An Interactive Graphic Simulator for the Teaching of Fibrendoscopic Techniques

Abstract

A simulator has been designed and implemented for teaching the skills required for fibrendoscopic investigation of the colon. The student using the simulator manipulates a dummy endoscope control head in which the rotary and linear movements are converted to voltages and interfaced to the computer via analogue to digital converters. The simulator is based on a three dimensional computer model of the colon and endoscope. The program reads the endoscope controls, determines the position of the tip of the endoscope, and using this as viewpoint draws the appropriate view. In the worst case, the whole cycle takes 0.185 seconds on an ordinary IBM PC, giving a frame rate of just under 6/sec.