Enhanced control of flexible endoscopes through human-machine interface

Abstract

An electromechanical drive system with drop-in capability allows manipulation of the majority of existing endoscopes. The invention does not require retrofitting of existing endoscopes and maintains the current clinical workflow. The drive system can be controlled through a human / machine interface, which could consist of a variety of different input devices, including a joystick, keyboard, or game controller.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 608,487, filed Sep. 10, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 532,916, filed Sep. 9, 2011. The entire contents of each of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference in entirety into the present disclosure.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention concerns the development of an integrated control / movement system and human / machine interface to enhance flexible endoscopy. The initial application considered is ureteroscopy but the invention is applicable to numerous endoscopic procedures, including but not limited to colonoscopy, gastroscopy, duodenoscopy, bronchoscopy, ventriculoscopy, and sinus endoscopy.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Flexible endoscopy is a ubiquitous means of diagnosis and therapy in nearly all aspects of medicine, including ureteroscopy, colonoscopy, gastroscopy, duodenosc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is an electromechanical system that can help control the endoscope in a more precise and stable way than a human operator can do. This means that the endoscope can be directed more accurately, which can make medical procedures safer and more effective.

Problems solved by technology

These three movements are controlled by the operator at the head of the instrument and are all distinct in their character, making intuitive control difficult to learn and perform.

While physicians who do endoscopy every day become quite skilled at the contortions that can be needed for effective placement of the instrument tip, the shortcomings of the current approach extend the time required for procedures [Harewood 2008], increase user fatigue [Berguer 2007], and have the potential to increase the frequency of errors.

This leaves no hand free to perform manipulations through the working port, which can include stone basketing, laser lithotripsy, tumor fulguration, or biopsy.

Such delicate control requires significant skill and is often challenging and slow, even for the experienced endoscopist, particularly in the lower pole of the kidney where the instrument must be tightly flexed and then rotated and pulled back to move into the lower calyces.

Manipulation of the endoscope can be challenging, even for experienced physicians.

The physician must make the mental map from the anatomy to control the endoscope, which is often complex.

It is well documented that more complex procedures require more time endoscopically and may have to be staged due to time constraints [Schuster 2001].

With the complex movements needed to direct the ureteroscope tip to a particular location, the orientation of the visual field changes, which disorients the operator and renders the combination of movements needed to achieve the required direction not intuitively apparent.

The complex choreography of movements needed to direct the ureteroscope into the various parts of the kidney is neither ergonomic nor efficient.

The importance of positional information through navigation has been recognized for many years, but there remains no clinically effective system for instrument navigation in the abdomen or urinary tract.

Endoscopic procedures necessarily imply limitations in perception and spatial orientation of tools.

Left unresolved, these limitations give rise to surgical complications.

This study resulted in minor complications in 40% of standard approach procedures, compared with 13% in procedures employing navigation through preoperative CT-based image registration [Fernández-Esparrach et al.

Several groups have investigated navigation in flexible endoscopy, but there is currently no commercially available system that integrates a robotic-like control system with flexible endoscopy.

Limitations with such an approach include lack of intuitive control and positional information.

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