KR20160092425A - Apparatus for virtual surgery simulation and the operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is a virtual surgery simulation apparatus which can provide a virtual surgery process as a real-time or a non-real-time image. The virtual surgery simulation apparatus comprises: a control unit for operating a virtual surgery on a patient by using a three-dimensional image on a surgery target region of the patient; an image processing unit for generating a surgery image including at least a part of the virtual surgery process; and a communications unit for transmitting at least one from the surgery image or a surgery result.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS FOR VIRTUAL SURGERY SIMULATION AND THE OPERATION METHOD THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to a virtual surgery simulation apparatus and an operation method thereof, and more particularly, to a virtual surgery simulation apparatus and a method of operating the virtual surgery simulation apparatus, And a virtual surgery simulation apparatus capable of providing a virtual surgery procedure as real-time or non-real-time images, and an operation method thereof.

Surgical surgery refers to removing or treating a lesion on the internal organs or the like by invasion of the patient's body. With advances in medical technology, there has been a demand for minimizing the site of invasion of the patient during surgical operations, and a variety of surgical methods have been tried for this purpose. In response to the demand for minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic surgery has recently been introduced in the medical field. This laparoscopic operation is performed by cutting the surgical site to a minimum (for example, 10 cm or less), inserting an endoscope and a surgical instrument through the incision site, and observing the lesion with an enlarged image through an endoscope camera. And it is possible to perform delicate surgery.

However, in the case of a surgical operation such as a laparoscopic operation, there is a problem in that the space awareness of a medical staff such as a doctor is lowered because a surgery is performed while watching a 2D monitor. When a laparoscopic operation is performed by a robot surgery, And the problem that the sensory member and the equipment do not fully reflect the movement of the hand. Thus, the skill of the doctor is more important than the operation of the open surgery. Particularly, in the case of a surgical site in which the organs and blood vessels are closely spaced, there is a problem in that the operation progress itself is difficult other than a skilled physician having a lot of operation experience, and furthermore, the structure of the human blood vessels is different from person to person There were more difficulties because of the variation.

On the other hand, patients and carers who are in the process of surgical operation are generally unaware of the medical field, so there is virtually no advance information on the progress of surgery, There is a limit in that it can not be relied on. As a result, the patient and the caregiver do not have a choice about the operation method and the like, and there is a problem that anxiety or fear of the operation is increased.

Accordingly, provision of a pre-simulation for complicated surgical operations such as laparoscopic surgery increases the completeness of surgery and provides a means for providing the patient or the caregiver with information on the performed surgical procedure to be performed on the patient do.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a virtual surgery method and a virtual surgery method, in which a virtual surgery is performed on a patient using a three- - a virtual surgery simulation apparatus capable of providing a real-time image and its operation method.

The technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems which are not mentioned can be understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

A method of operating a virtual surgery simulation apparatus is provided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method includes: performing a virtual surgery on the patient using a three-dimensional image of a surgical site of the patient; Generating a surgical image including at least a part of the virtual surgery procedure; And transmitting at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result.

Preferably, the method further comprises generating the three-dimensional image based on information about the pre-operative medical image for the patient, wherein the three-dimensional image includes an image of organs and blood vessels .

Preferably, the step of performing the virtual surgery further comprises: displaying the 3D image on a virtual space; Matching at least one surgical tool image with the 3D image on the virtual space and displaying the same; And displaying a predetermined physical treatment on at least one of the organ and the blood vessel according to a user input for manipulation of at least one of the surgical tool image.

Also, preferably, the physical treatment may include at least one of incision, ablation, cauterization, sonication, grasping, sealing and clamping.

Preferably, the method further comprises setting an initial value for the patient's physical condition information, wherein performing the virtual surgery comprises performing at least one of the performance of the physical treatment and the lapse of time The method may further include updating the physical condition information and displaying the updated physical condition information on the virtual space.

