Real-time simulation of tissue deformation for the nasal endoscopy simulator (NES).

Endonasal sinus surgery requires a great amount of training before it can be adequately performed. The complicated anatomy involved, the proximity of relevant structures, and the variability of the anatomy due to inborn or iatrogenic variations make several complications possible. Today, cadaver dissections are the "gold standard" for surgical training. To overcome the drawbacks of traditional training methods, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics is currently developing a highly interactive medical simulation system for nasal endoscopy and endonasal sinus surgery, in cooperation with the Mainz University Hospital. For the simulation of a rhinoscopic procedure, not only are the realization of the 3D interaction and the geometric representation of the anatomical structures necessary, but also a real-time simulation of the deformation behavior constrained by the instrument collisions. The challenge is to close the gap between a maximal degree of realism and the required real-time conditions. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.