Sterile barrier between surgical instrument and teleoperated actuator

Abstract

The instrument sterilization drape comprises a plastic sheet and a pouch sealed to a first opening of the plastic sheet. The pouch is shaped to fit around the perimeter of a carriage containing an actuator. An instrument sterilization adapter (ISA) is connected to a second opening of the pouch. The ISA comprises a bottom plate and a top plate located on both sides of the pouch and joined together. Reinforcement may be connected to the pouch around the perimeter of the second opening to provide a relatively inelastic region corresponding to a portion of the pouch maintained between the bottom plate and the top plate. Portions of the bottom plate may protrude through the top plate to provide a reference plane for receiving surgical instruments. The ISA may include loose pins that press against sensing pins in the carriage when a surgical instrument is mounted.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] This application claims priority to the following previously filed applications.

[0002] USA 61 / 954,497 March 17, 2014

[0003] USA 61 / 954,502 March 17, 2014

[0004] USA 61 / 954,557 March 17, 2014

[0005] USA 61 / 954,571 March 17, 2014

[0006] USA 61 / 954,595 March 17, 2014

[0007] USA 62 / 019,318 June 30, 2014

[0008] USA 62 / 103,991 January 15, 2015

[0009] USA 62 / 104,306 January 16, 2015

[0011] Each of these applications is specifically incorporated herein by reference to the maximum extent permissible.

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of surgical drapes, and more specifically, to surgical drapes for remotely operated actuators provided for attaching surgical instruments. Background Technology

[0013] Minimally invasive medical techniques have been used to reduce the amount of external tissue that may be damaged during diagnostic or surgical procedures, thereby reducing patient recovery time, discomfort, and harmful side effects. Traditional forms of minimally invasive surgery include endoscopy. One of the more common forms of endoscopy is laparoscopy, which is a minimally invasive examination or surgery performed inside the abdominal cavity. In conventional laparoscopic surgery, gas is injected into the patient's abdominal cavity, and cannula sleeves pass through small (approximately 12 mm) incisions within the muscle tissue of the patient's abdomen to provide entry ports through which laparoscopic surgical instruments can pass in a sutured manner.

[0014] Laparoscopic surgical instruments generally include surgical instruments having a laparoscope for observing the surgical site and end effectors. Conventional surgical end effectors include, for example, clamps, grippers, scissors, staplers, and puncture devices. The surgical instruments are similar to those used in conventional (open) surgery, except for, for example, long extension tubes, that the working end or end effector of each surgical instrument is spaced approximately 30 cm from its handle to enable the operator to guide the end effector to the surgical site and to control the movement of the end effector toward the surgical site from outside the patient's body.

[0015] To provide improved control of the end effector, it may be desirable to control the surgical instrument with remotely operated actuators. The physician may operate controls on a console to indirectly control the instrument connected to the remotely operated actuators. The surgical instrument is detachably connected to the remotely operated actuators so that the instrument can be individually sterilized and selected for use as the instrument required for the surgical procedure to be performed. The surgical instrument may be changed during the course of the surgery. The problem to be solved

[0016] Performing surgery with remotely operated surgical instruments presents new challenges. One challenge is the requirement to maintain a sterile environment in the area adjacent to the patient. However, motors, sensors, encoders, and the electrical connections required to control the surgical instruments cannot typically be sterilized using conventional methods such as steam, heat, pressure, or chemicals, as they may be damaged or destroyed during the sterilization process.

[0017] Another challenge regarding remotely operated surgical systems is that multiple connection means are required between the surgical instrument, the remotely operated actuator, and its control unit. Connection means are required to transmit actuator force, electrical signals, and data. This enables the attachment of the surgical instrument to the remotely operated actuator and complicates the control unit.

[0018] Another challenge regarding servo-operated remote surgical systems is that the operating room is not an ideal environment for preparing precision machine assemblies.

