History
The University of Melbourne and CSIRO have developed an Immersive Virtual Reality Simulator for Ear Surgery. This virtual reality platform incorporates an anatomical model of the temporal bone rendered in 3-D visual space via polarising stereo-glasses and a "haptic probe", providing sensory feedback to the hand to reflect the feel of the surgical instrument based on manipulation of the probe within the virtual space. Trainee surgeons are immersed in an authentic 3-D world that also allows an experienced surgeon, the trainer, to interact with the trainee in the same virtual space, thereby sharing their perceptuo-motor experience. The simulation can be accessed across a network, removing the considerable constraint that trainer and trainee be co-located. This Immersive Virtual Reality Ear Surgery Simulator has been used successfully at the Skills Centre of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons to complement the training of surgeons learning to perform temporal bone surgery.