Preferably, the method further includes transmitting operation schedule information, and the operation schedule information may include information about a scheduled date of the virtual operation and an attendant.

Also, preferably, the surgical image may be a real-time image of at least a part of the process of the virtual surgery.

Preferably, the method further comprises receiving a request for at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result, wherein the transmitting of at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result is performed in response to receiving the request .

Further, preferably, in response to transmission of at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result, the method may further include receiving feedback information on the virtual surgery.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing a method of operating a virtual surgery simulation apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a virtual surgery simulation apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprising: a control unit for performing a virtual operation on the patient using a three-dimensional image of a part to be operated by the patient; An image processing unit for generating a surgical image including at least a part of the virtual surgery procedure; And a communication unit for transmitting at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result.

Preferably, the image processing unit generates the three-dimensional image based on the information about the medical image before surgery for the patient, and the three-dimensional image includes images of organs and blood vessels included in the operation target site can do.

Preferably, the control unit displays the three-dimensional image on a virtual space, displays at least one surgical tool image on the virtual space with the three-dimensional image, and displays at least one of the surgical tool images Depending on the user input for one operation, a predetermined physical treatment for at least one of the organ and the blood vessel may be performed.

Also, preferably, the physical treatment may include at least one of incision, ablation, cauterization, sonication, grasping, sealing and clamping.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes a state management section for setting an initial value for the physical state information of the patient, wherein the control section controls, based on at least one of the performance of the physical treatment and the lapse of time of the virtual surgery, Information can be updated and displayed on the virtual space.

Preferably, the communication unit transmits operation schedule information, and the operation schedule information may include information on a scheduled execution date of the virtual operation and an attendant.

Also, preferably, the surgical image may be a real-time image of at least a part of the process of the virtual surgery.

Preferably, the method further comprises receiving a request for at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result, wherein at least one transmission of the surgical image and the surgical result is performed in response to receipt of the request .

Further, preferably, the communication unit is capable of receiving feedback information on the virtual surgery in response to transmission of at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result.

According to the present invention, a three-dimensional image of a surgical target site is generated based on an actual medical image of a patient, and a virtual surgery can be performed using the generated three-dimensional image. .

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to simulate complicated surgical operations in advance, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as an undesired blood vessel damage that may occur in an actual operation, have.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide real-time or non-real-time images and surgical results of a virtual surgery procedure to a patient, a caregiver or other physician, It is possible to reduce the anxiety about the crab surgery and improve the perfection of the actual operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A brief description of each drawing is provided to more fully understand the drawings recited in the description of the invention.
1 illustrates a network including a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 shows a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 and 4 illustrate a method of operating a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates an operation method of a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary screen of a virtual space implemented by a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals whenever possible, even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the difference that the embodiments of the present invention are not conclusive. In addition, embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto and can be variously modified by those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "indirectly connected" . Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise. In describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are intended to distinguish the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or order of the constituent elements.

1 illustrates a network including a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least one first user terminal 210 and a second user terminal 220 through a wired and wireless network communication network, Can operate in conjunction with each other.

The virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 can perform virtual surgery on the patient while communicating with the first user terminal 210. [ That is, the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 can generate a three-dimensional image of the patient's surgical site based on the information about the medical image before surgery for the patient, and display the image with the surgical tool image on the virtual space . Thereafter, the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 receives the user input of the first user for manipulating the surgical tool image from the first user terminal 210, and thus, performs a predetermined physical treatment on the three- So that a virtual operation for the patient can be performed. In addition, the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 generates a surgical image including at least a part of the virtual surgery process, transmits the surgical image to the first user terminal 210 in a non- Or in non-real time. The virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 may be implemented by various computing devices such as a sever. Wherein the server may be referred to as a computer for processing a request from a client computer under a network environment.

The first user terminal 210 may refer to a user terminal used by the first user. Here, the first user may include a physician, an assistant, or the like who performs virtual surgery on the patient. The first user can perform virtual surgery on the patient by connecting to the virtual space implemented by the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 using the first user terminal 210. After the virtual surgery is completed, In response to the request, the surgical operation image generated from the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 can be received.

