Systems and methods for device verification and sensor calibration

Abstract

Systems and methods for validating and calibrating a robotic instrument are provided. The robotic system may include an instrument holder for receiving an elongated device, and the instrument holder may include a set of drive sensors. The system may also include a tracking system configured to receive an indication that the elongated device is mounted on the instrument holder, operate a set of actuators to articulate a distal portion of the elongated device, and generate a set of drive sensor data from the set of drive sensors. The tracking system may also be configured to generate a set of articulation sensor data from a shape sensor of the elongated device, compare the set of drive sensor data with the set of articulation sensor data to generate a test curve, and determine whether the test curve corresponds to a reference curve. A corrective action may be determined.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 741,242, filed on October 4, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Examples described herein relate to systems and methods for procedures, such as systems and methods for verifying the operation of a system and for calibrating sensors of a system. Background Art

[0004] Instruments can be used to manipulate and perform tasks in a workspace. Such instruments can be configured to be partially or completely supported and operated by a manipulator assembly. Such instruments and manipulator assemblies can be used to perform non-medical procedures or medical procedures. For example, a medical tool or medical manipulator can be used to perform minimally invasive medical procedures. As another example, an industrial tool or industrial manipulator can be used for manufacturing or testing. As other examples, a tool or manipulator can be used in programs for entertainment, detection, and various other purposes.

[0005] Minimally invasive medical techniques can generally be intended to reduce the amount of tissue damaged during invasive medical procedures, thereby reducing the patient's recovery time, discomfort, and harmful side effects. Such minimally invasive techniques can be performed through natural orifices in the patient's anatomy or through one or more incisions. Through these natural orifices or incisions, clinicians can insert medical tools to reach the target tissue location. Minimally invasive medical tools include instruments such as therapeutic instruments, diagnostic instruments, and surgical instruments. Minimally invasive medical tools can also include imaging instruments (such as endoscopic instruments) that provide users with a view within the patient's anatomy.

[0006] Certain medical and non-medical devices (including manipulative devices, imaging devices or other sensing devices, etc.) may be remotely operated or otherwise computer-assisted. Before a system including the device is used to perform a procedure, a safe and reliable mechanism is required to verify that the system and the device are operating properly and to calibrate the system's sensors. Summary of the invention

[0007] The following presents a simplified summary of various examples described herein and is not intended to identify key or critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claims.

[0008] The robotic system may include an instrument holder configured to receive the elongated device. The instrument holder may include a set of actuators configured to drive the elongated device along at least one degree of freedom, and a set of drive sensors configured to monitor the set of actuators. The robotic system may also include a tracking system coupled to the instrument holder and configured to: receive an indication that the elongated device is mounted on the instrument holder, and operate the set of actuators to articulate a distal portion of the elongated device in at least one degree of freedom. The tracking system may also generate a set of drive sensor data from the set of drive sensors during articulation, generate a set of articulation sensor data from the shape sensors of the elongated device during articulation, and compare the set of drive sensor data with the set of articulation sensor data to generate a test curve. The tracking system may also determine whether the test curve corresponds to a reference curve, and determine whether the elongated device requires corrective action based on whether the test curve corresponds to the reference curve.

[0009] In another example, a device includes: one or more processors and non-transitory computer memory storing machine executable instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the device to: receive an indication that a flexible, elongated device is coupled to a drive unit, and command articulation of a distal portion of the flexible, elongated device in at least one degree of freedom. The instructions may also cause the device to receive a set of drive sensor data during articulation, receive a set of articulation sensor data during articulation, and compare the set of drive sensor data with the set of articulation sensor data to generate a test curve. The instructions may also cause the device to determine whether the test curve satisfies one or more thresholds in a reference curve, and determine whether to perform a corrective action based on whether the test curve satisfies the one or more thresholds.

[0010] In another example, a method of performing a calibration test sequence for a robotic system may include: receiving an indication that a flexible elongated device is coupled to a drive system of the robotic system, the drive system including one or more drive system sensors; and commanding articulation of the flexible elongated device in at least one degree of freedom. The method may also include: generating drive sensor data from the one or more drive system sensors during commanding articulation; generating articulation sensor data from an articulation sensor of the flexible elongated device during commanding articulation; and comparing the drive sensor data to the articulation sensor data to generate a test curve. The method may also include: determining whether the test curve corresponds to a reference curve; and determining whether the flexible elongated device requires a corrective action based on determining whether the test curve corresponds to the reference curve.

[0011] It should be understood that the foregoing summary and the following detailed description are illustrative and explanatory in nature, and are intended to provide an understanding of the present disclosure without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a medical system according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a simplified diagram of a side view of a patient coordinate space including a medical device mounted on an insertion assembly according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 3 is a simplified diagram of a system according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of comparing drive sensor data to articulation sensor data according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating relationships between sets of sensor data during a method of testing and / or calibrating a system according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of comparing gesture data to a command gesture according to some embodiments.

[0018] By referring to the detailed description below, the embodiments of the present disclosure and its advantages will be best understood. It should be understood that the same reference numerals are used to identify similar elements shown in one or more drawings, wherein the display therein is to illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The techniques described herein provide for testing and calibrating a robotic device or system, such as during system startup or power-up. The disclosed techniques for testing and calibrating can be implemented on any robotic device or system, including those that implement user-installable or user-replaceable instruments with embedded sensors, actuators, or a combination of both sensors and actuators. Examples of applicable robotic devices or systems include remotely operated or otherwise operated medical devices that utilize reusable instruments that are cleaned and reprocessed between uses. As an illustrative and enabling example, with respect to an example flexible robotic device or system (such as with respect to Figure 1 , Figure 2A and Figure 2BVarious aspects of the disclosed technology are described in the context of a robotically controlled catheter. In various embodiments, a robotically controlled catheter may include sensors for identifying the orientation and shape of the catheter, such as fiber optic sensors for shape sensing and positioning. Sensors such as fiber optic sensors may provide real-time positioning data for navigation and / or for closed-loop control during articulation of the catheter. Figure 4 , Figure 5A , Figure 5B and Figure 6 The disclosed techniques for testing and calibration described may be implemented to provide a number of advantages, including ensuring proper alignment of sensors (such as fiber optic sensors) and a stable control loop.

