The Design of a Haptic Simulator for Teaching and Assessing Spinal Anaesthesia

Through an interdisciplinary design process we have created a haptic simulator to mimic the physical and sensory environment surrounding the performance of spinal anaesthesia. Our simulator utilises existing haptic toolkits to reproduce tissues and surfaces in a realistic way. It simulates needle insertion with audio and visual (2D/3D) feedback occurring during the actual procedure. The overall simulation system is designed for being an integral part of an existing curriculum and offers excellent potentials in assessing procedural skills in a safe and controlled environment.

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