[0019] It may be desirable to provide an effective sterile barrier interface between a surgical system of remotely operated actuators and a surgical instrument controlled by the actuators. Although known sterile barrier interfaces have been effective, the need to improve the workflow of patient-side surgical personnel and to accommodate advancements in the designs and performance of remotely operated surgical instruments necessitates an improved sterile interface. Among the required improvements are the ability to quickly, easily, and securely mount the sterile barrier interface (along with its associated sterile barrier drape) to the mechanical drive elements of the actuator and the information and communication interface points of the surgical system; the ability to quickly, easily, and securely mount the surgical instrument to the interface so that the mechanical drive functions of the actuator and the information and communication functions of the system are effectively connected to the surgical instrument; the ability to quickly and easily unplug and unplug the surgical instrument from the interface so that other surgical instruments can be mounted and coupled in the appropriate places; and the ability to quickly and easily unplug and unplug the interface from the actuator. Additionally, this improved interface must not only be mechanically robust but also easy to manufacture and low-cost. means of solving the problem

[0020] The instrument sterilization drape comprises a plastic sheet and a pouch sealed to a first opening of the plastic sheet. The pouch is shaped to fit around the perimeter of a carriage containing an actuator. An instrument sterile adapter (ISA) is connected to a second opening of the pouch. The ISA comprises a bottom plate and a top plate located on both sides of the pouch and joined together. Reinforcement may be connected to the pouch around the second opening to provide a relatively inelastic region corresponding to a portion of the pouch maintained between the bottom plate and the top plate. Portions of the bottom plate may protrude through the top plate to provide a reference plane for receiving surgical instruments. The ISA may include loose pins that press against sensing pins in the carriage when a surgical instrument is mounted.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0022] The present invention is best understood by referring to the accompanying drawings used to illustrate embodiments of the invention as non-limiting examples and the following detailed description of the invention. In the drawings, similar reference numerals indicate similar elements. FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating the patient-side portion (100) of a remotely operated surgical system. Figure 2 is a side view of a surgical instrument for use with a remotely operated actuator. Figure 3 is a perspective view of a setup joint. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the strut portion of the setup joint shown in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a perspective view of a part of a sterilization drape. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the control surface of the carriage, the instrument sterilization adapter (ISA), and the surgical instrument. Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the ISA. Figure 8 is a perspective view of the pouch portion of the ISA. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of an ISA cut along line 7A-7A of Figure 7. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom plate of the ISA cut along line 7B-7B of FIG. 7. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the presence pins and a part of the ISA cut along line 7C-7C of FIG. 7. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the presence pin and a part of the ISA, indicated by a circle in FIG. 11. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0023] Numerous specific details are described in the following detailed description of the invention. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail to clarify the understanding of the detailed description of the invention.

[0024] In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some embodiments of the invention. It is understood that other embodiments may be used and that mechanical and constitutive modifications, structural modifications, electrical modifications, and operational modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The following detailed description of the invention should not be construed as limiting, and the scope of embodiments of the invention is limited only by the claims of the registered patent.

[0025] The terms used herein are intended to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Terms such as “under,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and similar spatially relative terms may be used to facilitate describing the relationship of any element or component to other element(s) or component(s) as illustrated in the drawings. It is understood that spatially relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device in use or being operated in addition to the orientations illustrated in the drawings. For example, if the device in the drawings is inverted, elements described as being “under” or “below” other elements or components may be oriented “above” other elements or components. Thus, the exemplary term “under” may include both orientations that are on top or on the bottom. The device may be oriented otherwise (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or oriented in a different way), and spatially relative descriptors may be used herein as appropriately described.

[0026] As used herein, singular forms ("a," "an," "the" in the original English specification) are intended to include plural forms unless the context otherwise indicates. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise" and / or "comprising" specify the presence of the mentioned members, steps, orientations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other members, steps, orientations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a patient-side portion (100) of a remotely operated surgical system according to embodiments of the present invention. The patient-side portion (100) comprises support assemblies (110) and one or more surgical instrument manipulators (112) at the ends of each support assembly. The support assemblies optionally comprise one or more non-motor lockable setup joints used to position the surgical instrument manipulators (112)(s) relative to the patient undergoing surgery. As illustrated, the patient-side portion (100) rests on a floor surface. In other embodiments, the patient-side portion may be mounted on a wall, a ceiling, a surgical table (126) that also supports the patient's body (122), or other operating room equipment. Furthermore, while the patient-side portion (100) is shown as comprising four manipulators (112), more or fewer manipulators (112) may also be used. Furthermore, the patient side portion (100) may be made of a single assembly as shown, or may include two or more separate assemblies that are optionally mounted in various possible ways.

