Haptic interface for palpation simulation

A method for interfacing a user with a computer running an application program, the computer generating a graphical environment comprising a cursor and a graphical representation of at least a portion of a living body, the method comprising:

• providing an object in communication with the computer;
• controlling the cursor in relation to manipulation of at least a portion of the object by the user;
• and
• outputting a haptic sensation to the user when the cursor interacts with the graphical representation to simulate a pulse of the living body.

A method for interfacing a user with a computer running an application program, the computer generating a graphical environment comprising a cursor and a graphical representation of at least a portion of a living body, the method comprising:

• providing an object in communication with the computer;
• controlling the cursor in relation to manipulation of at least a portion of the object by the user;
• and
• outputting a haptic sensation to the user when the cursor interacts with the graphical representation to simulate a palpated feature on or below the surface of the graphical representation.

A palpation simulator comprising:

• a computer readable medium comprising a computer readable program including program instructions to cause a palpation simulation to be executed on a computer, and to cause the computer to generate a cursor and a graphical representation of at least a portion of a living body;
• an object in communication with the computer, at least a portion of the object being manipulatable by a user;
• a sensor in communication with the computer and coupled to the object to detect a manipulation of the at least a portion of the object to control the cursor;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the object to output a haptic sensation to the user when the cursor interacts with a region within the graphical representation, the haptic sensation simulating a palpation of the living body.