Development of a Load-Cell Based Palpation Sensor Suitable for Ophthalmic Anesthesia Training.

Palpation is the process of using one's hand to perform a physical examination. Ophthalmic anaesthetists palpate the orbital bone around the eye, to locate anatomical markers to help them guide the needle safely for regional needle block into the orbital cavity. The anaesthetists are provided very little training on palpation procedure due to the lack of a suitable training system. Inadvisable palpation can cause damage to the soft tissue if the applied force is more than required. There is a necessity to provide ophthalmic anaesthetists with the relevant knowledge about palpation and the force exerted during this procedure. In this paper, a load cell based palpation sensor which can be integrated with recently developed ophthalmic anaesthesia training systems with a virtual instrument environment that is capable of mimicking the skin reaction to applied palpation with the variable warning threshold is proposed.