Replication Data for: Perception by Palpation: Development and Testing of a Haptic Ferrogranular Jamming Surface

Remark regarding V1: We are aware that the data set currently contains non-preferred file formats. V2 of this data set will be updated with preferred file formats, and more extensive description shortly. Tactile hands-only training is particularly important for medical palpation. Generally, equipment for palpation training is expensive, static, or provides too few study cases to practice on. We have therefore developed a novel haptic surface concept for palpation training, using ferrogranular jamming. The concept’s design consists of a tactile field spanning 260x160 mm, and uses ferromagnetic granules to alter shape, position, and hardness of palpable irregularities. Granules are enclosed in a compliant vacuum-sealed chamber connected to a pneumatic system. A variety of geometric shapes (output) can be obtained by manipulating and arranging granules with permanent magnets. The tactile hardness of the palpable output can be controlled by adjusting the chamber’s vacuum level. A psychophysical experiment (N 28) investigated how people interact with the palpable surface and evaluated the proposed concept. Untrained participants characterized irregularities with different position, form, and hardness through palpation, and their performance was evaluated. A baseline (no irregularity) was compared to three irregularity conditions: two circular shapes with different hardness (Hard Lump and Soft Lump), and an Annulus shape. 100% of participants correctly identified an irregularity in the three irregularity conditions, whereas 78.6% correctly identified baseline. Overall agreement between participants was high (κ= 0.723). The Intersection over Union (IoU) for participants sketched outline over the actual shape was IoU Mdn = 79.3% for Soft Lump, IoU Mdn = 68.8% for Annulus, and IoU Mdn = 76.7% for Hard Lump. The distance from actual to drawn center was Mdn = 6.4mm for Soft Lump, Mdn = 5.3mm for Annulus, and Mdn = 7.4 mm for Hard Lump, which are small distances compared to the size of the field. The participants subjectively evaluated the Soft Lump to be significantly softer than the Hard Lump and the Annulus. Moreover, 71% of participants thought they improved their palpation skills throughout the experiment. Together, these results show that the concept can render irregularities with different position, form, and hardness, and that users are able to locate and characterize these through palpation. Participants experienced an improvement in palpation skills throughout the experiment, which indicates the concepts feasibility as a palpation training device.

关于V1版本的说明：我们意识到当前数据集包含非首选的文件格式。本数据集的V2版本将更新为首选文件格式，并附上更为详尽的描述。触觉手部训练对于医疗触诊至关重要。通常，触诊训练设备昂贵、静态或提供的案例过少，不足以进行练习。因此，我们开发了一种基于铁磁性颗粒粘滞现象的新型触觉表面概念，用于触诊训练。该概念的设计包含一个260x160毫米的触觉场，利用磁性颗粒改变触觉不规则的形状、位置和硬度。颗粒被封装在一个柔软的真空密封室内，并与气动系统相连。通过使用永磁体操纵和排列颗粒，可以获得多种几何形状（输出）。通过调整密封室的真空度，可以控制触觉输出的硬度。一项心理物理学实验（N=28）调查了人们如何与触觉表面互动，并评估了所提出的概念。未经训练的参与者通过触诊对不同位置、形态和硬度的不规则性进行表征，并对其表现进行评估。以无不规则性（基线）为基准，将其与三种不规则性条件进行比较：两种不同硬度的圆形形状（硬肿块和软肿块）以及环形形状。100%的参与者在三种不规则性条件下正确识别出不规则性，而78.6%正确识别了基线。参与者之间的总体一致性较高（κ=0.723）。参与者在实际形状上勾勒轮廓的交并比（IoU）中值分别为：软肿块IoU Mdn=79.3%，环形IoU Mdn=68.8%，硬肿块IoU Mdn=76.7%。实际形状与绘制中心点的距离中值分别为：软肿块Mdn=6.4毫米，环形Mdn=5.3毫米，硬肿块Mdn=7.4毫米，这些距离与场的大小相比微乎其微。参与者主观上认为软肿块比硬肿块和环形显著柔软。此外，71%的参与者认为他们在实验过程中提高了触诊技能。综合这些结果，表明该概念能够以不同的位置、形态和硬度呈现不规则性，并且用户能够通过触诊定位和表征这些不规则性。参与者在整个实验过程中感受到了触诊技能的提升，这表明该概念作为触诊训练设备的可行性。