A Levels-of-Precision Approach for Simulating Multiple Physics-Based Soft Tissues

Computer simulation of surgical environments is always oversimplified in terms of physical behavior due to the complexity of the tissues and interactions involved, which cannot be fully simulated in real time. To better manage this trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness, we present a hybrid and adaptive environment that combines a set of methods to achieve higher accuracy and performance. Our approach merges physics-based deformation methods (Finite Elements and Mass Spring) with a non-physical method (Green Coordinates) to approximate more coarsely the behavior when the focus of the interaction is away, and more precisely during direct interaction. We experimentally demonstrate that the computational complexity of the simulation with our method does not increase with the number of objects being simulated. With our approach, a virtual surgery environment with many dynamic organs can be computed at interactive rates for the first time.