[0020] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a robotic medical system 100 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the medical system 100 may be suitable for use in, for example, surgical procedures, diagnostic procedures, therapeutic procedures, or biopsy procedures. Although some embodiments are provided herein with respect to such procedures, any reference to medical or surgical instruments and medical or surgical methods is non-limiting. The systems, instruments, and methods described herein may be used for robotic systems for animals, human cadavers, animal cadavers, portions of human or animal anatomy, non-surgical diagnostic and industrial systems, and / or other general robotic systems.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown in , medical system 100 may include a manipulator assembly 102 for operating a medical device 104 in performing various procedures on a patient P. The medical device 104 may extend through an opening in the patient P and into an internal location within the patient P. Manipulator assembly 102 may be a remotely operated assembly, a non-remotely operated assembly, or a hybrid remotely operated and non-remotely operated assembly having selected degrees of freedom of movement that may be electrically and / or remotely operated and selected degrees of freedom of movement that may be non-electrically and / or non-remotely operated. Manipulator assembly 102 may be mounted to and / or located near an operating table T. Main assembly 106 allows an operator O (e.g., Figure 1 ) observes the intervention site and controls the manipulator assembly 102.

[0022] The main assembly 106 may be located at an operator console, which is typically located in the same room as the operating table T, such as to the side of the operating table on which the patient P is located. However, it should be understood that the operator O may be located in a different room than the patient P or in an entirely different building. The main assembly 106 typically includes one or more control devices for controlling the manipulator assembly 102. The control devices may include any number of various input devices, such as a joystick, trackball, scroll wheel, steering wheel, button, data glove, trigger gun, hand controller, voice recognition device, human motion or presence sensor, and / or the like.

[0023] The manipulator assembly 102 supports the medical device 104 and can include one or more non-servo-controlled links (e.g., one or more links that can be manually positioned and locked in an appropriate position, often referred to as a setup structure), one or more servo-controlled links (e.g., one or more links that can be controlled in response to commands from a control system), and / or a kinematic structure of the manipulator. The manipulator assembly 102 can include a plurality of actuators or motors that drive inputs on the medical device 104 in response to commands from a control system (e.g., the control system 112). The actuator can include a drive system that, when coupled to the medical device 104, can advance the medical device 104 into a natural or surgically created anatomical orifice. Other drive systems can move the distal portion of the medical device 104 in multiple degrees of freedom, which can include three linear motions (e.g., linear motion along the X, Y, Z Cartesian axes) and three rotational motions (e.g., rotations about the X, Y, Z Cartesian axes). Additionally, the actuator may be used to actuate an articulatable end effector of the medical instrument 104 for grasping tissue in the jaws of a biopsy device and / or the like.

[0024] The medical system 100 may include a sensor system 108 having one or more subsystems for receiving information about the manipulator assembly 102 and / or the medical device 104. Such subsystems may include a position / location sensor system (e.g., an electromagnetic (EM) sensor system); a shape sensor system for determining the position, orientation, speed, velocity, posture, and / or shape of a distal portion and / or along one or more segments of a flexible body that may comprise the medical device 104; a visualization system for capturing images from the distal portion of the medical device 104; and / or an actuator position sensor (such as a resolver, encoder, potentiometer, and the like) that describes the rotation and orientation of a motor that controls the device 104.

[0025] The medical system 100 may include a display system 110 for displaying images or representations of a surgical site and a medical device 104. In some examples, the display system 110 may present preoperative or intraoperative images of the surgical site using an image modality such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluoroscopy, thermography, ultrasound, optical coherence tomography (OCT), thermal imaging, impedance imaging, laser imaging, nanotube X-ray imaging, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the medical device 104 may include a visualization system including an image capture component for recording instant or real-time images of the surgical site and providing the images to the operator O via one or more displays of the display system 110.

[0026] In some examples, the medical system 100 can configure the displayed representation, medical instrument 104, and controls of the primary assembly 106 so that the relative orientation of the medical instrument is similar to the relative orientation of the eyes and / or hands of the operator O. In this manner, the operator O can manipulate the medical instrument 104 and hand controls as if viewing the workspace in substantial telepresence.

[0027] In some examples, such as for the purpose of image-guided medical procedures, the display system 110 can display a virtual navigation image in which the actual position of the medical device 104 is registered (e.g., dynamically referenced) with the preoperative or immediate image / model. This can be done to present the operator O with a virtual image of the internal surgical site from the perspective of the medical device 104.

[0028] The medical system 100 may also include a control system 112. The control system 112 includes at least one memory and at least one computer processor (not shown) for implementing control between the manipulator assembly 102, the medical device 104, the main assembly 106, the sensor system 108 and / or the display system 110. The control system 112 also includes programmed instructions (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions) to implement some or all of the methods described according to the various aspects disclosed herein, including instructions for providing information to the display system 110. Although the control system 112 is Figure 1 106, but the system may include two or more data processing circuits, with a portion of the processing optionally being performed on or adjacent to the manipulator assembly 102, another portion of the processing being performed at the master assembly 106, and / or the like. The processor of the control system 112 may execute instructions corresponding to the processes disclosed herein and described in more detail below.

