A Virtual Reality Surgical Training System for Office Hysteroscopy with Haptic Feedback: A Feasibility Study

摘要

Hysteroscopy is a widely used gynaecological procedure to evaluate and treat cervical and intra-uterine pathology. In the last few decades, technical refinements in the optics technology, surgical accessories and the reduction of the outer diameter of the instrument have made it possible to perform many hysteroscopic procedures, including some operative procedures, in the office setting and without any anesthesia. Mini-hysteroscopic procedures in the office setting are associated with less pain, lower complication rate and faster recovery compared hysteroscopic procedures in day surgery under general anesthesia. The main challenge for the clinician in performing office hysteroscopy is to pass the narrow cervical canal. Inaccurate motion or excessively applied force can lead to a cervical or uterine perforation. This study introduces a novel VR training platform for office hysteroscopy. The presented system was tested in the laboratory setting to prove the feasibility of using VR simulation for office hysteroscopy training. Conducted experiments demonstrated the potential of the system to transfer the essential skills and confirmed the set of proposed metrics for effective assessment.