Immersion Medical Adds Knot Tying And Suturing To LaparoscopyVR Surgical Simulator
San Jose, CA - Immersion Corporation, a leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, announces that Immersion Medical is adding a module that includes Suturing and Knot Tying procedures and Needle Orientation and Driving skills for the LaparoscopyVR (LapVR) surgical simulator. Immersion Medical will be demonstrating the new module in booth 125 at the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) in Philadelphia, April 9–12.
"Suturing and tying knots within the abdomen are among the most difficult skills that a laparoscopic surgeon needs to master," said Dr. Parag Bhanot, assistant professor of surgery at Georgetown University Hospital. "I was impressed that I could mimic the same motions in Immersion Medical's LapVR system that I perform in the operating room. The training modules are very realistic and avoid the typical video game appearance; thus, making it a very valuable and effective teaching tool."
Because the algorithms that drive the simulator's responses are physics-based, the LapVR system can render very realistic tool-tissue interactions. "In the LapVR simulator, we're providing a major step-up in the training environment for these skills," said Dr. Kevin Kunkler, vice president and medical director of Immersion Medical. "For example, the system recognizes whether the user has double looped the suture, or when tying knots, whether they crossed in front of or behind the other length. These are maneuvers a surgeon needs for locking down knots and for completing surgeries successfully. So, the LapVR surgical simulator provides a high level of certainty about a user's performance, which is exactly what you want in a medical training program."
The simulator's suturing procedure provides practice in ligating loops, simple-interrupted, continuous, and horizontal-mattress techniques. Instead of presenting an artificial object for suturing, which is used in most other systems, the LapVR surgical simulator presents users with a realistic animated bowel of lifelike thickness. Users must correctly drive the needle through exterior and internal surfaces of the bowel, bring the cut edges together, and tie knots securely.
Because of shorter patient recovery times and other benefits, as many as 70% of all high-volume surgeries in the U.S. are performed using laparoscopic techniques, and the trend is expected to continue1. The LapVR surgical simulator supplies a safe and effective training platform to help acquire the skills needed to perform these surgeries. For example, suturing and knot tying are used in minimally invasive colon, gall bladder, gastric bypass, hernia, hysterectomy, and thoracic surgeries.
The LapVR surgical simulator's TouchSense technology provides physics-based responses enabling realistic graphical movement of tissue and organs and realistic forces felt through the trocar arms and handles. The surgical simulation system comes with widely viewable monitor suitable for team training, virtual camera and tools, and, Essential Skills, Lap Chole, Running the Bowel, Adhesiolysis, and Administration modules -- all packaged in an ergonomic, height-adjustable, wheeled cart. Additional modules include OB/GYN Surgical Procedures and Suturing and Knot Tying. The system also includes a curriculum that follows the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) industry training standards, providing key materials needed to administer effective training programs for both individuals and teams. Institutions can also import their own didactic video content directly into the simulator for customized training.
1 The U.S. Market for Medical Devices - Opportunities and Challenges for Swiss Companies, Swiss Business Hub USA, Chicago, 2004.
SOURCE: Immersion Medical, Inc.