RASimAs

2014 was the first year of the RASimAs project (STREP project funded under FP7) during which we developed new models of the biomechanics of the leg and arm, as well as the simulation of the insertion of the anaesthesiology needle. Regional anaesthesia has been used increasingly during the past four decades. This is addressed to the perceived advantages of reduced postoperative pain, earlier mobility, shorter hospital stay, and significantly lower costs. Current training methods for teaching regional anaesthesia include cadavers, video teaching, ultrasound guidance, and simple virtual patient modeling. These techniques have limited capabilities and do not consider individual anatomy. The goal of this project is to increase the application, the effectiveness and the success rates of RA and furthermore the diffusion of the method through the development VPH models for anaesthesia. The goal of the SHACRA team is to provide the computational infrastructure for the physics-based simulation and to propose new methods for patient-specific modeling and simulation of soft tissues and their interaction with the needle, including its effect on nerve physiology.