[0028] Each surgical instrument manipulator (112) supports one or more surgical instruments (120) that are manipulated at a surgical site inside the patient's body (122). Each manipulator (112) may be provided in various forms that allow the associated surgical instrument to move in one or more mechanical degrees of freedom (e.g., all 6 Cartesian degrees of freedom, 5 or fewer Cartesian degrees of freedom, etc.). Typically, mechanical or control constraints restrict each manipulator (112) from moving the surgical instrument around a center of motion on the instrument that is stationary relative to the patient, and this center of motion is typically positioned so that the instrument is in a position to enter the body.

[0029] The term “surgical instrument” is used herein to describe a medical device configured to be inserted into a patient’s body to perform a surgical or diagnostic procedure. A surgical instrument typically comprises one or more end effectors associated with a surgical operation, such as forceps, needle drivers, shears, anode cauterizers, tissue stabilizers or extractors, clip applicators, anastomosis devices, imaging devices (e.g., endoscopes or ultrasound probes), and similar devices. Some surgical instruments used with embodiments of the present invention further provide an articulating support means (often referred to as a “wrist”) for the end effector so that the position and orientation of the end effector can be controlled with one or more mechanical degrees of freedom with respect to the shaft of the instrument. Furthermore, a number of surgical end effectors include functional mechanical degrees of freedom, such as jaws that open or close or knives that translate along a path. A surgical instrument also includes stored information (e.g., stored on semiconductor memory inside the instrument) which may be permanent or updateable by a surgical system. Accordingly, the system may be provided for one-way or two-way information communication between the apparatus and one or more system components.

[0030] A functional remotely operated surgical system will generally include a visual system portion (not shown) that allows an operator to view the surgical site from outside the patient's body (122). The visual system typically includes a surgical instrument having a video image capture function ("camera mechanism (128)") and one or more video displays for displaying the captured images. In some surgical system configurations, the camera mechanism (128) includes optical means for transmitting images from outside the patient's body (122) to one or more image sensors (e.g., CCD sensors or CMOS sensors) from the distal end of the camera mechanism (128). Alternatively, the image sensor(s) may be positioned at the distal end of the camera mechanism (128), and signals generated by the sensor(s) may be transmitted along lead wires or wirelessly for processing and display on the video display. A schematic video display is a stereoscopic image display on a physician's console in a surgical system commercialized by Intuitive Surgical Incorporated, Sunnyvale, California.

[0031] A functional remotely operated surgical system may further include a control system portion (not shown) for controlling the movement of surgical instruments (120), while the instruments are located inside the patient. The control system portion may be located in a single location within the surgical system or may be distributed across two or more locations within the system (e.g., the components of the control system portion may be located in a dedicated system control console or in the patient-side portion (100) of the system located in a separate equipment rack). Remote master / slave control may be performed in various ways depending on the desired degree of control, the size of the surgical assembly being controlled, and other factors. In some embodiments, the control system portion includes one or more manually operated input devices, such as a joystick, an exoskeletal glove, an electric gravity compensation manipulator, or similar devices. These input devices control a remotely operated motor, which in turn controls the movement of the surgical instrument.

[0032] The force generated by the remotely operated motors is transmitted through a drivetrain mechanism that transmits force from the remotely operated motors to the surgical instrument (120). In some remote surgery embodiments, the input device controlling the manipulator(s) may be provided to a remote location from the patient, either inside or outside the room where the patient is placed. Input signals from the input devices are then transmitted to the control system section. For those familiar with remote manipulator, remotely operated, and remote-realistic surgery, the da Vinci commercialized by Intuitive Surgical Incorporated ® Zeus, originally manufactured by ) Surgical Systems and Computer Motion Incorporated ® You will be able to learn about these systems, such as surgical systems, their components, and various schematic components of these systems.

