Real-time finite element modeling for surgery simulation: an application to virtual suturing.

Real-time finite element (FE) analysis can be used to represent complex deformable geometries in virtual environments. The need for accurate surgical simulation has spurred the development of many of the new real-time FE methodologies that enable haptic support and real-time deformation. These techniques are computationally intensive and it has proved to be a challenge to achieve the high modeling resolutions required to accurately represent complex anatomies.

Virtual cues and functional mobility of people with Parkinson's disease: a single-subject pilot study.

In this study, adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) used virtual cueing spectacles (VCS) mimicking kinesia paradoxa in home and community settings to assess the impact on mobility and participation. We used an ABA single-subject design with repeated measures. Six adults with PD, akinesia, and stage III or IV Hoehn and Yahr rating scale status used VCS in their homes and communities for a week or more.

Construct validity of the endoscopic sinus surgery simulator: II. Assessment of discriminant validity and expert benchmarking.

Objectives: To establish discriminant validity of the endoscopic sinus surgery simulator (ES3) (Lockheed Martin, Akron, Ohio) between various health care provider experience levels and to define benchmarking criteria for skills assessment.

Design: Prospective multi-institutional comparison study.

Setting: University-based tertiary care institution.

Real-time finite element based virtual tissue cutting.

Tool-tissue interaction is most accurately modeled as an imposed displacement constraint, thus augmenting the traditional finite element equation, Ku=f, to a 2 x 2 block system. This augmentation does two things: it enlarges the system, and it introduces the Schur complement(S) during the solution. This research has focused on efficient methods to update the Schur complement and it's inverse during displacement constraint removal and addition to allow for soft-tissue cutting to occur in real-time.