Endourology Haptic Robotic Simulator for Surgical Training

In 2016, there were approximately 773,000 urological cases in the UK, with over half of these requiring a procedure. Within any field, the process of learning involves making errors and overcoming these, usually within a safe environmen but, making an error within surgery can have fatal outcomes. Halstead's “see one, do one, teach one" approach to teaching surgical skills has been adopted since the end of the 19th century. However, due to regulation changes and advancements in technology, it may not be the most effective method for training competent and confident surgeons.

The focus of this project is to investigate and develop a simulator, which can replicate the forces expected within endourological tasks and more specifically, cystoscopy. Haptic feedback will be used to provide the surgeon with a realistic sense of touch within the simulator, allowing for training equal to that of existing standards.

Team

Morgan Jenkinson
Joe Philip
Andrew Conn
Antonia Tzemanaki

Funding

EPSRC CDT Digital
Health and Care

with support from Olympus Medical UK