LAPAROSCOPIC TROCAR INSERTION FORCE SIMULATION

Abstract

Laparoscopic surgery is a common minimally invasive procedure that is performed through small ports in the abdominal wall. The ports are created with tools called trocars that are used to inflate the abdominal cavity and are used as gateways for surgical tools. There is limited training on trocar insertion for novice surgeons and it is a crucial step in the laparoscopic procedure. There are several challenges associated with placing and inserting trocars in the abdominal area. In this paper, experimental data is used to create a mathematical model for the expected trocar force, which had an average error of 3.67%. A novel trocar training system is proposed to effectively simulate the haptic feeling of inserting a trocar into the abdomen.