godfather of surgery

Chapter 1019 Far ahead

The next day, the topic of conversation at work became outsiders, because everyone had looked up a lot of information when they went back that day and had a certain understanding of the relevant knowledge and surgery of this disease, so they could talk about each other. This learning atmosphere was exactly what Yang Ping wanted. Everyone could always maintain a strong curiosity and thirst for knowledge about new knowledge.

Yang Ping contacted Professor He of Nandu Medical University and learned that their virtual reality operating room has taken the first step. They used digital humans to build a model of heart surgery. Although the virtual surgery model is still being improved, it can still be put into use. It is a good opportunity to find and solve problems during use and help improve the model.

Hearing this news, Yang Ping was undoubtedly very happy. Although it was only one step at the moment, it brought him one step closer to his goal of moving his system space laboratory into reality.

In order to let everyone get in touch with the operating room built with virtual reality technology as soon as possible, Yang Ping decided to take the doctors in the department to Nandu Medical University to have a look, and use this outsider case as an experiment to build a virtual body for everyone to practice.

There is no time during the day because of surgeries, so after get off work in the afternoon, Yang Ping took everyone to the Digital Medicine Laboratory of Nandu Medical University. This laboratory has expanded many times compared to its original scale, thanks to Yang Ping's strong financial support.

President Rao of Nandu Medical University just resigned not long ago, and Yang Ping felt it was a pity. President Rao was definitely a good president both in terms of character and academics. It was a pity that he was implicated in the Guan Ruyan incident and had to resign and apologize.

The virtual reality operating room is very spacious and is equipped with all kinds of world-class equipment. If a case model is to be established, cooperation between doctors and laboratory researchers is required, and both parties must understand each other's technical points.

Professor He personally explained the relevant knowledge of VR operating rooms: "The key to VR operating rooms is to build a highly realistic VR surgical simulation system. Although our VR model was created relatively late, it is definitely the most advanced in the world, because the core of VR operating rooms is actually digital human technology, and our digital humans are the most advanced in the world."

"Having a general basic model is far from enough. We also need to build a specific personalized model, which requires the use of high-resolution 3D modeling technology. For example, the ex-heart case you sent us requires accurate reconstruction of the patient's heart, sternum, diaphragm and other structures. At the same time, the application of the physics engine makes the behavior of objects in the virtual environment highly consistent with that of objects in the real world, including the operating feel of surgical instruments, elastic feedback of tissues, synchronization with virtual digital humans, and so on."

“Before the simulated surgery begins, the doctor needs to input the patient’s CT or MRI data, which will be used to build a specific personalized virtual model of the patient. Through data processing and 3D reconstruction, the system can generate a highly accurate patient virtual body, including all key structures such as the heart, blood vessels, sternum and diaphragm.”

Professor Maninstein has packaged these data and sent them to Yang Ping, who has sent them to Professor He, and they are actively building a model.

"After the virtual body is established, the doctor also needs to set the surgical goals and simulation parameters, such as surgical path, instrument selection, expected complications, etc. The system will dynamically adjust the simulation environment based on these parameters to ensure the authenticity and pertinence of the simulated surgery. Therefore, we must maintain close interaction and work together to establish a qualified model."

"The simulated surgery starts with the selection of the surgical approach!"

The next work is described in the materials in Professor He's hand, but he is not a doctor, so he is certainly not professional in explaining it, so he can only leave it to the doctors to explain, which will allow the researchers to further understand the surgical process.

Song Zimo took the responsibility of explaining the surgical process. He picked up the information in his hand and said, "Exocardia is a common name. Its scientific name is Cantrell's Pentalogy. The surgery usually requires a combined thoracoabdominal incision to fully expose the heart and surrounding structures."

Professor He immediately added some knowledge about VR: "In a VR environment, doctors can intuitively see the visual field of different incision positions and choose the best surgical approach. Through the glove controller, doctors can simulate cutting the skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscle layer until the substernal fissure and diaphragm defect are exposed. After the model is established, everyone can try it. It is very realistic. I am not bragging."

"This is a glove controller!" In order to support Professor He's words, a researcher held up a pair of glove controllers for everyone to see.

Song Zimo continued, "Next, the doctor needs to simulate the repair of the sternal fissure and diaphragm defect."

Professor He took over the conversation in time, and the two of them took turns explaining, cooperating smoothly: "In the VR environment, doctors can use virtual sutures and needle holders to suture according to the predetermined surgical plan. The system will provide real-time feedback on the tightness of the suture and the tension of the tissue based on the doctor's operation. If the suture is not done properly, the system will also issue a warning to prompt the doctor to make adjustments."

"Patients with Cantrell's pentad often have multiple heart malformations, such as double outlet ventricle, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, etc."

"In VR simulation, doctors can treat these malformations one by one. For example, for double outlet ventricles, doctors can use virtual scissors and forceps to simulate the removal of part of the infundibulum septum and repair it with sutures or patches. The system will display the changes in heart structure and the impact on hemodynamics in real time based on the doctor's operation."

"After repairing the heart deformity, doctors need to return the ectopic heart to the chest cavity and fix it."