[0029] In some examples, control system 112 can receive force and / or torque feedback from medical device 104. In response to the feedback, control system 112 can transmit a signal to master assembly 106. In some examples, control system 112 can transmit a signal instructing one or more actuators of manipulator assembly 102 to move medical device 104.

[0030] The control system 112 can obtain sensor data from the sensor system 108, which is used to calculate the approximate position of the medical device 104 relative to the anatomy of the patient P. The system can implement the sensor system 108 to register and display the medical device with the medical image recorded before or during surgery. For example, PCT Publication WO2016 / 191298 (published on December 1, 2016 and entitled "Systems and Methods of Registration for Image Guided Surgery"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses an example system.

[0031] The medical system 100 may further include operating and support systems, such as lighting systems, articulated (such as steering) control systems, flushing systems, and / or suction systems (not shown). In some embodiments, the medical system 100 may include more than one manipulator assembly and / or more than one main assembly. Among other factors, the exact number of manipulator assemblies may depend on the medical procedure and the space limitations in the operating room. The main assemblies 106 may be juxtaposed, or they may be positioned in separate locations. Multiple main assemblies may allow more than one operator to control one or more manipulator assemblies in various combinations.

[0032] Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a simplified diagram of a side view of a patient coordinate space including a medical device mounted on an insertion assembly according to some embodiments. Figure 2A and Figure 2B As shown in , surgical environment 300 may include a patient P positioned on an operating table T. Patient P may be stationary within surgical environment 300 in the sense that the patient's overall movement is limited by sedation, restraints, and / or other means. Cyclic anatomical movement, including respiratory and cardiac movement of patient P, may continue. Within surgical environment 300, a medical instrument 304 is used to perform a medical procedure, which may include, for example, surgery, biopsy, ablation, illumination, irrigation, aspiration, or system registration procedures. Medical instrument 104 may be, for example, instrument 104. Instrument 304 includes a flexible, elongated device 310 (e.g., a catheter) coupled to an instrument body 312. Elongated device 310 includes one or more passages (not shown) sized and shaped to receive a medical tool (not shown).

[0033] The elongated device 310 may also include one or more sensors (e.g., components of the sensor system 108). In some examples, an articulation sensor 314, such as a fiber optic shape sensor, may be fixed at a proximal point 316 on the instrument body 312. The proximal point 316 of the articulation sensor 314 may move with the instrument body 312, and the position of the proximal point 316 is known (e.g., via a tracking sensor or other tracking device). The articulation sensor 314 may measure the shape from the proximal point 316 to another point (such as a distal portion 318 of the elongated device 310). The articulation sensor 314 may be aligned with the flexible elongated device 310 (e.g., provided within an internal passageway (not shown) or mounted externally). In some examples, the optical fiber may have a diameter of approximately 200 μm. In other examples, the diameter may be larger or smaller. The articulation sensor 314 may be used to determine the shape of the flexible elongated device 310. Optical fibers including fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) may be used to provide strain measurements in a structure in one or more dimensions. Various systems and methods for monitoring the shape and relative orientation of an optical fiber in three dimensions are described in U.S. Patent Application No. 11 / 180,389, filed on July 13, 2005 and entitled "Fiber optic position and shape sensing device and method relating thereto"; U.S. Patent Application No. 12 / 047,056, filed on July 16, 2004 and entitled "(Fiber Optic Shape and Relative Orientation Sensing)"; and U.S. Patent No. 6,389,187, filed on June 17, 1998 and entitled "Optical Fibre Bend Sensor", which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The sensor in some embodiments may employ other suitable strain sensing techniques, such as Rayleigh scattering, Raman scattering, Brillouin scattering, and fluorescence scattering. Various systems for registering and displaying surgical instruments with surgical images using fiber optic sensors are provided in PCT Publication WO 2016 / 191298 (published on December 1, 2016 and entitled “Systems and Methods of Registration for Image Guided Surgery”), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0034] In some examples, a position sensor, such as an electromagnetic (EM) sensor, can be incorporated into the medical device 304. A series of position sensors can be positioned along the flexible elongated device 310 and used for shape sensing. In some examples, the position sensors can be configured and positioned to measure six degrees of freedom, such as three position coordinates X, Y, Z and three orientation angles indicating pitch, yaw and roll of a base point. In some examples, the position sensors can be configured and positioned to measure five degrees of freedom, such as three position coordinates X, Y, Z and two orientation angles indicating pitch and yaw of a base point. Further description of the position sensor system is provided in U.S. Patent No. 6,380,732 (filed on August 11, 1999 and entitled "Six-Degree of Freedom Tracking System Having a Passive Transponder on the Object Being Tracked"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0035] The elongated device 310 can house cables, linkages, or other steering controls (not shown) extending between the instrument body 312 and the distal portion 318 to controllably bend the distal portion 318. In some examples, at least four cables are used to provide independent "up and down" steering to control the pitch of the distal portion 318 and "side to side" steering to control the yaw of the distal portion 318. Steerable elongated devices are described in detail in U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 274,208 (filed October 14, 2011) (disclosing "Catheter with Removable Vision Probe"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The instrument body 312 can include a drive input device that is removably coupled to a drive element (such as an actuator) of the assembly and receives power from the drive element.

