Hardware and Software Design for a Portable Surgical Training Simulator

Authors

Victoria Nelson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Carl A. Nelson

Committee Members

Ryan Pedrigi, Shane Farritor, Brittany Duncan

Date of this Version

8-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Major: Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Under the supervision of Professor Carl A. Nelson

Lincoln, Nebraska, August 2025

Comments

Copyright 2025, Victoria Nelson. Used by permission

Abstract

More than 51 million surgeries are performed on patients annually in the United States. That number grows to 310 million surgeries performed globally each year. Most surgeons go through a minimum of five years of residency – where they train and hone their surgical skills. It is important during this time, and throughout their careers, that they get plenty of practice. Surgical training is time intensive, expensive, and frequently under-resourced. There are finite amounts of surgical training modules for students to share at their facilities. The problem of getting adequate surgical training time continues to exist after surgeons begin their careers too. It is still important for surgeons to practice procedures they may not commonly perform, especially rural surgeons practicing across multiple surgical specialties. Continued surgical training is also important to allow surgeons to practice with variations in anatomy and keep updated on new advances in techniques and technology. Current surgical training models on the market are large and heavy, requiring that they must be used in a dedicated space such as a training facility. They also frequently feature single-use training parts that need to be replaced, meaning facilities must keep numerous extras on-hand and order more when needed. A portable, cost-effective surgical training simulator was developed to address these problems. This device features a compact, lightweight enclosure with a visual tracking system, a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, and a realistic virtual simulator that runs on a user’s computer. This device is easy to transport and can withstand the rigors of travel. The device is designed to work with a user’s preferred laparoscopic instruments, allowing them to develop muscle memory with their tools. Currently this device is constructed to train surgeons for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), the most common gallbladder removal surgery. Over 750,000 LC surgeries are performed each year in the United States. Unfortunately, with the rise of laparoscopic cholecystectomies, the amount of bile duct injuries (BDI) during LCs have increased. The simulation created focuses on teaching surgeons to identify the CVS, though it can be easily adapted to other surgical trainings in the future. The current prototype of this device provides a small, portable, realistic surgical training simulation with plans to implement performance metrics and feedback for trainee improvement.

Advisor: Carl A. Nelson