"In a VR environment, doctors can simulate the process of moving the heart while observing the reactions of surrounding tissues. Our digital human model can simulate almost all current physiological processes. By adjusting the position and angle of the heart, doctors can ensure that the heart is stably located in the chest cavity while avoiding compression of surrounding blood vessels and nerves. Finally, doctors need to use a virtual sternum plate or sutures to fix the sternum and ribs together to complete the reconstruction of the thorax." "Cantrell pentad patients often have midline abdominal wall defects and umbilical hernias."

"In VR simulation, doctors can simulate the repair of these defects. First, doctors need to remove the hernia sac and excess abdominal wall tissue; then, use virtual sutures or patches to reconstruct the abdominal wall. The system will display the repair effect of the abdominal wall defect and the tension of the abdominal wall in real time according to the doctor's operation."

“Throughout the simulated surgery, the system provides real-time feedback and evaluation.”

"Therefore, modeling of surgery is a great test of the doctor's understanding of surgery. Otherwise, it is impossible to accurately simulate the real surgical process, especially the accidents and complications that may occur during the operation. The more careful and detailed the considerations, the greater the simulation value of the surgery."

"For example, when doctors are simulating suturing, the system will display the tightness of the suture and the tension of the tissue in real time; when doctors are treating heart malformations, the system will display the changes in heart structure and the impact on hemodynamics in real time. These feedback and evaluations help doctors to promptly detect and correct errors in the operation and improve their surgical skills."

Director He and Song Zimo, one is responsible for explaining the real surgical process, and the other is responsible for explaining how the corresponding VR operating room reproduces the surgical process.

Director He said confidently: "Once our system is fully built, I can tell you that the training cycle for surgeons will be shortened to one-tenth of the original. What used to take ten years can now be achieved in one year. The VR surgical simulation system also supports personalized training and data analysis functions. Doctors can choose simulated surgeries of different difficulty levels for practice based on their experience and skill level. The system will automatically adjust the difficulty and complexity of the simulated surgery based on the doctor's operating performance to ensure the maximum training effect. When the time comes, everyone will practice surgery just like playing games. The technical content of this game is much higher than your King of Glory and Chicken Dinner."

The usually serious Professor He is now playing both King of Glory and Chicken Dinner, and all the doctors and researchers in the lab are laughing.

"I'm not bragging. Our system is far ahead of the rest. While simulating surgery, the system also collects and analyzes the doctor's operating data during the simulated surgery, such as operation time, suture quality, and number of instrument usage. This data can be used to assess the doctor's skill level and develop personalized training plans for them. In addition, this data can also be used to train artificial intelligence algorithms to provide real-time assistance and decision support for doctors during complex surgeries. Isn't artificial intelligence popular now? I'll tell you a top-secret news. Don't spread it. Just keep it to yourself. We are currently researching artificial intelligence digital medicine."

"We are far ahead in this regard," said Professor He with a beaming smile.

Why is Yang Ping so determined to build a VR operating room? Because he knows that the speed of progress when practicing surgery in the system space laboratory is simply exponential, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

To reproduce the operating room in the system space in reality, VR technology can only be used. VR technology has significant advantages in simulating surgery. First, it provides a safe and risk-free practice environment, allowing doctors to practice surgery multiple times without harming patients; second, it improves the accuracy and success rate of surgery, and helps doctors to promptly discover and correct errors in operation through real-time feedback and evaluation functions; finally, it promotes the development of personalized training and data-driven medical education.

However, VR surgical simulation is not completely without shortcomings. The realism of the simulated environment is still limited, and it cannot completely replicate all the details and changes in real surgery. The equipment is expensive and the operation is complicated, which limits its popularization and application in primary medical institutions. Data security and privacy protection issues also need to be given sufficient attention.

Yang Ping believes that with the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous expansion of application fields, VR surgical simulation technology will play an increasingly important role in the medical field. In the future, we can use higher-resolution VR devices, more complex surgical simulation software, and intelligent virtual systems. The development of these technologies will further improve the authenticity and interactivity of VR surgical simulation, providing doctors with a more realistic and efficient practice environment.

"I can tell you that VR surgical simulation technology can be combined with other advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in the future. For example, by collecting and analyzing the operation data in simulated surgery, a more intelligent auxiliary decision-making system can be trained; by combining 3D printing technology, more precise surgical guides and implants can be customized. These combined applications will further promote the development and innovation of medical surgical technology. We are currently researching these and are far ahead!"

Finally, Director He said: "Everyone, please get familiar with the helmet and gloves. Although our model has not been built yet, even if we have built half of the model, we are already far ahead of our peers. You can try it out in advance and experience it. In the system, you will wear a VR helmet and glove controllers, and use head tracking and gesture recognition technology to achieve real-time interaction with the virtual environment. The helmet provides an immersive stereoscopic visual experience, as if you are in a real operating room; the glove controller can accurately capture hand movements to achieve precise operation of surgical instruments."

"I can guarantee that our technology is far ahead!" Director He said excitedly.

The doctoral student next to him felt that his supervisor was a little too excited today and used some words too frequently, so he gently nudged his supervisor with his elbow and whispered a reminder: "Keep a low profile and don't always say you are far ahead."

Although this is the truth, Chinese people prefer to be humble and low-key and do not like this kind of confident and high-profile attitude.

"Oh! Actually, we are just a little bit ahead, just a little bit." Director He explained, looking humble.