[0033] As shown, both the surgical instrument (120) and the optional entry guide (124) (e.g., a cannula inside the patient's abdomen) are removablely connected to the distal end of the manipulator (112) with the surgical instrument (120) inserted through the entry guide (124). Remote actuators within the manipulator (112) move the surgical instrument (120) as a whole. The manipulator (112) further includes an instrument carriage (130). The surgical instrument (120) is detachably connected to the carriage (130). The remote actuators housed within the carriage (130) provide numerous control movements that convert the surgical instrument (120) into various movements of the end effector on the surgical instrument. Thus, the remote actuators within the carriage (130) move only one or more components of the surgical instrument (120), rather than the instrument as a whole. The input values ​​controlling the apparatus as a whole or its components are those in which input values ​​("master" commands) provided to the control system by the physician are converted into corresponding actions ("slave" responses) by the surgical instrument.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a side view relating to a schematic embodiment of a surgical instrument (120) having a distal portion (250) and a proximal control mechanism (240) connected by an elongated tube (210). The distal portion (250) of the surgical instrument (120) may provide any of various end effectors, such as the shown forceps (254), needle driver, cauterization device, cutting tool, imaging device (e.g., endoscope or ultrasound probe), or a combination device comprising a combination of two or more various tools and imaging devices. In the shown embodiment, the end effector (254) is connected to the elongated tube (210) by a "list" (252) that allows the orientation of the end effector to be manipulated in relation to the instrument tube (210).

[0035] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an arm extending from a setup joint (110). The arm supports a carriage (130), which in turn supports a surgical instrument (120) on a strut (310). When preparing for surgery, the setup joint is covered with a sterile drape (300). The sterile drape protects the arm from contamination and provides a sterile surface around the arm. Most of the sterile drape (300) is a plastic sheet, which may be in the form of a tube or bag covering the arm. For example, a single-layer thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or other suitable material may be used for the plastic sheet. A lubricant may be mixed in to reduce the tackiness of the plastic. The sheet may have a thickness of about 100 micrometers (0.004 inches).

[0036] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the strut (310) portion of the arm supporting the carriage (130). A spar (402) positions the carriage (130) on the strut (310). A sterile drape is not shown to allow the carriage (130) to be seen more clearly. The surface (400) of the carriage provides numerous mechanical and electrical interfaces to communicate mechanical motion and data signals between the control system, actuator, and surgical instrument. It will be understood that means of connection to the surgical instrument may require penetration through the sterile drape. It is difficult to provide penetration through a plastic sheet that is compatible with means of connection between the carriage (130) and the surgical instrument. Furthermore, the carriage (130) is shaped to allow the long tube (210) (Fig. 2) of the surgical instrument (120) to pass through the recess (410) along the side of the carriage. It is difficult to drape the carriage with a plastic sheet due to the shape of the carriage, because the carriage protrudes from the strut (310).

[0037] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a sterilization drape configured to be placed around a carriage (130). The sterilization drape comprises three portions. The first portion is the plastic sheet (300) described above. The second portion is a pouch (500) shaped to fit around the carriage (130). The third portion is a mainly rigid instrument sterilization adapter (ISA) (510) that is coupled to the control members (400) of the carriage (130) and provides a sterilization corresponding portion of the control members for connection to surgical instruments. Each of the three portions of the sterilization drape overlaps and is sutured to adjacent portions so that the three portions form a continuous barrier. The sterilization drape is a replaceable assembly.

