UltraSendo

Acoustic radiation creates a focal point of concentrated acoustic pressure in a three-dimensional field producing a tactile sensation in mid-air. We have developed a system called UltraSendo using an array of ultrasonic transducers cooperatively emitting ultrasonic waves to a focal point. UltraSendo is the first application of this technology in the context of medical training simulators.

The video shows the components used to build Ultrasendo:

We used this tactile interface to provide the sensation of a pulse and a thrill (a vibratory sensation felt on the skin overlying an area of turbulence) within an augmented reality training simulator. A face validation studywas carried out at a Catheter Laboratory in a major regional hospital.

The UltraSendo components are draped in a blue sheet. Chromakey techniques are used so that the user can only see the virtual patient as they perform a palpation.
Figure 1: The UltraSendo components are draped in a blue sheet. Chromakey techniques are used so that the user can only see the virtual patient as they perform a palpation. [JPG]

This is one of the projects from when the Medical Graphics group was based at Bangor University.

  1. Hung, G. M. Y., John, N. W., Hancock, C., & Hoshi, T. (2014). Using and Validating Airborne Ultrasound as a Tactile Interface within Medical Training Simulators. In Biomedical Simulation (pp. 30–39). Springer. [bib]
  2. Hung, G. M. Y., John, N. W., Hancock, C., Gould, D. A., & Hoshi, T. (2013). UltraPulse-Simulating a Human Arterial Pulse with Focussed Airborne Ultrasound. In 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS, Osaka, Japan (Vol. 550, pp. 2511–2514). [bib]