Greg Ruthenbeck

• PhD in VR Surgical Simulation
• Laboratory Manager at Flinders University

This article describes a new approach for producing highly realistic visualizations that are interactively cuttable by utilizing the programmability of the graphics rendering pipeline. It combines interactively changing scalar-field derived mesh geometry with static mesh geometry that contains additional lighting terms created offline using three-d...

Virtual reality (VR) surgical simulations are among the most difficult software applications to develop mainly because of the type of user interactions that they must support. Surgery typically includes precise cutting of often intricate structures. Modelling these structures and accurately simulating their response to user interaction requires man...

Efficient rendering of a changing volumetric data-set is central to the development of effective medical simulations that incorporate haptic feedback. A new method referred to as real-time interactive isosurfacing (RTII) is described in this paper. RTII is an algorithm that can be applied to output from Marching Cubes-like algorithms to improve per...

Endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) is the surgical standard treatment for chronic rhinitis/rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis. There is a reported complication rate of 5-10% associated with this type of surgery. Simulation has been advocated as a means to improve surgical training and minimize the rates of complication and medical error. This study aim...

The formulation of appropriate postoperative strategies, following fracture repair, currently involves an understanding of radiological and clinical outcome measures. This study has evaluated several modalities used to assess the progression of bone healing in a sheep tibial segmental defect model. Measures of defect optical density and volumetric...

In the literature, haptic training has long been regarded as an effective means of acquiring skills that involve force feedback. This is relevant in the context of haptic virtual reality applications that argue that the addition of haptics increases the effectiveness of the training system. Here we describe an experimental investigation which exami...

Background: This study evaluates whether surgical experience influences technical competence using the Flinders sinus surgery simulator, a virtual environment designed to teach nasal endoscopic surgical skills. Methods: Ten experienced sinus surgeons (five consultants and five registrars) and 14 novices (seven resident medical officers and seven...

Background Virtual reality (VR) simulators provide an alternative to real patients for practicing surgical skills but require validation to ensure accuracy. Here we validate the use of a virtual reality sinus surgery simulator with haptic feedback for training in Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS).Methods Participants were recruited f...

Hap tics refers to a tactile feedback technology which allows users to touch and feel objects in virtual environments. However, it is hard to share the visual-hap tic experience, which relies too much on the computer hardware and the hap tic virtual environment software. In our previous work, we proposed a new system which intends to record and pla...

In this paper, we improve our previous work to recover the user interacting virtual object's contact surface features based on the recorded visual-haptic data for replaying haptic feeling. First the haptic stylus motion is tracked from the recorded screenshot images of the haptic virtual environment (HVE). The virtual object's contact surface can t...

Haptics has provided people with new computer interaction styles across a range of applications. However, it is difficult to share haptic experiences from haptic virtual environments (HVEs). In this paper, we introduce a genetic algorithm (GA) approach, which is used to identify the virtual object’s properties (e.g. stiffness, friction coefficient...

Virtual reality (VR) medical simulations deliver a tailored learning experience that can be standardized, and can cater to different learning styles in ways that cannot be matched by traditional teaching. These simulations also facilitate self-directed learning, allow trainees to develop skills at their own pace and allow unlimited repetition of sp...

For over two decades, haptics has provided people with new computer interaction styles across a range of applications. However, it is difficult to share haptic experiences and compare haptic rendering algorithms. In this paper, we introduce a new system called Hapteo that enables “haptic videos” (videos with haptic recordings) to be recorded and re...

Virtual reality (VR) medical simulations deliver a tailored learning experience that can be standardized, and can cater to different learning styles in ways that cannot be matched by traditional teaching. These simulations also facilitate self-directed learning, allow trainees to develop skills at their own pace and allow unlimited repetition of sp...

This article describes a new approach for producing highly realistic visualizations that are interactively cuttable by utilizing the programmability of the graphics rendering pipeline. It combines interactively changing scalar-field derived mesh geometry with static mesh geometry that contains additional lighting terms created offline using three-d...

Nasendoscopy is commonly used to examine the sinus cavity. The anatomy of the sinuses is highly varied and complex. It consists of intricate, interconnected structures and anatomical landmarks that can be difficult to identify; firstly because of the complexity, and secondly because of the diversity across patients. Consequently, teaching medical t...

To develop a virtual-reality subtotal tonsillectomy simulation for surgical training. Computer models of a male patient's head and throat, and the surgical instrument, were created. These models were combined with custom-built simulation software. Recently developed tissue simulation technology that exploits recent developments in programmable grap...

Synthetic void-fillers offer an alternative to autograft or allograft bone in the repair of segmental defects. However, the reparative process is delayed as only osteoconductive elements are present. The inclusion of pluripotential cells may resolve this limitation, and the use of allogeneic tissue provides the opportunity for an off-the-shelf reme...

Medical simulation has the potential to revolutionize the training of medical practitioners. Advantages include reduced risk to patients, increased access to rare scenarios and virtually unlimited repeatability. Effective simulation based training relies on the realism of key interactions. These key interactions require deformable tissues that not...

Computer based patient simulators can provide an alternative to inanimate clinical skills training. Here we present a virtual reality throat examination simulation capable of simulating a range of throat pathologies. The computer interface employs haptic feedback to allow students to interact naturally with the software.

Virtual Reality has some advantages over traditional teaching and learning media. Here we describe a VR Jigsaw which uses a novel interface to facilitate learning the anatomy of the skull. A small trial was performed which indicates that the software succeeds at engaging students and suggests that their comprehension of complex 3D structures was im...

We demonstrate web-based ECG monitor simulators that enable students to gain and demonstrate competence with equipment specific to a particular workplace.

Medical simulation has the potential to revolutionise the training of medical practitioners. Advantages include reduced risk to patients, increased access to rare scenarios and virtually unlimited repeatability. However, in order to fulfil its potential, medical simulators require techniques to provide realistic user interaction with the simulated...