Immediate post-operative procedure for identification of the rheological parameters of biological soft tissue

Computer simulations of minimal invasive procedures have been developed for surgery planning or training or for the evaluation of surgical procedure. In order to perform realistic and precise simulations of surgery on soft tissue, one key step consists in introducing accurate tissue-specific mechanical parameters. The goal of this work was to transfer an indentation procedure from the laboratory to the operating room using a new portable indentation device. The numerical simulations with 3D finite element software of the experiments allowed us to identify the characteristic theological properties which minimize the gap between computed end measured physical quantities. The next step will be to extend this procedure to pathologic uterus and to other solid organs. (C) 2004 CARS and Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.