Simulating needle insertion and radioactive seed implantation for prostate brachytherapy.

We are developing a simulation of needle insertion and radioactive seed implantation to facilitate surgeon training and planning for brachytherapy for treating prostate cancer. Inserting a needle into soft tissues causes the tissues to displace and deform: ignoring these effects during seed implantation leads to imprecise seed placements. Surgeons should learn to compensate for these effects so seeds are implanted close to their pre-planned locations. We describe a new 2-D dynamic FEM model based on a 7-phase insertion sequence where the mesh is updated to maintain element boundaries along the needle shaft. The locations of seed implants are predicted as the tissue deforms. The simulation, which achieves 24 frames per second using a 1250 triangular element mesh on a 750Mhz Pentium III PC, is available for surgeon testing by contacting ron@ieor.berkeley.edu.