http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~sarah/brps.htm

(Complete with photos!)

The Bovine Rectal Palpation Simulator Project

Sarah Baillie BSc, BVSc, CertCHP, MSc, MRCVS

Bovine rectal palpation is a difficult procedure for veterinary students to learn and requires considerable practice to accurately identify structures. The majority of teaching takes place on farms with veterinary surgeons but it is increasingly difficult to ensure all students develop skills adequately by the time of graduation. This is partly due to the increased number of students in each year and reduced access to cows. Additionally, when a student is examining a cow the teacher is unable to observe what the student is palpating and the student may not be able to describe their hand position inside the cow. Therefore it is difficult for the teacher to instruct the student in the procedure.

The simulator was initially developed during an MSc project as an interactive teaching tool for veterinary students and may provide a way of supplementing existing training methods. The simulator uses haptic technology which allows the user to interact with a virtual environment through their sense of touch. While using the Bovine Rectal Palpation Simulator the student palpates virtual objects resembling parts of the reproductive tract inside the rear-half of a fibreglass cow. The teacher can visualise the student's actions on a screen and therefore provide training and guidance. The project uses the PHANToM force-feedback haptic device, supplied by SensAble Technologies.

(much more at site...)

(Thanks to JeremyT!)