[0036] The instrument body 312 can be coupled to an instrument bracket 306. The instrument bracket 306 can be mounted to an insertion stage 308 that is fixed within the surgical environment 300. Alternatively, the insertion stage 308 can be movable but have a known position within the surgical environment 300 (e.g., via a tracking sensor or other tracking device). The instrument bracket 306 can be a component of a manipulator assembly (e.g., manipulator assembly 102) that is coupled to the medical device 304 to control insertion motion (e.g., motion along axis A) and / or motion of the distal portion 318 of the elongated device 310 in multiple directions such as yaw, pitch, and / or roll. The instrument bracket 306 or insertion stage 308 can include an actuator, such as a servo motor (not shown), that controls the motion of the instrument bracket 306 along the insertion stage 308.

[0037] The sensor device 320, which may be a component of the sensor system 108, can provide information about the orientation of the instrument body 312 as it moves along the insertion axis A on the insertion stage 308. The sensor device 320 may include one or more resolvers, encoders, potentiometers, and / or other sensors that determine the rotation and / or orientation of the actuator that controls the movement of the instrument bracket 306 and, therefore, the movement of the instrument body 312. In some embodiments, the insertion stage 308 is linear. In some embodiments, the insertion stage 308 may be curved or have a combination of curved and linear sections.

[0038] Figure 2A The instrument body 312 and the instrument bracket 306 are shown in a retracted orientation along the insertion station 308. In this retracted orientation, the proximal point 316 is at the orientation L0 on the axis A. Figure 2B 308, the instrument body 312 and the instrument bracket 306 are advanced along the linear track of the insertion table 308, and the distal portion 318 of the elongated device 310 has been advanced into the patient P. In this advanced orientation, the proximal point 310 is at the orientation L1 on the axis A. In some examples, encoders and / or other orientation data from one or more actuators that control the movement of the instrument bracket 306 along the insertion table 308 and / or one or more orientation sensors associated with the instrument bracket 306 and / or the insertion table 308 can be used to determine the orientation of the proximal point 316 relative to the orientation L0. In some examples, the orientation can further be used as an indicator of the distance or insertion depth of the distal portion 318 of the elongated device 310 inserted into the passage of the anatomy of the patient P.

[0039] Figure 3 3 is a simplified diagram of a robotic system 350 according to some embodiments. The system 350 includes a flexible elongated device 310 and an instrument body 312 releasably coupled to an instrument holder 306, each of which is substantially similar to Figure 2A and 2Bthose described in .

[0040] The flexible elongated device 310 can have an articulatable portion (e.g., distal portion 326) that can articulate (e.g., steer) with one or more degrees of freedom to guide the elongated device 310 through a branch passage. To this end, the flexible elongated device 310 can include a plurality of articulation controls (e.g., cables, linkages, pullwires, chords, or other articulation controls) that extend from the articulatable portion through the flexible elongated device 310 and drive an input device (e.g., input disk) of the instrument body 312.

[0041] The instrument bracket 306 may include a drive unit 322 having a drive output. Coupling the flexible elongated device 310 and the instrument body 312 to the instrument bracket 306 may include coupling the drive output of the drive unit 322 to drive an input device of the instrument body 312. This may establish a drive connection between a set of actuators 324 in the drive unit 322 and an articulatable portion of the flexible elongated device 310. The actuators may use the drive connection to articulate the articulatable portion (e.g., the distal portion 326) of the flexible elongated device 310. In various embodiments, the actuators 324 may include servomotors, rotary actuators, linear actuators, and / or other actuation mechanisms that apply force to an articulation control and thereby move the flexible elongated device 310. Suitable drive units 322 and articulation controls are described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 7,316,681 (filed on October 4, 2005, entitled “Articulated Surgical Instrument for Performing Minimally Invasive Surgery with Enhanced Dexterity and Sensitivity”) and U.S. Patent No. 9,259,274 (filed on September 30, 2008, entitled “Passive Preload and Capstan Drive for Surgical Instruments”), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0042] The drive unit 322 may include one or more drive sensors 328 coupled to the actuator 324 to measure articulation in a degree of freedom based on the movement, force, and / or other characteristics of the actuator. In some embodiments, the drive sensor 328 may include an orientation resolver, an encoder, a potentiometer, and / or other suitable sensor coupled to the actuator 324 to measure and report the movement of the corresponding actuator 324. In some embodiments, the drive sensor 328 may include a force sensor, a strain sensor, and / or a torque sensor coupled to measure and report the amount of force applied by the corresponding actuator 324. These measurements and other measurements can be used to determine the degree of articulation, which can be characterized as a bend radius, an angle of orientation of the articulated portion relative to the non-articulated portion of the slender device 310 (e.g., a joint angle), or other suitable characteristics.

[0043] Data from the drive sensor 328 and data from sensors associated with the flexible elongated device 310 can be provided to a tracking system 330 of the system 350. In some embodiments, the tracking system 330 can be part of the control system 112 described above. The tracking system 330 can use the received data to determine the position, orientation, speed, velocity, posture, and / or shape of the distal portion 326 and / or one or more segments along the flexible elongated device 310. For example, the tracking system 330 can determine the shape of the flexible elongated device 310 based on data from the drive sensor 328 and / or data from the articulation sensor 314 (e.g., one or more shape sensors or position sensors, such as fiber optic sensors, electromagnetic position sensors, etc.) disposed within the flexible elongated device 310. The tracking system 330 can also take into account historical posture data to reconstruct the shape of the flexible elongated device 310 over a certain time interval.

[0044] Tracking system 330 may optionally be implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof interacting with or otherwise executed by one or more computer processors, which may include Figure 1 The tracking system 330 may include a processor of the control system 112. For example, the tracking system 330 may include one or more processors and non-transitory computer memory storing machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the tracking system 330 to perform the various operations described herein.

