A virtual environment medical training system for bone drilling with 3 DOF force feedback

In this work a virtual reality medical training system (MTS) for bone drilling skill training is presented. For this purpose a novel controller algorithm, two graphical user interfaces for teaching and simulating purposes are developed. A 3 DOF haptic display that is developed in our laboratory is used for force feedback. Several user tests are performed to validate how the developed MTS helps for skill improvement. The effects of adding acoustic feedback and the advantages of using a 3 DOF haptic display instead of 1 DOF are investigated. Preliminary user studies suggest that the proposed system can be a powerful tool for teaching how to drill into bone.