Force Display Device and Control System for Surgical Training Simulator Using Bone Chisel

This study aims to propose an innovative force and motion control system for use in the virtual surgical training simulators with force display. In surgical operations using a bone chisel, impact forces are applied to the bone by pounding the chisel with a mallet. To virtually represent this situation in a surgical training simulator, the force display device must exhibit high stiffness and be able to react instantaneously to the large impact force and quick acceleration. For this reason, the force display device with high stiffness and force and motion control system that react instantaneously to an impact force are developed for a surgical training simulator involving a bone chisel in this study. In this approach, this force display device is constructed with a ball-screw mechanism for translational motion and a biaxial rotation mechanism for rotational motion of the chisel while allowing high stiffness. However, the force display device's response can be reduced by increasing the mass of moving parts in the device, due to its high stiffness. Therefore, the 2 degree-of-freedom admittance control is proposed for reacting instantaneously to the impact force. The efficiency of the proposed device and control system is verified by creating a virtual experience to contact and split hard tissue using a chisel.