HAPTIC SYSTEM FOR VIRTUAL PALPATION OF LIVER AND PANCREAS TUMOURS, WITH TRIDIMENSIONAL COMPUTERIZED RECONSTRUCTION

摘要

The invention relates to a haptic system for virtual palpation of hepatic and pancreatic tumours, meant to be used in medicine. According to the invention, the system comprises a central unit (1) which communicates with a CT scanner (2) or an ultrasound scanner provided with an elastography probe (3), and is capable to reconstruct in a computerized manner a tridimensional digital deformable tumour model (4) which uses the tumour shape, and to reproduce on the virtual surface created thereby the elasticity data of the tissue which are obtained by elastography, the results being displayed on a display system (5), a manual device (6) capable to interact with the virtual computerized model created by the central unit (1), which is provided with five rods (7) articulated in three points with stressed levers following the fingers anatomy, connected to some servo motors (8) controlled by the central unit, with five inflatable cushions (9) located at the tips of the rods and actuated by a miniaturized air-blowing system (10) located at the base of the user's hand, with a gyroscope (11) and a magnetic sensor (12) for position detection in relation with a fixed magnetic marker (13), where the said system combines space data obtained by computerized tomography with tumour tissue elasticity data obtained by transcutaneous elastography, reconstructing the tridimensional tumour and reproducing on its surface the tissue hardness, thereby establishing the deformability thereof.