Touch of Life Technologies (ToLTech), an Aurora, Colorado company that develops medical simulators, is releasing a cystoscopy simulator for practicing BOTOX injections into the detrusor muscle of the bladder. The procedure was approved by the FDA last year as a treatment option for patients with urinary incontinence arising from neurologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury.
The simulator makes use of the Phantom haptic device from Geomagic (formerly Sensable Technologies) that provides force feedback when the virtual needle comes into contact with objects on the screen.
From the announcement:
The simulator was developed to support global health care company Allergan’s commitment to educate and train urologists on the proper technique for injecting BOTOX® to treat incontinence in adults with overactive bladder due to neurologic condition as a second-line treatment when anticholinergic medications have failed or were intolerable. The simulator and injection procedures comply with the instructions for use outlined in the product label approved by the FDA for this BOTOX® indication.
ToLTech’s interactive products are based on photographic images from the National Library of Medicine’s Visible Human Project® and similar higher resolution images. The simulator is designed to be lightweight for portability and incorporates an all-in-one computer with the ToLTech interface to the clinical cystoscope.