[0045] Tracking system 330 and drive unit 322 may be used to perform a set of calibration tests of system 350, some of which will reference Figure 4 , Figure 5A and Figure 5BFor example, before executing a procedure using the flexible elongated device 310 or other articulated elements of the system 350, the system 350 may verify proper articulation of the flexible elongated device 310, verify feedback loops controlling the articulation of the flexible elongated device 310, calibrate sensors of the system 350, and / or evaluate other characteristics of the system 350 and / or the flexible elongated device 310 that may affect the ability to reliably manipulate the flexible elongated device 310. Thus, in some embodiments, one or more test procedures may be executed that include articulating the elongated device 310 in one or more degrees of freedom and collecting sensor data for these and other testing purposes.

[0046] Figure 4 4 is a flow chart describing an exemplary method 400 for comparing drive sensor data with articulation sensor data according to some embodiments. For example, the method 400 may be used to calibrate the system 350. The method 400 is a set of operations or procedures in Figure 4 Shown in. Figure 4 The process shown in can be Figure 4 The method 400 may be performed in a different order than the order shown, and one or more of the processes shown may not be performed in some embodiments of the method 400. Figure 4 One or more processes not explicitly shown in the method 400 may be included before, after, between, or as part of the processes shown. In some embodiments, one or more processes of the method 400 may be implemented at least in part in the form of executable code stored on a non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium, which when executed by one or more processors (e.g., processors of the tracking system 330 and / or the control system 112) may cause the one or more processors to perform the one or more processes. Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating relationships between sets of sensor data during a method 400 of testing and / or calibrating a system 350 , according to some embodiments.

[0047] refer to Figure 4In process 402, the robotic system 350 may provide user instructions for mounting the flexible elongated device 310 on the system 350. In some examples, the flexible elongated device 310 and coupled instrument body 312 may be provided separately from the rest of the system 350, and the process 402 may provide instructions to the operator O to couple the flexible elongated device 310 and instrument body 312 to the instrument holder 306 of the system 350. This may include connecting the drive input device of the instrument body 312—and thus the articulation control of the flexible elongated device 310—to the actuator 324 of the drive unit 322 of the instrument holder 306. The instructions may include visual and / or audible instructions, and may be presented via the display system 110, via an indicator on the instrument holder 306, and / or other suitable mechanism.

[0048] refer to Figure 4 In process 404, tracking system 330 of system 350 may receive an indication that flexible elongated device 310 has been installed. For example, the indication may indicate that flexible elongated device 310 and instrument body 312 have been coupled to instrument bracket 306 of system 350. Figure 4 At process 406 , after the flexible elongated device 310 has been installed, the system 350 may initiate one or more tests, such as an assembly test, to verify the installation and proper operation of the flexible elongated device 310 .

[0049] Referring to process 408, tracking system 330 can perform an assembly test by commanding flexible elongated device 310 to articulate in at least one degree of freedom. For example, tracking system 330 can command articulation by activating actuator 324 associated with a degree of freedom. Actuator 324 can turn a capstan within instrument body 312, which rotates to wind a cable of flexible elongated device 310 around the capstan and thereby effect movement of a portion of flexible elongated device 310 (e.g., distal portion 326).

[0050] Tracking system 330 may command articulation of flexible elongated device 310 in any suitable mode. For example, tracking system 330 may first command flexible elongated device 310 to move from a neutral position to a first point in a first direction with one or more degrees of freedom being exercised. Tracking system 330 may determine that flexible elongated device 310 has reached the first point based on any suitable sensor data, including sensor data obtained during process 406 and / or 408, which will be described in more detail below. The first point may be a physical limit of flexible elongated device 310 in a degree of freedom, or the first point may be less than the physical limit of flexible elongated device 310 (e.g., 50% of the physical limit) to avoid overextension and / or because the sensor may not be fully calibrated. After flexible elongated device 310 has reached the first point, tracking system 330 may command flexible elongated device 310 to move from the first point through the neutral position to a second point in a second direction opposite to the first direction with degrees of freedom. As with the first point, the second point may be any point in the second direction up to the physical limit of flexible elongated device 310. Any number of cycles may be repeated.

[0051] Referring to process 410, tracking system 330 may generate a set of drive sensor data in response to the command articulation of process 408. The drive sensor data may be obtained from drive sensor 328 of drive unit 322 and / or other sensors of tracking system 330. The drive sensor data may include position data of actuator 324 and / or may include force data, strain data, torque data, and / or other data representing the relationship between actuator 324 and flexible elongated device 310. The drive sensor data may be associated with motion in at least one degree of freedom. In some examples, the drive sensor data may be associated with motion in a single degree of freedom, and the test may be repeated to obtain sensor data in other degrees of freedom. In some examples, method 400 may verify operation in more than one degree of freedom at the same time, and the drive sensor data may be associated with motion in two or more degrees of freedom.

[0052] Referring to process 412, tracking system 330 can generate a set of articulation sensor data in response to the command articulation of process 408. Articulation sensor data can be obtained from sensors of flexible elongated device 310, such as articulation sensor 314 (e.g., fiber optic shape sensor, EM position sensor, etc.) and / or other suitable sensors. As with drive sensor data, articulation sensor data can be associated with motion in at least one degree of freedom. In some examples, articulation sensor data can be associated with motion in a single degree of freedom, and testing can be repeated to obtain sensor data in other degrees of freedom. In some examples, method 400 can verify operation in more than one degree of freedom at the same time, and articulation sensor data can be associated with motion in two or more degrees of freedom.