Meanwhile, the first user terminal 210 may be provided with an operation unit for receiving a user input for operating a surgical tool image. The manipulation portion may be configured to include a movement and orientation change sensor implemented in the form of a joy stick or surgical tool. When the manipulation portion is constituted by a sensor in the form of a surgical tool, the first user can manipulate the manipulation portion in a manner similar to that in actual surgery to perform user input for manipulation of the surgical tool image. However, it is to be understood that the user input for manipulating the surgical tool image may be received by a variety of input devices according to an embodiment such as a mouse or the like.

The second user terminal 220 may refer to a user terminal used by the second user. Here, the second user may include a patient who is a subject of virtual surgery, a guardian of a patient's family, a doctor other than a virtual surgery practitioner, and the like. The second user accesses the virtual space implemented by the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 using the second user terminal 220 to confirm through the image generated in real time, The surgical operation image generated from the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 can be received.

Here, the user terminal may include various types of terminals such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a smart clock, a notebook, and a desktop, and may be variously modified within a range known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In FIG. 1, the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 and the first user terminal 210 are shown as being implemented as separate apparatuses. However, the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 and the first user terminal 210 are illustrative, The first user terminal 210 may be implemented as a single device. In this case, the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 is further configured to include a display unit for displaying a virtual space screen, an operation unit for receiving a user input for operating a surgical tool image, and an input unit for receiving other user inputs .

2 shows a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, a virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image processing unit 110, a state management unit 120, a communication unit 130, a control unit 140, and a memory unit 150 .

The image processing unit 110 may be configured to perform a 3-to-3 operation on the operation target site based on the information about the preoperative medical image (for example, CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance) Dimensional image can be generated. At this time, the generated three-dimensional image may include images of at least one organs and blood vessels included in the surgical target site of the patient. In addition, the image processing unit 110 may generate a surgical image including at least a part of a virtual surgical procedure performed on the virtual space. The surgical image thus generated may be transmitted to a second user such as a target patient, a caregiver of the patient, another doctor, etc. in real time, or may be transmitted to a first user and / or a second user such as a doctor who performed an operation in non- Can be transmitted to the user.

The state management unit 120 may set an initial value of the patient's body state information and update the body state information according to the progress of the virtual surgery. Specifically, the state management unit 120 may set an initial value of the physical condition information based on user input by the first user or information on the actual examination result on the physical condition of the patient. In addition, the state management unit 120 may update the physical state information of the patient according to the elapse of time after the physical treatment and / or the physical treatment in the process of performing the virtual surgery by the control unit 140. [ Such physical condition information can be displayed on the virtual space by the control unit 140. [ Here, the physical condition information may include information on the blood pressure, pulse, electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation, body temperature, etc. of the patient.

The communication unit 130 may allow the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 to be connected to an external device (for example, the first user terminal 210, the second user terminal 220, and the like) through wired or wireless communication. First, the communication unit 130 causes a first user to display a virtual space in which a virtual operation is performed through a wired or wireless connection with the first user terminal 210, and inputs a user input And transmit the surgical image for the virtual surgery procedure to the first user in a non-real-time manner at the request of the first user after the end of the virtual surgery. In addition, the communication unit 130 transmits the operation image to the second user in real time during the virtual surgery operation through a wireless connection with the second user terminal 220, or upon the request of the second user after the virtual operation ends , The surgical image can be transmitted in non-real time. In addition, the communication unit 130 may transmit operation schedule information including information on a scheduled operation date and the like to the second user, and may include information on a virtual operation from a second user who receives the operation image and / Feedback information can be received.

The communication unit 130 may be a LAN, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), a Long Term Evolution (LTE), a Wireless Broadband Internet (WiBro), a Radio Frequency (RF) communication, a wireless LAN, Fidelity, and Bluetooth. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various kinds of wired and wireless communication technologies applicable to the related art may be used according to the embodiments to which the present invention is applied.

