Towards a Virtual Reality Simulator for Orthognathic Basic Skils

Bone sawing skill demands a high level of dexterity from the surgeon that can be achieved only with a lot of training. Sawing is a basic skill required in many procedures, such as: osteotomy, ostectomy, amputation and arthroplasty surgery. Inefficient sawing can lead in orthognathic surgery to nerve lesion, bad split and non-union. Using virtual reality technology this complications can be reduced, by training the students on simulators until they assimilate the skill. This paper presents an early prototype for a bone sawing simulator in orthognathic surgery. A voxel-based mandible model obtained from a Computer Tomography is cut by removing the voxels that are inside the saw blade. The collision detection is based on hierarchical bounding volumes. The removal process is observed both visually and haptically.