An immersed-boundary method for flow-structure interaction in biological systems with application to phonation.

A new numerical approach for modeling a class of flow-structure interaction problems typically encountered in biological systems is presented. In this approach, a previously developed, sharp-interface, immersed-boundary method for incompressible flows is used to model the fluid flow and a new, sharp-interface Cartesian grid, immersed boundary method is devised to solve the equations of linear viscoelasticity that governs the solid. The two solvers are coupled to model flow-structure interaction.

Cryotherapy simulator for localized prostate cancer.

Cryotherapy is a treatment modality that uses a technique to selectively freeze tissue and thereby cause controlled tissue destruction. The procedure involves placement of multiple small diameter probes through the perineum into the prostate tissue at selected spatial intervals. Transrectal ultrasound is used to properly position the cylindrical probes before activation of the liquid Argon cooling element, which lowers the tissue temperature below -40 degrees Centigrade.

Virtual reality surgical simulation for lower urinary tract endoscopy and procedures.

Background And Purpose: To provide a realistic experience of lower urinary tract endoscopic procedures, we have developed and continue to expand a computer-based surgical simulator that incorporates a surgical tool interface with anatomic detail and haptic feedback.

Methods: Surface-based geometric data for the lower urinary tract were generated from the National Library of Medicine Visible Human dataset. The three-dimensional texture map of the surface geometry was developed from recorded endoscopic video procedures.