A Haptic-based Ultrasound Training/Examination System (HUTES)

This work presents a haptic-based medical ultrasound diagnostic simulator that can be used as an ultrasound training tool for radiology residents as well as an examination system for remote applications. The proposed system allows to develop radiology expertise with minimum practice on live patients, or in places or at times when radiology devices or patients with rare cases may not be available. The proposed simulator consists of a PC workstation with dual monitors, a PHANToMtrade haptic device and a modular software package that allows for visual feedback and kinesthetic interactions between the operator and multi-modality image databases. The system helps emulate a real ultrasound examination condition at hospital, which is enhanced with augmented CT and/or MRI images. The haptic interface creates position correspondence between the operator´s hand and a virtual probe. Preliminary human factors studies have demonstrated significant potential of the developed system for scientific and commercial applications