[0038] The pouch (500) may be made of materials such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), ethylene-vinylacetate copolymers (EVA) and / or thermoplastic urethane (TPU), which may be the same materials used for the plastic sheet (300) but thicker. Other suitable materials may be used for the pouch. The pouch (500) may be manufactured from a plastic sheet of suitable thickness by a suitable process such as heat-forming, thermo-forming, or vacuum-forming. The pouch (500) may be flexible, but must return to its original shape when not under stress. The pouch (500) provides a portion of a loose drape that fits around the carriage (130) to provide a clean working space for actuators and surgical instruments. There may be specific areas where the pouch fits more tightly into the carriage (130), such as the area (410) where the shaft of the surgical instrument passes through the carriage. It may be desirable to form the pouch (500) from a transparent or translucent material so that members of the carriage (130), such as indicator lights, can be seen through the pouch. In some embodiments, the pouch may be formed from two or more parts. For example, some parts of the pouch may be formed from a more rigid material, and some parts of the pouch may be formed from a more flexible material.

[0039] A hole (520) is formed in the plastic sheet (300) to which the pouch (500) is bonded. It is preferable to bond the pouch (500) to the plastic sheet (300) such that the pouch is positioned over the hole (520) rather than extending through the hole. The plastic sheet can be bonded to the pouch by a process compatible with the materials of the pouch and the sheet, such as using heat welding or pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). The hole (520) can be formed in the plastic sheet (300) before or after the pouch (500) is bonded to the plastic sheet.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a proximal control mechanism (240) of a surgical instrument rotated so that the control surface (400) of the carriage, the ISA (510) (without the plastic sheet portion or pouch of the sterile drape), and the instrument control surface (242) are visible. The ISA (510) is connected to the control surface (400) of the carriage as suggested by the drawing. The ISA (510) provides a control surface to which all control members of the control surface (400) of the carriage extend, such as a replaceable sterile surface that can be coupled to the control members of the instrument control surface (242) while accommodating the proximal control mechanism (240) of the remotely operated surgical instrument.

[0041] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the ISA (510). The ISA is assembled by inserting coupler discs (724) into the openings (722) of the bottom plate (710) of the ISA. The coupler discs (724) may be held in the openings by passing the tabs on the discs through the keyholes in the bottom plate and then rotating the discs to misalign the tabs and keyholes. Presence pins (600) may be inserted into the pockets (712) in the bottom plate (710) of the ISA. A flux coupler (704) may be connected over the openings (702) in the top plate (700) of the ISA.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pouch (500). The pouch provides an opening (802) through which control members, such as a coupler disk (724), a presence pin (600), and a flux coupler (704), communicate between a bottom plate (710) and a top plate (700). An assembled bottom plate (710) is positioned on a first side of the pouch (500) adjacent to the opening (802), that is, on the side of the pouch facing the interior of the pouch cavity. An assembled top plate (700) is positioned on a second side of the pouch facing the opening (802), that is, on the side of the pouch facing away from the interior of the pouch cavity. The pouch (500) is held between the top plate (700) and the bottom plate (710), which can be joined together in various ways. One method of joining the top plate (700) and the bottom plate (710) is to pass pins between the top plate and the bottom plate and through a pouch, and then heat-fix the pins to form a permanent assembly. Other suitable methods of joining the top plate and the bottom plate include ultrasonic welding, pressure-sensitive adhesive, liquid adhesive, and snap fit.

[0043] Referring again to FIGS. 6 and FIGS. 7, the normal plate (700) may include a vertical wall portion (612) that is substantially perpendicular to the control surface of the carriage and substantially parallel to the strut (310) supporting the carriage (130). The vertical wall portion (612) of the ISA may provide a rigid surface that protects the soft surfaces of the sterile drape during the process while assisting in guiding the surgical instrument to be coupled with the ISA. The vertical wall portion (612) may include a rib (614) that is coupled to a corresponding recess (616) of the proximal control mechanism (240) of the surgical instrument. As the mechanism is positioned to be coupled to the ISA, the rib (614) may be tapered to provide an acceptable initial engagement (wherein “engagement” means not only simply contacting one object with another at a specific point or on a specific surface, but also a broad “engagement” including the action or state of two objects interlocking with each other, which is the same throughout the specification).

