Research in the SAARA team of LIRIS
General approach
Our aim is to simulate the movement of soft bodies in interaction. The simulations are coupled to physical device to enable interaction between users and the 3D simulations. The difficulty is to propose efficient models and parallel algorithms on the GPU of simulation to achieve interactive execution time. One direct application is to develop a new kind of training simulators for medical gestures.
Towards a childbirth simulator
Obstetricians learn the medical gesture of childbirth during actual deliveries. This learning becomes difficult in the case of instrumental deliveries where the dexterity of the gesture is necessary. The use of a simulator, allowing a first formation of this gesture without risk for the parturient and the fetus, would thus complement the training of young obstetricians. This simulator must restore the sensations experienced by the obstetrician, while taking into account parameters such as the morphology of the parturient and that of the fetus. This simulator, based on the techniques of Virtual Reality, requires the definition of a complete biomechanical model of the female reproductive system during childbirth , as well as the calculation of the forces generated by the Descent of the fetus. A first work of research (thesis of Romain Buttin) allowed the realization of a bio-mechanical model, based on the finite element method, allowing simulation of the behavior of the organs involved during childbirth (uterus, maternal abdomen , Soft pelvis and bone) in contact with the fetus. This simulation thus makes it possible to obtain the trajectory of the fetus during its descent and its release.
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Towards a needle insertion simulator
The gesture of the puncture of large joints has evolved over the last ten years with the use of an ultrasound probe to better guide the insertion of the needle during the operation. The main difficulty in the realization and the learning of this gesture resides thus in the simultaneous manipulation of two instruments. It is necessary to know how to manipulate the ultrasound probe (to visualize the gesture performed on a remote screen) while inserting the needle into the joint. These two instruments can also be interchanged during the puncture, making the operation all the more delicate. The objective of the SPARTE project is thus the realization of a simulator learning the gesture of the puncture of large joints under ultrasound in order to allow learning of the gesture without risk for the patient.
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