Development of Interactive Simulator for Telepresence Robot in Surgical Applications

Abstract: The purpose of this Diploma thesis is to develop and implement an interactive simulator for a surgical robot in a Telepresence application. The focus is on an incision procedure of a scalpel during an operation. The geometric deformation of the simulation is based on a Finite Element Method (FEM) model which has to cope with discontinuity due to the incision through the body. The FEM modelling can be done using e.g. FEM with remeshing method or XFEM which treats the cut in the body as a type of material discontinuity. A detailed analyse of the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) and a comparison to the FEM with remeshing is made. For the implementation of simulation, a FEM remeshing method is used. A scalpel mounted to the end effector of a robot is controlled by a Haptic device and cuts through a silicone block. The deformation of the real test object are measured by a 2D scanning device and compared to the results of the simulation. The deviation of the reality and simulation were less than 1% based on the dimension of the body.