Virtual pedicle screw insertion surgical simulation with haptic rendering

Due to the surrounding of the vital nerves and aortas, pedicle screw insertion is recognised as one of the most dangerous procedure. An instant, efficient and professional tool is in the extreme shortage for the surgeons' training. In this paper, we proposed a practical framework for the virtual pedicle screw insertion surgery that can be used in the training system. First, a fast collision detection method was developed to progressively determine the contact area at a frequent iteration. Second, a mechanistic haptic model was proposed to implement the bone drilling force, which is qualified to simulate force changes under various tool geometries, cutting conditions and moving velocities. Third, a simplified deformation method was designed to mimic the formation of the drilling hole. Visual plausibility and time performance could be simultaneously obtained with these methods to satisfy the need of the virtual surgical simulation.