The control unit 140 may control the overall operation of each component of the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100. Particularly, in the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 140 can perform virtual surgery on the patient in the virtual space using the three-dimensional image of the patient's operation target site have. Specifically, the control unit 140 displays a three-dimensional image of the surgical target site generated by the image processing unit 110 on the virtual space, and displays at least one surgical tool image on the virtual surgical target site Dimensional image to be matched with the three-dimensional image. Thereafter, the control unit 140 performs a manipulation such as a position movement, a direction change, or a treatment operation according to the characteristics of the surgical tool with respect to the surgical tool image in accordance with a user input for operating at least one of the surgical tool images displayed on the virtual space The contact point, the contact point, and the contact path between the surgical instrument image and the organ image or the blood vessel image in the course of operating the surgical instrument, and based on this, at least one of organs and blood vessels included in the three- Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > Here, the physical treatment may include at least one of incision, ablation, cauterization, ultrasonication, grasping, suturing, and clamping for organs or blood vessels.

The memory unit 150 stores the preoperative medical image for the patient, the three-dimensional image of the patient's surgical site generated based thereon, the surgical tool image implemented through the three-dimensional modeling, And so on. In addition, the memory unit 150 may store personal information such as the patient's name, age, sex, and disease name, body condition information of the patient, operation schedule information such as a virtual operation scheduled date, feedback information received from the second user, have. In addition, the memory unit 150 may store control programs and applications for controlling the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 and / or the control unit 140.

The memory unit 150 may be a hard disk drive (HDD), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM) flash memory, CF (Compact Flash) card, SD (Secure Digital) card, SM (Smart Media) card, MMC (Multimedia) card or Memory Stick And may be provided inside the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 or may be provided in a separate apparatus.

2, the image processing unit 110, the state management unit 120, the communication unit 130, the control unit 140, and the memory unit 150 may be implemented by a plurality of physical devices, It will be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented by an in-line device. For example, each of the image processing unit 110, the state management unit 120, the communication unit 130, the control unit 140, and the memory unit 150 may be implemented using various methods such as using software or using firmware .

3 and 4 illustrate a method of operating a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S310, the image processing unit 110 may generate a three-dimensional image of a region to be operated on, based on the information on the medical image before surgery for the patient. Here, the medical image is a CT (Computed Tomography) image, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image obtained by a predetermined inspection device to confirm the return of the patient before performing the actual surgery or virtual surgery, (Positron Emission Tomography) image, SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) image, US (Ultrasonography, Ultrasound) image, and the like.

Specifically, when the communication unit 130 receives from the patient DB server or the first user terminal 210 used by the first user a database including information on the patient's personal information, body information, Upon reception of the information on the two-dimensional or three-dimensional medical image of the affected part, the image processing unit 110 converts the two-dimensional medical image into a three-dimensional image composed of data of a plurality of polygons, Dimensional medical image to a three-dimensional image of a proper format in the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100, thereby generating a three-dimensional image of the surgical target site of the patient. At this time, the generation of the three-dimensional image based on the two-dimensional medical image can be performed by applying various conversion functions, algorithms, and the like known in the art according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied. As described above, the three-dimensional image generated in this manner may include images of at least one organs and blood vessels included in the surgical target site of the patient.

Subsequently, in step S320, the state managing unit 120 may set an initial value for the body condition information of the patient to be operated on. Here, the physical condition information may include information on the patient's blood pressure, pulse, electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation, body temperature, etc., as described above. Specifically, the setting of the initial value may be performed based on user input of the first user or information on an actual physical examination result on the physical condition of the patient. That is, the state management unit 120 sets an initial value for the physical condition information based on a predetermined value input by the first user received from the first user terminal 210, The initial value for the physical condition information can be set based on the result of the physical examination for the patient received from the first user terminal 210. [ In this way, the set physical condition information of the patient can be displayed on the virtual space and can be updated and displayed by the controller 140 as the virtual surgery progresses, as described below.

