HERMES: an angioplasty surgery simulator

Minimally invasive surgery procedures are getting common in surgical practice; however this new interventional procedure requires a training process in order to be successful and safe. Computer-based simulators, with haptic feedback, can be an efficient method for facilitating the education and training process reducing costs of education and providing realism with regard to tissues behavior and real-time interaction. This work takes into account the results of the HERMES Project (hematology research virtual medical system). The aim of this project is to build an integrate system in order to simulate a coronary angioplasty intervention. The designed haptic interface is able to generate on the user a force and a torque in order to replicate on his fingertips the usual sensations perceived during a real angioplasty operation. The big axial run allows simulating all the operation without interruptions.