Abstract
Physician palpation is a useful medical examination, because it is non-invasive, quick and simple. However, to make an accurate diagnosis using palpation, physicians need long-time training and practice. Moreover, it is difficult for beginners to learn how to make a motion on palpation and what to feel at that time. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the relationship between the palpation motions and haptic sense, and to support beginners to improve the palpation skill. We focus on a palpation for prostate gland and develop a prostate palpation simulator for measuring actual palpation motions. By using the simulator and a measurement system consisting of four infrared cameras and a load cell, the palpation motions of an expert and five beginners are measured. Then it is confirmed that the expert has better palpation skills than beginners. And the characteristics of effective motions for making a diagnosis of prostate cancer and hypertrophy are extracted.
