This paper presents an efficient collision detection method for interactive haptic simulations of virtual environments that consist of both static and moving objects. The proposed method is based on a novel algorithm for predicting the time of proximity between a pair objects and the appropriate employment of the calculated prediction in a complex virtual scene with multiple objects. The user i...

Minimally invasive procedures become increasingly popular due to their potential advantages. The correct choice of access to the operation area is essential for a safe and successful surgery. Besides traditional training options (e.g. cadaver-based,) virtual training systems gain importance due to their flexibility and cost efficiency. We developed a novel 3D interaction method to improve the u...

This paper presents a haptic virtual environment application for industrial training. A choice of haptic devices (PHANTOM[15] and CyberForce/ CyberGrasp[10]) is used to perform a training exercise with the possibility of sharing virtual scene states with remote users to allow collaboration and remote observation. Furthermore, the application employs video textured avatars to improve face-to-fac...

Virtual reality is becoming very important for training medical surgeons in various operations. Interfacing users with a virtual training environment, requires the existence of a properly designed haptic device. This paper presents the design of a new force feedback haptic mechanism with five active degrees of freedom (dof), which is used as part of a training simulator for urological operation...

OBJECT The treatment of hydrocephalus requires insight into the intracranial dynamics in the patient. Resistance to CSF outflow (R0) is a clinically obtainable parameter of intracranial fluid dynamics that quantifies the apparent resistance to CSF absorption. It is used as a criterion for the selection of shunt candidates and serves as an indicator of shunt performance. The R0 is obtained clini...

In lung stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) cases, the pencil beam (PB) dose calculation algorithm is known to overestimate target dose as compared to the more accurate Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm. We investigated whether changing the normalized prescription isodose line affected the magnitude of MC vs. PB target dose differences. Forty-eight patient plans and twenty virtual-tumor phantom plan...

This article examines the material culture of neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's research into phantom limbs. In the 1990s Ramachandran used a 'mirror box' to 'resurrect' phantom limbs and thus to treat the pain that often accompanied them. The experimental success of his mirror therapy led Ramachandran to see mirrors as a useful model of brain function, a tendency that explains his att...

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and performance of an augmented reality (AR) visualization prototype for virtual computed tomography (CT)-guided interventional procedures in a multimodality abdominal phantom. With the aid of AR guidance, three radiologists performed 30 attempts at targeting simulated liver lesions of different sizes (range, 5-15 mm) with a b...