high performance computing on graphics processing units: hgpu.org

The goal of this project was to evaluate the viability of a mass-spring-damper based model for modeling of biological tissue. A method for automatically generating such a model from data taken from 3D medical imaging equipment including both the generation of point masses and an algorithm for generating the spring-damper links between these points is presented. Furthermore, an implementation of a simulation of this model running in real-time by utilizing the parallel computational power of modern GPU hardware through OpenCL is described. This implementation uses the fourth order Runge-Kutta method to improve stability over similar implementations. The difficulty of maintaining stability while still providing rigidness to the simulated tissue is thoroughly discussed. Several observations on the influence of the structure of the model on the consistency of the simulated tissue are also presented. This implementation also includes two manipulation tools, a move tool and a cut tool for interaction with the simulation. From the results, it is clear that the mass-springdamper model is a viable model that is possible to simulate in real-time on modern but commoditized hardware. With further development, this can be of great benefit to areas such as medical visualization and surgical simulation.