In operation S330, the control unit 140 may perform a virtual surgery on the patient in a predetermined virtual space using the generated three-dimensional image of the operation target site. Here, the virtual space refers to a virtual display space implemented by the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 so as to provide images and information related to virtual surgery, and may be implemented on-line, preferably. A second user, such as a first user or a patient, a patient's caregiver, a physician, etc., of a doctor, etc. uses a first user terminal 210 or a second user terminal 220, By connecting to the space, a virtual surgery can be performed or a real-time image or a non-real-time image of the virtual surgery section can be provided from the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 4, step S330 may be performed from step S332 to step S338.

 First, in step S332 and step S334, the control unit 140 renders a three-dimensional image of the operation target site generated in step S310, displays the selected three-dimensional image on a predetermined virtual space, Dimensional image of the patient's operation target site on the space. Here, the surgical tool image is a three-dimensional image of the shape of a real surgical tool used for surgical operation, and is a 3D image, and includes a mes, a clamp, a Kelly, a mosquito, etc. A variety of surgical surgical tools and / or various robotic surgical tools.

Then, in step S336, the controller 140 may display a predetermined physical treatment for at least one of the organ and the blood vessel according to a user input for operating at least one of the surgical tool images displayed on the virtual space have. Specifically, the control unit 140 may control the position of the at least one of the surgical tool images on the basis of the user input by the first user received from the first user terminal 210, Such as a manipulation operation, can be performed. The control unit 140 detects whether or not the surgical tool image and the organ or blood vessel images are in contact with each other, touch points, contact paths, and the like during the operation of the surgical tool image according to the user input, Indicating that the treatment is to be performed. Here, the physical treatment may include at least one of incision, ablation, cauterization, ultrasonication, grasping, sealing, and clamping, as described above.

For example, when the surgical tool image manipulated according to the user input is a scalpel, the control unit 140 determines whether the scalp image is in contact with a predetermined part of the scalp image and / It is possible to detect the contact path in accordance with the positional movement and / or the direction change of the scalp image while the contact state is maintained, and to detect the contact end point, the contact end point, and the like at the end of the contact . Then, the control unit 140 displays an image in which a groove, a cut surface, bleeding and the like are generated by cutting or excavating the long-term image based on the detected contact start point, contact path, and contact end point, As shown in FIG.

The detection of contact between the surgical tool image and the organ or blood vessel image, the contact point, the contact path, and the like can be performed by, for example, collision inspection through bounding volume hierarchies for images And may be performed by various methods applicable in the art according to the examples.

In step S338, the controller 140 may update and display the physical condition information according to at least one of the time of performing the physical treatment and the lapse of time of the virtual surgery. In detail, the memory unit 150 may store information on the amount of change in the physical condition information such as blood pressure, pulse, rate of change, etc. according to the passage of time after each physical treatment is performed and the physical treatment, The physical condition information of the patient can be updated on the basis of the information such as the amount of change, rate of change, etc. stored in the memory unit 150 when a predetermined physical treatment through the surgical tool image is performed. As described above, when the state determination unit 120 updates the physical state information of the patient, the controller 140 can be implemented to display the updated physical state information on the virtual space.

In operation S340, the image processing unit 110 may generate a surgical image including at least a part of the virtual surgery procedure. In step S340, as described below, a process of virtual surgery is created to provide the first user and / or the second user who has performed the virtual surgery in real time or non-real time. In step S340, , But may be performed simultaneously with step S330, according to an embodiment.

In step S350, the communication unit 130 may transmit at least one of the generated surgical image and the surgical result. Here, the transmitted surgical image may be a real-time image or at least a non-real-time image for at least a part of the process of virtual surgery. That is, when the second user connects to the virtual space implemented by the virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 together with the start of the virtual surgery or during the virtual surgery, the communication unit 130 transmits the real- 2 can be transmitted to the second user terminal 220 used by the user and after the virtual surgery is completed, the communication unit 130 transmits the generated non-real time image to the first user terminal 210 or the second user terminal 220 ).

