Virtual environment system for simulation of leg surgery

A virtual environment system has been developed for viewing and manipulating a model of the human leg. The model can be used to simulate the biomechanical consequences of various reconstructive surgical procedures. Previously, the model was implemented on a standard engineering workstation, and interaction was limited to a mouse and screen cursor. By incorporating the leg model into a virtual environment, the authors were able to assess the value of a head-coupled stereo display and direct 3-D manipulation for a surgery simulation application. This application is an interesting test case for a virtual environment because it requires visualization and manipulation of complex 3-D geometries. Since the model can be used as the basis for a number of biomechanical analyses, the virtual environment provides an opportunity to visualize the resulting datasets in the context of the 3-D model. The components used in assembling the system are described the design and implementation of this system is discussed, and a set of interface techniques that allow direct 3-D interaction with the model is presented.