[0053] Referring to process 414, tracking system 330 may compare a set of actuation sensor data obtained in process 410 with a set of articulation sensor data obtained in process 412 to generate a test curve. Because the actuation sensor data and the articulation sensor data may represent different characteristics, tracking system 330 may convert one or both into a common measurement. For example, tracking system 330 may convert actuation sensor data (e.g., actuator orientation data) into a measure of the degree of articulation in a given degree of freedom, which may be characterized by a distal bend radius, an angle of an articulated portion of elongated device 310 relative to a non-articulated portion of elongated device 310 (e.g., Figure 3 The tracking system 330 may also convert the articulation sensor data into a corresponding measurement of the degree of articulation, such as the distal bend radius, the angle of the articulated portion, etc.

[0054] Figure 5A Graph 500 of FIG. 5 shows a comparison between a set of example drive sensor data (e.g., actuator orientation data) that has been converted into a measure of the degree of articulation (e.g., joint angle) plotted along axis 504 and a set of example articulation sensor data that has been converted into a corresponding measure of the degree of articulation (e.g., joint angle) plotted along axis 506. The drive sensor data can differ from the articulation sensor data due to manufacturing tolerances, installation issues, maintenance issues, calibration issues, and / or other reasons. Graph 502 of FIG. 5 shows this difference in another way and shows the arithmetic difference or other difference measure between the drive sensor data and the articulation sensor data plotted along axis 508, and the degree of articulation in the drive sensor data or the articulation sensor data plotted along axis 510.

[0055] Based on the test curve, it can be determined whether the system 350 and / or the flexible elongated device 310 is within tolerance, and if not, what corrective action to take. To this end, reference is made to Figure 4 In process 416, tracking system 330 may determine whether one or more aspects of the test curve meet one or more metrics, such as thresholds, in a reference curve. The reference curve may include a set of predetermined thresholds for one or more metrics, and the thresholds may be determined at the time of manufacture via a calibration procedure, via analytical considerations based on the design of device 310, and / or via characterization of statistically relevant samples throughout the expected life of the elongated device. The reference curve may be stored in a memory (e.g., non-volatile memory) of device 310 and / or a memory of system 350.

[0056] In some examples, the aspect may include a shift of the test curve, and the metric may include a shift threshold of the reference curve. Figure 5A and Figure 5B At marks 512 and 514 in FIG. 3 , when the drive sensor data indicates that the actuator is not articulated or there is no force applied by the actuator (e.g., a neutral position), the tracking system 330 can measure a neutral position offset based on the amount of articulation measured by the articulation sensor data. The tracking system 330 can then determine whether the articulation in the articulation sensor data is within a predetermined threshold (e.g., 0±5°, 0±10°, etc.) of the reference curve.

[0057] In some examples, the aspect may include a slope, and the metric may include a slope threshold. For example, in process 416, the tracking system 330 may determine a slope fit between the amount of articulation measured by the drive sensor data and the amount of articulation measured by the articulation sensor data. The tracking system 330 may determine whether the slope is within a predetermined threshold (e.g., 1.0 ± 10%) of a reference curve.

[0058] In some examples, the aspect may include a maximum difference, and the metric may include a suitable threshold. For example, in process 416, the tracking system 330 may determine whether the maximum difference between the amount of articulation measured by the drive sensor data and the amount of articulation measured by the articulation sensor data is within a predetermined threshold (e.g., ±5°, ±10°, etc.) of the reference curve.

[0059] In some examples, the aspect may include sensor hysteresis, and the metric may include a hysteresis threshold. For example, in process 416, tracking system 330 may determine hysteresis in drive sensor data and articulation sensor data by comparing the amount of articulation measured by drive sensor data and / or articulation sensor data when elongated device 310 is traveling in a first direction to the amount of articulation measured by drive sensor data and / or articulation sensor data when elongated device 310 is traveling in a second direction. The hysteresis may be determined based on the amount of articulation measured by drive sensor data and / or articulation sensor data. Figure 5A and Figure 5BThe hysteresis is measured by any set of data indicated by markers 516 and 518. Tracking system 330 can determine whether the hysteresis is within a predetermined threshold (e.g., increments of 5°, 10°, etc.) of the reference curve.

[0060] In some examples, the aspect may include linearity, and the metric may include a linearity threshold. For example, in process 416, the tracking system 330 may determine a measure of the linearity of the articulation amount measured by the drive sensor data and the articulation amount measured by the articulation sensor data. The measure may include any suitable linearity measure, such as a mean of the residuals, a standard deviation of the residuals, a maximum or minimum value of the residuals, a distribution of the residuals via a chi-square test (e.g., a Pearson chi-square test), and / or other suitable measures. The tracking system 330 may determine whether the linearity measure is within a predetermined threshold of a reference curve.

[0061] In some examples, the aspect may include noise in the drive sensor data and / or the articulation sensor data, and the metric may include a noise threshold. For example, in process 416, the tracking system 330 may determine whether the noise in the amount of articulation measured by the drive sensor data and / or the amount of articulation measured by the articulation sensor data is within a predetermined threshold of the reference curve. In an example, the tracking system 330 may compare the maximum absolute value of the residuals of the drive sensor data and the articulation sensor data with a threshold. When comparing, the maximum absolute value may be multiplied by a margin factor based on the sampling confidence. Additionally or alternatively, the tracking system 330 may compare the standard deviation of the residuals and / or the variance of the residuals with a corresponding threshold.

