Development of a VR based epidural anesthesia trainer using a robotic device

로봇을 이용한 경막외마취 훈련기의 개발

Robotic devices have been widely used in many medical applications due to their accuracy and programming ability. One of the applications is a virtual reality medical simulator, which trains medical personnel in a computer generated environment. In this paper, we are going to present an application, an epidural anesthesia trainer. Because performing epidural injections is a delicate task, it demands a high level of skill and precision from the physician. This trainer uses a robotic device and computer controlled solenoid valve to recreate interaction forces between the needle and the various layers of tissues around the spinal cord. The robotic device is responsible for generation of interaction forces in real time and can be used to be haptic guidance that allows the user to follow a previous recorded expert procedure and feel the encountered forces.