A Mechanistic Force Model for Simulating Haptics of Hand-Held Bone Burring Operations

Abstract

The research presented in the thesis is concentrated on developing a mechanistic model to predict the forces experienced during bone burring with application to haptic feedback for virtual reality surgical simulations. This model can be used in haptic devices to provide haptic feedback for virtual reality (VR) surgical simulations. The model is developed based on the understanding of the force profile recorded in the experiments. To determine the force produced under various cutting orientations, experiments are conducted using a surgical burr on a synthetic bone. The total force experienced in bone burring can be understood as a combination of resistive force and vibrational force. The resistive force is calculated using the concept of the specific cutting energy of the bone material. The specific cutting energy (Us) is a concept adopted from the mechanics of grinding. Data from the experiments is used to calibrate the specific cutting energy of the material. The vibrational force is developed as an empirical component of the coupled model. Comparisons between the experimentally measured force data and the force profile predicted by the model show a similar trend. Results confirm that the proposed model is capable of effectively predicting the haptics in bone burring, specifically with the abrasive type of burr.