Virtual Veterinary Surgery

Virtual verterinary surgergy teaches students without their presence in the operating room.

As veterinary schools develop their programs, the concept of virtual veterinary surgery is making its way into more curricula. Using an interactive, computerized setting, programs reduce the number of animals needed for procedures and students can practice a surgery as many times as needed to perfect their technique.

Software

Virtual veterinary surgery requires specific software that provides the details of a three-dimensional surgical environment. The software must be able to recreate surgical tools, such as scalpels, in 3D, as well as enlarge specific objects, such as organs, for closer examination.

Hardware

Veterinary students wear head-mounted devices such as special goggles or helmets. The head-mounted device allows the student to view the 3D environment. A tactile instrument, such as a wand, is used to give the sense of touch. For example, the instrument can be used as a scalpel; the student will sense the resistance when it is used to cut into skin.

Example

One software program is designed for veterinary students who have developed the medical background necessary to operate on a dog, cat or horse on an emergency basis. The students can create emergency room scenarios, store them in a file, load the file and then begin the simulated treatment.

References

• Institute for Artificial Intelligence: Virtual Veterinary Emergency Room: A Software System that Presents Dynamic, Interactive Medical Scenarios for Teaching Veterinary Medicine
• USDA National Agriculture Library: Virtual Surgery in Veterinary Medicine