Although not shown in FIG. 3, a method 100 of operating a virtual surgery simulation apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes receiving a request for at least one of a surgical image and a surgical result And step S350 may be implemented to be performed in response to receipt of such a request.

In step S360, the communication unit 130 may receive feedback information on virtual surgery in response to transmission of at least one of a surgical image and a surgical result. Such feedback information may include various views on the virtual surgery entered by the second user receiving the surgical image and / or the surgical result. The received feedback information is transmitted to the first user terminal 210 in response to the request, thereby being transmitted to the first user who has performed the virtual surgery.

FIG. 5 illustrates an operation method of a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Steps S520 to S570 of FIG. 5 may be described as steps S310 to S360 described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, a duplicate description will be omitted.

In step S510, the communication unit 130 may transmit the operation schedule information to the second user. Here, the operation schedule information may include identification information about a patient who is a target of a virtual surgery, information on a scheduled date (time and date) of a virtual surgery, and information on a performer (first user) , Preferably, to be transmitted before a predetermined period of time from the scheduled execution date of the virtual surgery. Through the operation schedule information, the second user can confirm the execution date and time of the virtual surgery, the doctor performing the virtual surgery, and the like, and can use the second user terminal 220 at the scheduled date and time, The user can view the process of the virtual surgery in real time by accessing the virtual space implemented by the virtual space 100. Although FIG. 5 shows that the step S510 is performed before the step S520, the step S510 may be performed irrespective of whether or not the steps S520 and S530 are performed if the step S510 is performed before the step S540 is performed .

Although not shown in FIG. 5, the operation method 500 of the virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention further includes transmitting at least one of operation start information and operation end information to a second user can do. Here, the operation start information may include information as to whether or not the virtual surgery is to be started and the start time, and the operation end information may include information about the end of the virtual surgery and the end time.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary screen of a virtual space implemented by a virtual surgery simulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, three-dimensional images 610 and 620 of a patient's surgical site displayed on the virtual space and a surgical tool image 630 displayed to be matched therewith are shown. A first user such as a doctor may access a virtual space through the first user terminal 210 to perform predetermined user input for manipulating the surgical tool image 630, 630 may be displayed in the form of animation on the virtual space.

Through the operations on the surgical tool image 630, the first user can perform virtual surgery on the patient in the virtual space. That is, the first user manipulates the surgical tool image 630 to perform an operation on the part of the organ image 610 or the blood vessel image 620 that contacts the surgical tool image 630, as shown in FIG. 6 By performing appropriate physical treatments such as incision, gripping, clamping, etc., a virtual surgery is performed on the patient. On the other hand, the body state information 640 of the patient may be displayed in one area of the virtual space, and the physical state information 640 may be updated and displayed according to the execution of the physical treatment and the elapse of time thereafter.

The process of performing the virtual surgery by the first user may be included in the surgical image and may be provided to the second user such as the target patient, the patient's caregiver in real time or non-real time.

The various embodiments described herein may be implemented by hardware, middleware, microcode, software, and / or a combination thereof. For example, various embodiments may include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays ), Processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

Also, for example, various embodiments may be stored or encoded in a computer-readable medium including instructions. The instructions stored or encoded in the computer-readable medium may cause a programmable processor or other processor to perform the method, for example, when the instructions are executed. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage media, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, Or any other medium that can be used to carry or store data in the form of data structures.

Such hardware, software, firmware, etc. may be implemented within the same device or within separate devices to support the various operations and functions described herein. Additionally, components, units, modules, components, etc. described in the present invention as "parts" may be implemented separately or together as separate but interoperable logic devices. The description of different features for modules, units, etc. is intended to emphasize different functional embodiments and does not necessarily imply that they must be implemented by individual hardware or software components. Rather, the functionality associated with one or more modules or units may be performed by separate hardware or software components, or may be incorporated within common or separate hardware or software components.

