Virtual reality technology that could allow future trainee surgeons to practise on "virtual patients" will be on show for the Queen at the opening of ctec , the world's most advanced centre for medical and surgical skills.

ctec , the collaborative training and education centre at Perth's University of Western Australia will be officially opened by the Queen on Saturday (1 April).

The technology she will see creates realistic "virtual" objects by combining 3D images with a sense of touch, allowing users to interact with the objects in a realistic way. Not only do they see a realistic object, but they can "feel" it too, thanks to the Haptic Workbench, a device that simulates the sense of touch.

The Workbench consists of a mirrored 3D system for viewing the images, and a robotic arm which provides the touch feedback.

Wearing 3D glasses, the user sits at the workbench and takes hold of an instrument at the end of the robotic arm. In the image they see, this tool can take the form of a syringe, or a scalpel or anything the system programs it to be. Powerful, miniature motors control the way the robotic arm responds to movement of the tool. This creates resistance, giving the user the sensation that they are really touching, or slicing through an object.

The virtual reality technology is being developed by CSIRO and hi-tech Swedish company ReachIn Technologies.

"We are developing the basic technology to make it possible for medical, dental and veterinary students to learn and practice procedures on "virtual" patients, before conducting them on real patients," says CSIRO's Mr Duncan Stevenson, one of the developers of the Haptic Workbench. "The sense of touch, which this technology provides, is crucial for learning complex tasks like surgery."

"While currently this is only a demonstration of the sort of training that would be possible using this technology, our collaborators at ReachIn in Sweden will have a simulator for practising gall bladder removal using key-hole surgery on the market within 18 months," he says.

"And we are working with a consortium of Australian groups to develop a full system for basic surgical skills training that could be available here within a couple of years, given sufficient commercial support."

The demonstration of the system being shown at the ctec opening was developed by ReachIn Technologies. It displays a realistic 3D hand. The trainee has to insert a cannula (a small tube for taking blood or introducing a medication) into a vein in the hand.

"You can tell when you've performed the procedure correctly," says Mr Stevenson. "You can really feel the needle pop through skin and pass into the vein, and then you can see it fill with blood. This realism is crucial for acquiring the precise dextrous skills that are needed. It will be of great benefit to anaethetists and those involved in emergency medicine."

"We're investigating using this sort of technology at ctec ," says Dr Richard Vaughan, medical director of ctec . "These techniques will be applied to teaching and in ongoing research and development at ctec."

"These technologies could revolutionise medical and surgical training," he says. "Doctors and nurses are, of course, trained very well by current methods, but the virtual reality system will be less expensive in time and resources."

"It may mean that life-saving surgical techniques can be introduced sooner and applied more widely because experienced surgeons would be able to update their skills more easily," he says.

"The system can also give trainees more feedback than current training methods on the aspects of surgery they need to work on," adds Mr Stevenson. "It can monitor students' progress precisely – the pressure used, the angle of entry or the amount of tissue damage."

The Haptic Workbench was developed in the Advanced Computation Systems Co-operative Research Centre in Canberra – a collaboration between CSIRO, the Australian National University, Compaq, Fujitsu, SGI, StorageTek and Sun Microsystems.

ReachIn Technologies was formed in 1997 to commercialise the Haptic Workbench because of a lack of commercial interest in Australia. Since then, ReachIn and CSIRO, along with other Australian companies, have continued to develop the system.

"With the opening of this high-tech medical training facility in Australia, we're enjoying a renewed interest in these technologies here in Australia," says Mr Stevenson. "We're hopeful this interest will extend to providing the support needed to develop a range of systems for surgical training."

More information:

Mr Kevin Smith, CSIRO 0419 495 650
Kevin.Smith@cmis.csiro.au

Janelle Kennard, CSIRO 0419 409 129
Janelle.Kennard@cmis.csiro.au

Dr Richard Vaughan, Medical Director, ctec 08 9382 1933

Broadcast quality footage of the workbench is available from Janelle Kennard.

Images are available from Wendy Parsons - wendy.parsons@nap.csiro.au