Platform for investigating continuum manipulator behavior in orthopedics

Purpose: The use of robotic continuum manipulators has been proposed to facilitate less-invasive orthopedic surgical procedures. While tools and strategies have been developed, critical challenges such as system control and intra-operative guidance are under-addressed. Simulation tools can help solve these challenges, but several gaps limit their utility for orthopedic surgical systems, particularly those with continuum manipulators. Herein, a simulation platform which addresses these gaps is presented as a tool to better understand and solve challenges for minimally invasive orthopedic procedures. Methods: An open-source surgical simulation software package was developed in which a continuum manipulator can interact with any volume model such as to drill bone volumes segmented from a 3D computed tomography (CT) image. Paired simulated X-ray images of the scene can also be generated. As compared to previous works, tool–anatomy interactions use a physics-based approach which leads to more stable behavior and wider procedure applicability. A new method for representing low-level volumetric drilling behavior is also introduced to capture material variability within bone as well as patient-specific properties from a CT. Results: Similar interaction between a continuum manipulator and phantom bone was also demonstrated between a simulated manipulator and volumetric obstacle models. High-level material- and tool-driven behavior was shown to emerge directly from the improved low-level interactions, rather than by need of manual programming. Conclusion: This platform is a promising tool for developing and investigating control algorithms for tasks such as curved drilling. The generation of simulated X-ray images that correspond to the scene is useful for developing and validating image guidance models. The improvements to volumetric drilling offer users the ability to better tune behavior for specific tools and procedures and enable research to improve surgical simulation model fidelity. This platform will be used to develop and test control algorithms for image-guided curved drilling procedures in the femur.