Although acts in a particular order are shown in the figures, it should be understood that these acts are performed in the specific order shown, or in a sequential order, or that all illustrated acts need to be performed to achieve the desired result . In any environment, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the division of various components in the above-described embodiments should not be understood as requiring such a distinction in all embodiments, and the components described may generally be integrated together into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products It should be understood.

As described above, an optimal embodiment has been disclosed in the drawings and specification. Although specific terms have been employed herein, they are used for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the claims or the claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100 virtual surgery simulation apparatus 110 image processing unit
120 state management unit 130 communication unit
140 control unit 150 memory unit
210 first user terminal 220 second user terminal
610 Long term image 620 Vascular image
630 Surgical tool image 640 Physical condition information

Claims (19)

1. A method of operating a virtual surgery simulation apparatus,
Performing a virtual operation on the patient using a three-dimensional image of the patient's operation target region;
Generating a surgical image including at least a part of the virtual surgery procedure; And
And transmitting at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising the step of generating the three-dimensional image based on information on the medical image before surgery for the patient,
Wherein the three-dimensional image includes images of organs and blood vessels included in the operation target site. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein performing the virtual surgery comprises:
Displaying the three-dimensional image on a virtual space;
Matching at least one surgical tool image with the 3D image on the virtual space and displaying the same; And
And displaying a predetermined physical treatment for at least one of the organ and the blood vessel in accordance with a user input for manipulation of at least one of the surgical tool images. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the physical treatment comprises at least one of incision, ablation, cauterization, ultrasound treatment, grasping, sealing and clamping. The method of claim 3,
Further comprising the step of setting an initial value for the patient ' s physical condition information,
Wherein performing the virtual surgery further comprises updating the physical condition information according to at least one of performing the physical treatment and the lapse of time of the virtual surgery and displaying the updated physical condition information on the virtual space How it works. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising transmitting surgical schedule information,
Wherein the surgery schedule information includes information regarding a scheduled date and a performer of the virtual surgery. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the surgical image is a real-time image of at least a portion of the virtual surgery procedure. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising receiving a request for at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result,
Wherein transmitting at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result is performed in response to receiving the request. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising receiving feedback information for the virtual surgery in response to transmission of at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result. 10. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9. As a virtual surgery simulation apparatus,
A controller for performing a virtual surgery on the patient using a three-dimensional image of the patient's operation target region;
An image processing unit for generating a surgical image including at least a part of the virtual surgery procedure; And
And a communication unit for transmitting at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the image processing unit generates the three-dimensional image based on information on the medical image before surgery for the patient,
Wherein the 3D image includes images of organs and blood vessels included in the operation target site. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the controller displays the three-dimensional image on a virtual space, displays at least one surgical tool image on the virtual space with the three-dimensional image and displays the same, And displays, according to the input, a predetermined physical treatment for at least one of the organ and the blood vessel to be performed. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the physical treatment comprises at least one of incision, ablation, cauterization, ultrasound treatment, gripping, sealing and clamping. 14. The method of claim 13,
Further comprising a state management unit for setting an initial value for the physical state information of the patient,
Wherein the controller updates the physical condition information according to at least one of the execution of the physical treatment and the lapse of time of the virtual surgery, and displays the updated physical condition information on the virtual space. 12. The method of claim 11,
The communication unit transmits the operation schedule information,
Wherein the operation schedule information includes information on a scheduled date and a performer of the virtual surgery. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the surgical image is a real-time image of at least a part of the process of the virtual surgery. 12. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising receiving a request for at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result,
Wherein the transmission of at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result is performed in response to receipt of the request. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the communication unit receives feedback information on the virtual surgery in response to transmission of at least one of the surgical image and the surgical result.

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