[0044] Referring again to FIG. 8, some areas (804) maintained between the bottom plate (710) and the top plate (700) are narrow. If a flexible material is used to form the pouch (500), the material will not be properly maintained between the bottom plate (710) and the top plate (700) due to the flexibility and elasticity of the pouch material. A reinforcing material (800) may be attached to the pouch (500) to provide a relatively inelastic area corresponding to the portion of the pouch maintained between the bottom plate (710) and the top plate (700). The inelastic area may be formed by co-extruding a sheet having a layer of polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified (PETG) and a layer of thermoplastic urethane (TPU). The reinforcing material (800) may be cut for the co-extruded sheet. The reinforcing material (800) may be connected to the pouch (500) by heat welding the TPU surface to the pouch, which may be formed from TPU. Other assemblies may also be used in which an inelastic region (800) maintained between the bottom plate (710) and the top plate (700) of the ISA is provided in the flexible pouch (500). Other embodiments may use a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) or a liquid adhesive to bond the pouch (500) to either or both of the bottom plate (710) and the top plate (700) to maintain the pouch between the plates.

[0045] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an ISA (510) cut along line 7A-7A of FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 6, the carriage may provide a sensor (604) for reading a radio frequency identification (RFID) device included in the surgical instrument. Since metal components are present nearby, the sensor (604) may require being in very close proximity to the RFID device. The bottom plate (710) of the ISA may provide a passage (900) that allows the sensor (604) to pass through the bottom plate and reinforcement (800) and allows the pouch (500) to be placed adjacent to the normal plate (700) of the ISA. Furthermore, the area (902) of the normal plate (700) that may be adjacent to the sensor (604) may be formed thinly to allow the sensor to be in even closer proximity to the RFID device of the surgical instrument.

[0046] Referring again to FIG. 6, the carriage may provide a fluid connection means (606) that provides a connection for electrical signals and / or optical signals. In the illustrated embodiment, pogo pins (606), spring-loaded conductive pins, provide electrical signals connected to the surgical instrument. The bottom plate (710) of the ISA may provide a passage (910) that allows the fluid connection means (606) to pass through the bottom plate and the reinforcing material (800) and allows the pouch (500) to be placed adjacent to the normal plate (700) of the ISA. The area of ​​the normal plate (700) that may be adjacent to the fluid connection means may provide openings (912) for a fluid connection device (904) that closes the openings of the normal plate to provide a continuous barrier, while providing a path for electrical signals and / or optical signals between the fluid connection means and the surgical instrument.

[0047] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom plate (710) of the ISA cut along line 7B-7B of FIG. 7. It is desirable to position the surgical instrument at a known distance from the control surface (400) of the carriage (130) (Fig. 4). If the surgical instrument is positioned relative to the normal plate (700) of the ISA, the dimensional tolerances of the bottom plate (710), the reinforcement (800), the pouch (500), and the normal plate will affect the position of the surgical instrument, which will not provide the desired precision of the position. The bottom plate (710) may include landing pads (602) that provide a reference plane for the surgical instrument. The landing pads (602) extend from the bottom plate (710) across the reinforcement (800), the pouch (500), and the normal plate (700). The bottom plate (710) may further include mounting surfaces (1000) that provide a reference surface for mounting the ISA on the control surface (400) of the carriage (130). Since the landing pads (602) and the mounting surfaces (1000) are facing parallel surfaces on the solid bottom plate (710), the distance between the landing pads and the mounting surfaces can be controlled with considerable precision. Thus, the ISA can precisely position the surgical instrument at a known distance from the control surface (400) of the carriage (130).

[0048] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the normal plate (700), bottom plate (710), and presence pins (600) of the ISA cut along line 7C-7C of FIG. 7. The control system may require a signal indicating when the surgical instrument is connected to the ISA (510). The carriage may provide spring-loaded plungers (608) (Fig. 6) that can be pressed to provide a signal to the control system. The bottom plate (710) of the ISA may provide pockets (1104) for receiving the presence pins (600). Openings (1102) are provided in the bottom plate (710) so that the spring-loaded plungers (608) can pass into the pockets (1104) in the bottom plate and raise the presence pins (600) through the openings in the normal plate (710). The presence pins (600) maintain a sterile barrier between the surgical instrument and the carriage while allowing the surgical instrument to press the spring-loaded plungers (608) inside the carriage. When the surgical instrument is connected to the ISA, the presence pins (600) are pressed to the position roughly shown in FIG. 11, and the spring-loaded plungers (608) are likewise pressed to provide a signal to a control system indicating that the surgical instrument is connected to the ISA.