[0062] In some examples, the flexible elongated device 310 may be mounted in more than one orientation, or elements of the flexible elongated device 310, such as the articulation sensor 314, may be mounted in more than one orientation during manufacturing in process 416. For example, the articulation sensor 314 may include four optical fiber bundles arranged such that the sensor may be mounted in the elongated device 310 in one of four rotational orientations (e.g., 0°, 90°, 180°, or -90°) relative to the rest of the device 310. Thus, in such embodiments, the tracking system 330 determines from the test curves how the drive sensor data fits the articulation sensor data and / or how the corresponding sensor fits the degree(s) of freedom.

[0063] Referring to process 418, the tracking system 330 can determine whether corrective action is needed based on the comparison of process 414 and / or 416. For example, the results of process 414 and / or 416 can be used to adjust the calibration of the corresponding sensor, to adjust the feedback loop used to articulate the flexible elongated device 310 into a specific posture, and / or to diagnose and correct a number of problems with the flexible elongated device 310 and / or the system 350. These problems can include installation problems, transmission system failures (such as derailment, cable breakage, binding, stretching, excessive compliance or friction), and / or other problems. If the test curve fails to meet any of the above thresholds or other metrics in the reference curve, the operator can be instructed to repair, reinstall or replace another component of the flexible elongated device 310 and / or the system 350. In contrast, when the test curve meets the metric of the reference curve, as shown in process 420, the method 400 can perform further calibration or the system 350 can be used for a medical procedure. In some examples, further calibration can include repeating one or more processes 406-418 for additional (e.g., untested) degrees of freedom.

[0064] refer to Figure 6 describes examples of additional calibration tests, Figure 6 6 is a flow chart describing a method 600 of comparing gesture data to a command gesture according to some embodiments. For example, the method 600 may be used to perform a bending strain test on the system 350. Figure 6 The process shown in can be Figure 6 The method 600 may be performed in a different order than that shown in the figure, and one or more of the processes shown may not be performed in some embodiments of the method 600. In addition, Figure 6 One or more processes not explicitly shown in the method 600 may be included before, after, between, or as part of the processes shown. In some embodiments, one or more processes of the method 600 may be implemented at least in part in the form of executable code stored on a non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium, which when executed by one or more processors (e.g., a processor of the tracking system 330 and / or the control system 112) may cause the one or more processors to perform the one or more processes. The method 600 may be performed at any time, and in some embodiments, may be performed after the system 350 successfully completes the method 400.

[0065] Referring to process 602, tracking system 330 of system 350 may command articulation of flexible elongated device 310 through a plurality of pose commands. Tracking system 330 may command articulation by activating actuators 324 of drive unit 322. For example, tracking system 330 may activate more than one actuator 324 to achieve a particular pose, as compared to activating each actuator 324 individually. Tracking system 330 may utilize a feedback loop to activate (one or more) actuators 324 until tracking system 330 determines that flexible elongated device 310 has achieved a pose or until another limit (e.g., a maximum working tension) is met. Tracking system 330 may determine that flexible elongated device 310 has achieved a pose based on any suitable sensor data, including sensor data obtained during processes 604 and / or 606, which will be described in more detail below. In some examples, in process 602 of method 600, system 350 can utilize drive sensor data when moving flexible elongated device 310 in process 408 of method 400, and after an articulation sensor (e.g., a shape sensor) is appropriately calibrated in method 400, the articulation sensor data can be utilized to determine when flexible elongated device 310 reaches a particular posture.

[0066] The plurality of postures in process 602 may include any suitable postures. In some examples, system 350 may move flexible elongated device 310 to an orientation that is less than a physical limit of flexible elongated device 310 (such as the physical limit in process 408 of method 400 in some scenarios). After the sensors have been properly calibrated (e.g., in method 400), tracking system 330 may command the articulation of flexible elongated device 310 to be at or near a posture of the physical limit (e.g., in process 602 of method 600). Because the sensors used to control the articulation (e.g., articulation sensor 314) have been properly calibrated and verified, the risk of over-extension of elongated device 310 may be reduced.

[0067] As described above, a given posture may include movement in more than one degree of freedom. This can be used to detect problems with the system 350 and / or the flexible elongated device 310 when motion involves more than one degree of freedom. It can also use fewer postures to test a full range of motion than testing each degree of freedom individually. For example, the tracking system 330 can command the flexible elongated device 310 to articulate from a neutral position to a first posture in a first degree of freedom along a first direction without articulating in a second degree of freedom. The first posture can be at a physical limit in the first direction. The tracking system 330 can then command the flexible elongated device 310 to articulate back to a neutral position. The tracking system 330 can then command the flexible elongated device 310 to articulate from a neutral position to a second posture in a first degree of freedom along a second direction and in a third direction with a second degree of freedom. The second posture can be at a physical limit in the second direction and / or at a physical limit in the third direction. For some flexible elongated devices 310, the physical limit in a given degree of freedom can vary depending on the amount of articulation in another degree of freedom. For example, while the first posture may have a joint angle of (-180°, 0), the second posture may have a joint angle of (127°, 127°). Continuing with this example, the tracking system 330 may then command the flexible elongated device 310 to articulate from the second posture back to a neutral position. The tracking system 330 may command the flexible elongated device 310 to articulate from a neutral position to a third posture in a first degree of freedom along a second direction and in a second degree of freedom along a fourth direction (e.g., a posture angle of (127°, -127°)). The third posture may be at a physical limit in the second direction and / or at a physical limit in the fourth direction. In this way, postures may provide a comprehensive test of the entire range of motion in two degrees of freedom using only three postures. Of course, other examples utilize any number of postures.

[0068] Referring to process 604, the tracking system 330 may generate a set of articulation sensor data in response to the commanded articulation of process 602. This may be performed substantially as described above, and the articulation sensor data may be obtained from a sensor of the flexible elongated device 310, such as an articulation sensor 314 (e.g., a fiber optic sensor, an EM position sensor, and / or other suitable sensor).

