Development and Efficacy of a Novel Knee Simulator for Robotic Surgery

Simulation in the medical field provides interactive training system set in a realistic clinical scene for training healthcare staff to increase patient safety [1]. The advantages of training by simulation are the opportunity for the learner to have reproducible and standardised experiences where they can participate actively and not as a passive observer, also it is possible to take part of the learning curve of specific tasks outside the surgery room [2]. Knee replacement surgery is nowadays a diffuse surgery, often robotics. A crucial step for a successful surgery is the ligament balancing after prosthesis mounting [3], but no realistic simulators exist. Simulation-based orthopaedic training commonly relies on physical simulators [4], given the need of realistic tactile and force feedback. Within the Next Generation EU project ECS00000017, PNRR-Tuscany Health Ecosystem we designed and developed an anatomically realistic knee simulator, introducing a ligament component addressed to training in robotic knee arthroplasty.