Coloscopy simulation: towards endoscopes improvement.

Minimally invasive surgery progresses have allowed to greatly decrease patient suffering. A way to improve these techniques is to use active tools, which could adapt to the inspected environment. The development of these tools is very complex. So simulation methods can be significantly helpful in order to produce the most suitable tools while limiting the quantity of physical prototypes. We work on the design of a simulator for virtual coloscopy. Besides the virtual prototyping aspect for new active endoscopic devices, we can also use it as a training simulator once the device is designed. To do so, we have to address the simulation process of the colon. This article is mainly devoted to the description of the chosen models for the colon behaviour, which are used for the simulator. Some experimental results are presented which confirm the validity of the different choices. To finish, sigmoid untwisting operation is presented as a benchmark test to prove the efficiency of the simulator.