Surgical systems for guiding robotic manipulators

Abstract

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Claims

1. A surgical system comprising:a tool for engaging a target site along a trajectory;a manipulator configured to support the tool;a patient tracker adapted for attachment relative to the target site;a navigation system configured to track movement of the patient tracker; anda controller coupled to the manipulator and to the navigation system, the controller being configured to:operate the manipulator in a first mode defining a first constraint criteria to facilitate alignment of the tool with respect to the trajectory;operate the manipulator in a second mode defining a second constraint criteria to facilitate alignment of the tool with respect to the trajectory, wherein the second mode permits less stiff movement of the tool relative to the trajectory than in the first mode; anddetermine that the tool and the patient tracker are experiencing concurrent movement and, in response, change operation of the manipulator from the first mode to the second mode.

2. The surgical system of claim 1, wherein:the first constraint criteria comprises a first number of degrees of freedom in which movement of the tool is restricted relative to the trajectory; andthe second constraint criteria comprises a second number of degrees of freedom in which movement of the tool is restricted relative to the trajectory, wherein the second number of degrees of freedom is less than the first number of degrees of freedom such that the controller permits movement of the tool relative to the trajectory in at least one more degree of freedom in the second mode than in the first mode.

3. The surgical system of claim 2, wherein the first constraint criteria comprises at least one positional degree of freedom and at least one orientational degree of freedom.2026204886   24 Jun 20264. The surgical system of claim 2, wherein the first constraint criteria and the second constraint criteria each comprise at least one orientational degree of freedom.

5. The surgical system of claim 2, wherein the first constraint criteria comprises at least one more positional degree of freedom than the second constraint criteria.

6. The surgical system of claim 2, wherein the first constraint criteria and the second constraint criteria comprise at least one common degree of freedom.

7. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the second constraint criteria permits movement of the tool relative to the trajectory in at least one degree of freedom that is restricted under the first constraint criteria while continuing to restrict movement of the tool in at least one other degree of freedom.

8. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the tool defines a tool center point; andwherein the controller is configured to operate the manipulator in the first mode to restrict movement of the tool center point away from the trajectory according to the first constraint criteria; andwherein the controller is configured to operate the manipulator in the second mode to permit movement of the tool center point away from the trajectory according to the second constraint criteria.

9. The surgical system of any preceding claim, further comprising a mode indicator coupled to the controller; andwherein the controller is configured to activate the mode indicator to communicate to a user a change in operation of the manipulator from the first mode to the second mode.

10. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to determine movement of the tool using a tool tracker coupled to the tool, wherein the navigation system is configured to track the tool tracker.2026204886   24 Jun 202611. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to determine movement of the tool based on data from the manipulator.

12. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the tool and the patient tracker are experiencing concurrent movement based on:movement of the tool determined from data from the manipulator;movement of the tool determined from tracking of the tool by the navigation system; and movement of the patient tracker tracked by the navigation system.

13. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller changes operation of the manipulator from the first mode to the second mode in response to determining that the tool and the patient tracker are experiencing concurrent movement for a threshold amount of time.

14. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the tool and the patient tracker are experiencing concurrent movement based on movement of the tool and movement of the patient tracker occurring in the same direction.

15. The surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to change operation of the manipulator from the first mode to the second mode only while the tool and the patient tracker continue to experience concurrent movement.

16. The surgical system of any one of claim 1-15, wherein the tool is an impactor.

17. The surgical system of any one of claim 1-15, wherein the tool is a reamer.

18. The surgical system of any one of claim 1-15, wherein the tool is a cutting burr.

19. The surgical system of any one of claim 1-15, wherein the tool is a drill.2026204886   24 Jun 202620. A computer-implemented method of operating a surgical system, the surgical system including a tool for engaging a target site along a trajectory, a manipulator configured to support the tool, a patient tracker adapted for attachment relative to the target site, a navigation system configured to track movement of the patient tracker, and a controller coupled to the manipulator and to the navigation system, the computer-implemented method comprising:operating the manipulator in a first mode defining a first constraint criteria to facilitate alignment of the tool with respect to the trajectory;determining that the tool and the patient tracker are experiencing concurrent movement; andin response, changing operation of the manipulator from the first mode to a second mode defining a second constraint criteria to facilitate alignment of the tool with respect to the trajectory, wherein the second mode permits less stiff movement of the tool relative to the trajectory than in the first mode.

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