Haptic texture generation - a heuristic method for virtual body structures

The integration of haptic technology with virtual body structures (VBS) has allowed us to start developing a library of 3D haptic anatomical structures (3D-HAS). This library provides a stepping stone to future surgical training simulations. A number of difficulties must be overcome in order to create a realistic sense of touch. One of the problems is that the data of in-vivo tissue compliance properties needed to generate credible output forces does not exist. Without this “haptic texture”, the sense-of-touch component remains relatively primitive and unrealistic. In this paper, we describe a system that generates VBS using Visible Human segmented data and adds haptic texture, thus creating 3D-HAS. The system integrates an algorithm for the generation of VBS with a graphics-to-haptic (G₂H) tool that makes arbitrary 3D objects haptic without any additional programming. A method of creating, modifying and applying heuristic texture data is also describe. The system makes it possible for an expert in the field of anatomy or surgery, to generate a haptic texture that is appropriate to a given anatomical structure. Once generated, the haptic texture can be saved as a part of a heuristic database of tissue properties. The goal of this work is to create a library 3D structures with haptic textures that can be used as canonical models for the development of surgical simulations