Epidural Needle Insertion Simulator: A device for training resident anaesthesiologists

Epidural anaesthesia is a pain relief technique commonly performed on patients in labor. It requires insertion of a needle into patients back into the epidural space of the spine and inject anaesthetic. It is a blind procedure and anaesthesiologists rely only on the forces felt during needle insertion to determine the position of the needle tip. It is a complex procedure that requires training. However, in a majority of hospitals the residents are trained on patiets. In this thesis development and validation of a new epidural needle insertion simulator with haptic feedback is discussed. . The simulator has 1DOF for needle insertion and 1DOF for needle orientation. The simulator uses a cable-pulley mechanism to transmit forces to the needle. The simulator provides active force-feedback by means of a motor in the needle insertion direction and passive force-feedback by means of a brake in the needle orientation direction. The simulator simulates needle-tissue and needle-bone interaction forces. It also incorporates simulation of different virtual patients, which can be selected from the graphical user interface. The real-time position of the needle can be seen in the graphical user interface. The simulator is validated through experiments by expert anaesthesiologists and novices. The simulator is validated for face and constuct validity. The results were promising showing high acceptance rate with addition of some features. Moreover, difference in performance between experts and novices was found and thus evaluating similarity to a real scenario.
BioMechanical Engineering
Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering