Cutting in deformable objects

Abstract

Virtual reality simulations of surgical procedures allow such procedures to be practiced on computers instead of patients and test-animals. The core of such a system is a soft tissue simulation, that has to react very quickly but be realistic at the same time. This thesis discusses how deformable models can be simulated for this context, using an existing mathematical technique, the Finite Element Method. This method represents the object with a mesh, the material is subdivided in geometric primitives, such as triangles. Both the number of primitives and their shape influence the speed of a simulation. Hence, when the mesh changes, e.g. when simulating a procedure, this has to be done with care. This thesis shows how the interaction of meshing and simulation can be handled in software.