UBC Reports | Vol. 48 | No. 12 | Oct. 10, 2002

UBC Research Offers Med Students Injection of Virtual Reality

New training tool is welcome news for patients

By Hilary Thomson

Turning patients into pincushions when students are learning to insert a needle may be a thing of the past once a UBC medical training tool becomes available.

Currently in development, the computer-based virtual reality simulator will help medical students master the art of needle insertion in a safe and realistic environment.

“Medical students now have to learn the procedure through trial and error,” says Simon DiMaio, a PhD student in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering who is building the simulator as his thesis project. “With an increasing number of advanced therapies being delivered by needle, it’s becoming critical to be precise.”

The simulator has two components: an on-screen computer model of tissue and a robotic arm no bigger than a shoebox. The model allows the student to see where the needle is going. Moving the robotic arm replicates the sensation of needle moving through tissue to help students learn the degree of pressure and steering required to get the needle to its target site.

Biopsies, anesthesia and various cancer treatments require needle placement to be accurate within millimetres. Surgeons must guide needles that may be long and flexible through complex anatomy solely by feel and experience. Inaccurate placement can lead to significant complications such as biopsy false negatives, incorrect medication or radiation dose, longer procedure times, patient discomfort and tissue damage.

DiMaio and supervisor Prof. Tim Salcudean are developing the technology to include various types of needle and sites comprising complex layers of tissue.