Towards a Physics Engine to Simulate Robotic Laser Surgery: Finite Element Modeling of Thermal Laser-Tissue Interactions

TL;DR

This paper develops a finite element-based computational model to simulate thermal laser-tissue interactions, filling a gap in surgical robot simulation tools by accurately modeling heat transfer phenomena.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel FEM-based thermal simulation model for laser-tissue interactions, enabling realistic surgical robot training and planning.

Findings

Model achieves less than 2°C RMSE in experiments

Captures complex phenomena like convection in tissue

Addresses a gap in laser-enabled surgical simulation

Abstract

This paper presents a computational model, based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), that simulates the thermal response of laser-irradiated tissue. This model addresses a gap in the current ecosystem of surgical robot simulators, which generally lack support for lasers and other energy-based end effectors. In the proposed model, the thermal dynamics of the tissue are calculated as the solution to a heat conduction problem with appropriate boundary conditions. The FEM formulation allows the model to capture complex phenomena, such as convection, which is crucial for creating realistic simulations. The accuracy of the model was verified via benchtop laser-tissue interaction experiments using agar tissue phantoms and ex-vivo chicken muscle. The results revealed an average root-mean-square error (RMSE) of less than 2 degrees Celsius across most experimental conditions.