During my time at NUST, I led the development of Pakistan’s first surgical simulator - a significant research project funded by IGNITE (formerly ICT R&D Fund).
Project Overview
The SmartSIM system is a virtual reality simulator for laparoscopy training that uses a generic physics engine to provide realistic surgical simulation.
Key Contributions
- Physics-based simulation using deformable tissue models
- Haptic feedback integration for realistic touch sensation
- Performance metrics for evaluating trainee surgeons
- Benchmarking system comparing trainees against expert paths
Publications
This research resulted in several publications:
- SmartSIM - a virtual reality simulator for laparoscopy training - PMID: 27671920
- Benchmarking expert surgeons’ path for evaluating trainees - ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2013
- Input Devices for Virtual Surgical Simulations - IEEE
Impact
This project helped establish medical simulation research in Pakistan and trained multiple graduate students in the field.