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PURPOSE: Endoscopic vessel harvesting is the preferred minimally invasive approach to obtain grafts for coronary bypass surgeries, however it requires extensive practice to minimize vessel damage. We propose to create a surgical training simulation with visual and haptic feedback. In this study, we focus on analyzing the force and torque peaks on the surgical retractor during the procedure. METHODS: The original retractor handle was 3D scanned and modified to attach an ATI Mini40 force-torque transducer. The forces and torques in two radial artery and two saphenous vein procedures in human cadavers were recorded. The measurements, endoscopic video and surgical surface video were collected. The median and interquartile range of the force and torque peaks were calculated for the artery and vein harvesting procedures. RESULTS: The median and interquartile range for saphenous vein harvests was larger than radial artery harvests. The largest median force and torque generated in the vein was 11.654 N [posterior] and 0.661 Nm [- frontal], whereas in the artery was 6.163 N [anterior] and 0.381 Nm [+ frontal], respectively. CONCLUSION: The distribution of force and torque peaks in the retractor was found for endoscopic vessel harvests. This data can be used to design a haptic user interface, and to establish expert benchmarks for learning curve evaluation.
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