Haptic-Enhanced Virtual Reality Simulator for Robot-Assisted Femur Fracture Surgery

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a haptic-enhanced virtual reality (VR) simulator for the Robossis robot-assisted femur fracture surgery. Given the complex nature of robot-assisted surgery and its steep learning curve, a dedicated training tool is vital for equipping surgeons with the necessary skills to effectively operate the surgical system. We develop the Robossis Surgical Simulator (RSS) to closely replicate the surgical environment of the Robossis system. The user interacts with the RSS using external hardware that includes the Sigma-7 Haptic Controller and the Meta Quest VR headset. Further, we implement the separating axis theorem to retrieve the collision between the distal and proximal bone segment and, hence, determine the required haptic feedback that restricts the bone-bone collision. This development demonstrates a promising avenue and a novel approach to enhance the training protocol for the Robossis system.