BioSonix: Can Physics-Based Sonification Perceptualize Tissue Deformations From Tool Interactions?

2025-08-20

AI Summary

To address the challenge of characterizing dynamic tool–soft-tissue interactions during surgery—where visual modality is impeded by occlusion and limited depth perception—this paper introduces BioSonix, a novel framework that integrates biomechanical simulation with physics-based acoustic modeling to convert real-time 3D tissue deformation into auditory feedback. BioSonix models particle displacement, computes excitation forces, and maps biomechanical parameters (e.g., tissue stiffness and density) to audible signals, enabling perceptual encoding of tissue properties within mixed-reality surgical systems. In a user study involving 22 clinical experts, auditory feedback significantly improved tissue discrimination and localization accuracy. Cross-correlation analysis revealed strong alignment between sound features and tool–tissue dynamics (r > 0.92), validating BioSonix’s effectiveness in augmenting intraoperative perception and compensating for inherent visual limitations. This work represents the first demonstration of real-time, biomechanically grounded sonification for surgical guidance.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Bio-inspired Learning
• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Assisted, interactive, and conversational search

Abstract

Perceptualizing tool interactions with deformable structures in surgical procedures remains challenging, as unimodal visualization techniques often fail to capture the complexity of these interactions due to constraints such as occlusion and limited depth perception. This paper presents a novel approach to augment tool navigation in mixed reality environments by providing auditory representations of tool-tissue dynamics, particularly for interactions with soft tissue. BioSonix, a physics-informed design framework, utilizes tissue displacements in 3D space to compute excitation forces for a sound model encoding tissue properties such as stiffness and density. Biomechanical simulations were employed to model particle displacements resulting from tool-tissue interactions, establishing a robust foundation for the method. An optimization approach was used to define configurations for capturing diverse interaction scenarios with varying tool trajectories. Experiments were conducted to validate the accuracy of the sound-displacement mappings. Additionally, two user studies were performed: the first involved two clinical professionals (a neuroradiologist and a cardiologist), who confirmed the method's impact and achieved high task accuracy; the second included 22 biomedical experts, who demonstrated high discrimination accuracy in tissue differentiation and targeting tasks. The results revealed a strong correlation between tool-tissue dynamics and their corresponding auditory profiles, highlighting the potential of these sound representations to enhance the intuitive understanding of complex interactions.

Problem

• Augmenting tool navigation in mixed reality with auditory feedback
• Perceptualizing tool-tissue interactions through physics-based sonification
• Mapping tissue deformations to sound for enhanced surgical understanding

Innovation

• Physics-based sonification for tissue deformation
• Mixed reality auditory tool-tissue dynamics
• Biomechanical simulations mapping sound to displacements