Central venous catheter insertion is intended to provide medical treatment, such as in order to quickly deliver large amounts of water, in order to provide high concentration drugs, and to monitor the signs of hermodynamics. One of the important steps of inserting a vein catheter is to enter the vein properly. The practice of training for medical students currently has a number of limitations. Manikin training has disadvantages of lack of realism, deterioration of the manikin from training, and the lack of adequate feedback for self-evaluation, thus requiring a trainer to evaluate. Practicing with patients has the risk of incorrect insertion of the needle, such as piercing arteries or other organs in the vicinity.
To solve these problems, this project is developing a virtual reality simulator for training medical students to insert a central vein catheter into the internal jugular. Students could use such a system to practice on their own at any time, learn the results of the training through the display of internal anatomy at the position of the needle insertion, and solve the problem of deterioration of the manakin and the risk to the patient. The system will be used for as a supplement to training in the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital. The project will develop a 3D anatomical model covering the area from ears to chest. The simulator will use a PC with high performance graphics card, a head-mounted display for 3D stereoscopic visualization, and a haptic device to control the virtual needle. The simulator will evaluate how well the student carries out the procedure and generate corrective feedback if mistakes are made.

PIs: Dr. Mores Prachyabrued, Prof. Dr. Peter Haddawy, Faculty of ICT, Mahidol University

Project Members
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sirin Apiyasawat, Cardiovascular Disease Section, Dept. Of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
• Dr. Myat Su Yin, Faculty of ICT, Mahidol University
• Prof. Dr. Gabriel Zachmann, Faculty of Informatics, Univ of Bremen

Duration: July 2019 – July 2020