The Anatomy of a Surgical Simulation

Engineers, computer programmers, and surgeons have begun to develop virtual reality simulators designed to teach the physical aspects of surgical skills, especially the skills needed to perform minimally invasive procedures. The technologies incorporated in these simulations, including graphic modeling, haptic (tactile and kinesthetic) interface design, and haptic cognitive studies, reconstruct surgical knowledge that traditionally remains tacit, such as knowledge of surgeons’ movements and forces used on tissues. A surgeon’s physical experience becomes mathematized when programmers reconstruct it for computers. This paper describes how researchers construct ‘body objects’, representations of bodies and body parts that are engineered to inhabit computer programs. This paper argues that surgical learning occurs at the interface of bodies and instruments, through simultaneous sculpting of the surgical site and training of the surgeon’s body, a process I call mutual articulation.