[0049] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a portion of the presence pin and ISA indicated by the circle (12) in FIG. 11. As best illustrated in FIG. 12, pockets (1104) in the bottom plate (710) may protrude from the lower surface (1000) of the bottom plate. The protruding portions (1106) that accommodate pockets that may extend into the carriage are spaces around the spring-loaded plunger (608). This allows the spring-loaded plunger to be positioned below the surface of the carriage accommodating the ISA in order to protect the spring-loaded plunger from lateral forces that could damage the plunger.

[0050] The protruding features (1106) may be chamfered at the end entering the carriage to assist in positioning the ISA on the carriage. Referring to FIG. 6, a guide pin (6140) on the control surface (400) of the carriage may be coupled to a receptacle on the ISA to position the end of the ISA laterally as it is positioned on the carriage. The protruding features (1106), particularly the protruding feature furthest from the vertical wall portion (708), may cooperate with the guide pin (610) to be coupled to position the opposite end of the ISA laterally and may align the guide pin to be coupled to the control surface (400) of the carriage.

[0051] While specific exemplary embodiments are described as shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that these embodiments are merely for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and that the invention is not limited to the specific configurations and arrangements described, as various other modifications can be conceived by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, this specification should be regarded as descriptive rather than limiting.

Claims

Claim 1 A device for providing a sterilization barrier for an instrument manipulator of a surgical system, comprising: a drape sheet portion including a surface defining an opening; a pouch attached to the surface of the drape sheet portion and extending therefrom to cover the opening; and an instrument sterilization adapter coupled to the pouch. Claim 2 In claim 1, the above pouch is a device having a rectangular shape. Claim 3 A device according to claim 1, wherein the pouch has a recess on the surface of the pouch facing the opening of the drape sheet portion. Claim 4 In paragraph 3, the device, wherein the recess extends along the surface of the pouch. Claim 5 In paragraph 4, the above-mentioned recess is shaped to accommodate a mechanism shaft, forming a device. Claim 6 In paragraph 5, the above-mentioned recess is positioned to accommodate the shaft of the device while the device is mounted on the device sterilization adapter, the device. Claim 7 An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drape sheet portion is made of a flexible material, and at least a portion of the pouch is made of a material that is relatively rigid compared to the drape sheet portion. Claim 8 In claim 1, the device sterilization adapter comprises a plurality of rotatable coupler disks. Claim 9 A device according to claim 1, wherein the pouch is configured to fit around the instrument mounting carriage of the instrument manipulator of the surgical system. Claim 10 In claim 9, the device sterilization adapter is a device capable of being coupled to the control surface of the device mounting carriage. Claim 11 In claim 9, the device, wherein the drape sheet portion is extended to drape the manipulator arm portion of the mechanism manipulator. Claim 12 A device according to claim 1, wherein the drape sheet portion is in the form of a tube or a bag. Claim 13 A device according to claim 1, wherein the drape sheet portion is made of plastic. Claim 14 In claim 1, the device, wherein the pouch has a thickness greater than the thickness of the sterilization drape portion. Claim 15 In claim 1, the pouch is a device capable of elastic deformation. Claim 16 In paragraph 15, the device comprises one or more parts in which the initially formed shape follows the contour of the instrument mounting carriage of the instrument manipulator of the surgical system. Claim 17 The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising one or more reinforcing materials coupled to the drape sheet portion. Claim 18 The device according to claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises opposing sides extending from the surface of the drape sheet portion, an end surface facing the opening, and a bottom surface connected to the opposing sides and the end surface. Claim 19 In paragraph 18, the device, wherein the above-mentioned device sterilization adapter is connected to the pouch on the opposite side of the bottom surface. Claim 20 In claim 1, the pouch is a transparent or translucent device.

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