Human performance using virtual reality tumor palpation simulation

Medical education has a strong need for palpation training in the detection of subsurface tumors. A virtual reality training simulation was created to address this need. Utilizing the Rutgers Master II force feedback system, the simulation allows the trainee to perform a patient examination and palpate (touch) the patient's virtual liver to search for hard regions beneath the surface. When the user's fingertips pass over a 'tumor', experimentally determined force/deflection curves are used to give the user the feeling of an object beneath the surface. A graphical user interface was developed to facilitate navigation as well as provide a training quiz. The trainee is asked to identify the location and relative hardness of tumors, and performance is evaluated in terms of positional and diagnosis errors. The results of this training simulation are in agreement with biomechanical analysis. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.