1. Spatial Thinking in Non-design Areas
Virtual Reality (VR)
Laparoscopic Surgery Simulator
Cutting
Stitching
Virtual “flying” (Birdly)
Information Visualization
Hierarchical Networks – CZWeb
Visual Analytics
Business analytics
Intelligence analysis

2. Laparoscopic Surgery
Difficult task! Important to train surgeons. Do you want them to practice on you? 
Hence need for training system.

3. Laparoscopic Training Environment for Surgical Education Experimental Robotics Laboratory Simon Fraser University
Hand-eye Co-ordination
Simple Dissections
Simple Tracing
Organ Manipulation
Laparoscopic Training Environment
An incremental framework where surgeons can increase their skills
Better mechanical user interfaces and surgical training curriculum
Delivery through modules with increased realism

4. Simulating Dissection
Surgical Simulation
Cutting (dissection) is essential for such simulation
Instruments
Need to provide BOTH Visual and haptic feedback
demo video:
VIDEOS/2003-DissectionSim-plate.mpg :53

5. Simulating Suturing ..and “voila”, simulated suturing! Matt LeDuc
Experimental Robotics and Graphics Laboratory, School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University
1 Start with mass-spring suture, tissue models.
4. To simulate the suture passing through holes in the tissues, connect some vertices together.
The suture must slide through holes, but make sure tissues stay in the proper order!
2. Calculate Newton’s equations to find positions of vertices.
See demo video : Videos/2003-GI-Suture-demo.wmv
3. Attach a needle to the thread, since it’s kind of hard to sew without one. ;)
5. Add collision detection between grippers & needle, and needle tip and tissue..
..and “voila”, simulated suturing!
Supervised by Doctor Shahram Payandeh, and Doctor John Dill.

6. Needle Driver Suturing: e.g.
Wire-frame view of model with groove modeling incision to be sutured.
Note illustration shows open surgery; Needle driver used in Lap surgery; use open surgery just for illustration.
Surface and incision texture-mapped.
After several stitches.
Closed.

7. Overview of Environment
demo video
Matt suture: IRIS3-shahram; VIDEOS/2003-GI-Suture-demo.wmv 0:37
Hilary dissection: IRIS3-shahram; VIDEOS/2003-DissectionSim-cylinder2.mpg 37 sec
Hilary dissection: IRIS3-shahram; VIDEOS/2003-DissectionSim-plate.mpg sec
Demo video: VIDEOS/2003-GI-Suture-demo.wmv 0:37

8. Virtual Reality – flying “virtually”
Birdly “flight” simulation
5:30
Birdly® - fulfill people’s ancient dream of flying.
Uses VR and robotics to provide a vivid full-body experience
The immersive and interactive nature of Birdly® serves one goal: to enjoy the ultimate freedom of a bird and intuitively explore the skies.
Uses Oculus Development Kit and “Birdly”, a full-motion virtual reality rig that simulates flying.

9. Information Visualization
Unlike what you’ve been doing in 106, and unlike Scientific Visualization, there are lots of interesting problems where there is no “natural” underlying physical geometry. eg:
org chart
Concept maps
Node-Link map of social network conversations

10. Managing large hierarchically organized systems
Telecommunications networks
Power distribution networks
IGI Continuous Zoom
Hierarchy of groups and subgroups
Multiple levels are viewable
Continuous zoom gives detail-in-context view
“Rubber sheet” transformations
Smooth change in state
visual continuity
Open & Close cluster nodes
show detail: make children visible
hide detail: make more space
Multiple areas of focus
Degree of interest affects zoom
We use a hierarchical graph representation and a continuous zoom.
The inset zoom technique maintains the base page while allowing simultaneous views of multiple levels of the hierarchy 4

11. CZWeb CZWeb creates a clickable index for each Web page visited at an
open location
you are here!
Web exploration is a dynamic and evolving process. It is impossible to predict how many pages will be visited.
As the user visits sites, CZWeb displays new Web pages in open spaces, with a visible link to the previosly visited page. These links are springs that can reposition the nodes they connect so as to keep the spring length short.
If space is at a premium, CZWeb allows items to change size and location to make room for new or expanded items
Clicking on a node opens the Web page it points to in the browser window
If space is at a premium, CZWeb
allows items to change size and
location to make room for new
or expanded items 22 8

12. Visual Analytics New field – first established 2004
Helps us deal with very large, very complex and “messy” problems;
Combines elements from
cognitive science
human-computer interaction,
information visualization
computer science.
Initially aimed at first responders & intelligence analysts, now emphasis on business analytics
CogSci,
Perception
InfoVis, CompSci
Graphic &
Interaction Design
Math & Stats
CZSAW demo: [5:35]