissue between the liver and gallbladder, reproducing organ deformation and dynamic interaction in real time at mean frame rate of 31.1 fps. Experimental results demonstrated that our approach can reproduce the gallbladder removal process in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In conclusion, we proposed a method to simulate the gallbladder removal process using octree-based cube structures and textured transparent particles. Simulation studies demonstrated the potential of this method for surgical simulation and training applications.

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