Next level surgical robotic Simulation

Parasurgical and Unreal Engine bringing Hyper real surgical simulation

ParaSurgical is not talking about replacing any robotic simulator. That's bot their aim.. No, it is a bigger and broader thinking process for surgical education. They believe (as do, I and many educators do) that the airline model of training through hyper realistic simulation is the way forwards.

No surgeon should be firing up a robot until they have struggled in realistic simulated panic scenarios - a torn artery - an unusual anatomy. Fail in simulation.

To that end, this nascent company thinks that unless the simulation is so real - it get's you sweating and your pulse racing... then it won't have that real world feel. You need the adrenaline rush at some point. (Like a simulated bird strike, engine failure, undercarriage failure equivalent).

Most simulators for robots today are heavy on buttonology / technical / actions and then some procedural which is getting better and better. But today it all feels slightly simulated still. No doubt there are lots of companies liekmSurgical Science that are on this.

What this team is trying to do is ramp up the physics and visuals to make it indistinguishable from reality. A tough - tough challenge.

That way you can train actual "Surgery" not just surgical maneouvers. And that is where their approach is slightly different. They don't want to replace the manufacturer's simulators. Instead they want an add on surgery simulator that can work on anyone's robot (it's the direction of travel.) Have societies and national acrediting bodies behind the "Surgery". Agree to the prescribed best practice. But have high fidelity kinematics from the robot manufacturers - so it feels more real.

It's a big task - but they are on their way. Just look at this video.

Next level physics and visuals

Add to that their ambition to merge this with AI - much like Grendel Medical - taking MRI and CT images - adding in some AI diffsuion technologies and having new scenarios every single time you fire it up. Never the same simulation twice.

So this will be amazing for surgical education - and giving more realism to robotic simulation. But they are thinking even one step beyond. Practice makes perfect.

Blending this technology with actual patient scan data - a surgeon could have a hyperrealistic run through of that very case - before the case. This is one of their lofty goals.

Rendered 3D kidney

And to make that work their engine runs in 3D with 3D physics - so that the tumour would be where the patient really has the tumour - with the vasculature in the right place. All so real it seems real.

I know that today we have 3D static models - and overlay. I know ORSI and Peter and the team there are working on dynamic overlays. But this is next level simulation. It's not overlayed - it is the organ.

I have said for a few months that AI, GPUs and graphics engines combined with real world physics engines are about to change the game in real feeling simulation. Hook this into a console - and you will find it hard to not think you are operating on real tissue.

But don't have a console at home.... how about using a game pad to rehearse anatomy and surgical steps. A VR headset? Their aim is to make this a system that can be used anywhere and everywhere - but culminates with the real use on a console so you live the illusion with real feel hardware.

Ambitious... yes. And this has all been done with a small grant from Epic games. The team is looking for your support - your help - your investment.

Reach out to Stan (their CEO) and if you are an investor, company with a robot, educator or society - they need your help and support. This is a cause worth getting behind.

SDeMarta@paraSurgical.com

These are statements by the author for educational purposes only. Lots of foprward looking and specultaive insights.