title: Surgical model-view-controller simulation software framework for local and collaborative applications.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgical simulations require haptic interactions and collaboration in a shared virtual environment. A software framework for decoupled surgical simulation based on a multi-controller and multi-viewer model-view-controller (MVC) pattern was developed and tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  A software framework for multimodal virtual environments was designed, supporting both visual interactions and haptic feedback while providing developers with an integration tool for heterogeneous architectures maintaining high performance, simplicity of implementation, and straightforward extension. The framework uses decoupled simulation with updates of over 1,000 Hz for haptics and accommodates networked simulation with delays of over 1,000 ms without performance penalty.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The simulation software framework was implemented and was used to support the design of virtual reality-based surgery simulation systems. The framework supports the high level of complexity of such applications and the fast response required for interaction with haptics. The efficacy of the framework was tested by implementation of a minimally invasive surgery simulator.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A decoupled simulation approach can be implemented as a framework to handle simultaneous processes of the system at the various frame rates each process requires. The framework was successfully used to develop collaborative virtual environments (VEs) involving geographically distributed users connected through a network, with the results comparable to VEs for local users.
authors: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Instituto de Informática, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. amaciel@inf.ufrgs.br
authors: Anderson
authors: A
authors: Maciel
authors: Ganesh
authors: G
authors: Sankaranarayanan
authors: Tansel
authors: T
authors: Halic
authors: Venkata Sreekanth
authors: VS
authors: Arikatla
authors: Zhonghua
authors: Z
authors: Lu
authors: Suvranu
authors: S
authors: De
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D012984:Software; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted; D014584:User-Computer Interface