[0069] Referring to process 606, tracking system 330 may generate a set of drive sensor data in response to the commanded articulation of process 602. The drive sensor data may be obtained from drive sensor 328 of drive unit 322 and / or other sensors of system 350. The drive sensor data may include position data of actuator 324 and / or may include force data, strain data, torque data, and / or other data representing a relationship between actuator 324 and flexible elongated device 310.

[0070] Referring to process 608, the tracking system 330 may compare posture data from a set of articulation sensor data obtained in process 604 and / or a set of drive sensor data obtained in process 606 with (one or more) command postures. The tracking system 330 may consider any suitable aspects of the posture data, including those described above in the context of process 416. In some examples, the tracking system 330 may determine whether the offset of any measurement of the posture data at the neutral position or at any command posture exceeds a corresponding threshold. In some examples, the tracking system 330 may determine whether the rate of change (e.g., slope) of the posture data during travel to a given posture is within a corresponding threshold. In some examples, the tracking system 330 may determine whether the hysteresis of the posture data meets the corresponding threshold. In some examples, the tracking system 330 may determine whether a noise measurement (such as RMS noise) in the posture data meets the corresponding threshold.

[0071] In some examples, tracking system 330 can consider the continuity of posture data during the progression to each posture. In this regard, certain types of sensors (such as fiber optic shape sensor 314) may be susceptible to breakage, separation, or other discontinuities when flexible elongated device 310 flexes. This type of error can be detected from the continuity of posture data.

[0072] Method 600 can be used to evaluate the calibration of sensors of system 350. The results of process 608 can be used to detect many problems of flexible elongated device 310 and / or system 350, including installation problems, transmission system failures (such as derailment, cable breakage, binding, stretching, excessive compliance or friction) and / or others. If the test curve fails to meet certain metrics, the flexible elongated device 310 can be repaired, reinstalled or replaced. In contrast, if process 608 indicates that system 350 and flexible elongated device 310 have passed verification, the results can be used to maintain or adjust the calibration of the corresponding sensors and / or maintain or adjust the feedback loop used to articulate the flexible elongated device 310 into a specific posture. Then, method 600 can use system 350 for further calibration or can perform a medical procedure, as shown in process 610.

[0073] Various examples of implementations of the present disclosure

[0074] The present invention describes various instruments and parts of instruments according to their states in three-dimensional space. For example, the term position refers to the position of an object or a part of an object in three-dimensional space (e.g., three translational degrees of freedom along Cartesian x, y, and z coordinates). The term orientation refers to the rotational placement of an object or a part of an object (e.g., one or more rotational degrees of freedom, such as roll, pitch, and yaw). The term posture refers to the position of an object or a part of an object in at least one translational degree of freedom, or refers to the position of an object or a part of an object in at least one rotational degree of freedom (e.g., up to six total degrees of freedom). The term shape refers to a set of postures, positions, or orientations measured along an object.

[0075] One or more elements in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in software to be executed on a processor of a computer system such as a control processing system. When implemented in software, the elements of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be code segments for performing various tasks. Program segments or code segments may be stored in a processor-readable storage medium or device, which may be downloaded via a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave form on a transmission medium or a communication link. A processor-readable storage device may include any medium that may store information, including optical media, semiconductor media, and / or magnetic media. Examples of processor-readable storage devices include electronic circuits; semiconductor devices, semiconductor storage devices, read-only memories (ROMs), flash memories, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs); floppy disks, CD-ROMs, optical disks, hard disks, or other storage devices. Code segments may be downloaded via computer networks such as the Internet, intranets, etc. Any of a variety of centralized or distributed data processing architectures may be used. Programming instructions may be implemented as multiple separate programs or subroutines, or they may be integrated into multiple other aspects of the system described herein. In some examples, the control system can support wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth, infrared data communication (IrDA), HomeRF, IEEE 802.11, digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT), ultra-wideband (UWB), ZigBee (Internet of Things), and wireless telemetry.

[0076] The medical tool may be delivered by a flexible, elongated device (e.g., a catheter) disclosed herein, and may include, for example, an image capture probe, a biopsy instrument, a laser ablation fiber, and / or other surgical tools, diagnostic tools, or therapeutic tools. The medical tool may include an end actuator having a single working member, such as a scalpel, a blunt knife, an optical fiber, an electrode, and / or the like. Other end actuators may include, for example, forceps, graspers, scissors, clip appliers, and / or the like. Other end actuators may further include electrically activated end actuators, such as electrosurgical electrodes, transducers, sensors, and / or the like. The medical tool may include an image capture probe including a stereo or single-view camera for capturing images (including video images). The medical tool may additionally accommodate a cable, linkage, or other actuation control device extending between its proximal and distal portions to controllably bend the distal portion of the medical tool. Steerable instruments are described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 7,316,681 (filed on October 4, 2005 and entitled "Articulated Surgical Instrument for Performing Minimally Invasive Surgery with Enhanced Dexterity and Sensitivity") and U.S. Patent Application No. 12 / 286,644 (filed on September 30, 2008 and entitled "Passive Preload and Capstan Drive for Surgical Instruments"), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0077] The systems described herein may be suitable for navigating and treating anatomical tissue via natural or surgically created passageways in any of a variety of anatomical systems, including the lungs, colon, intestines, kidneys and calyces, brain, heart, circulatory system including vasculature, and / or the like.

[0078] Note that the processes and displays presented may not be inherently related to any particular computer or other device. Various general purpose systems may be used with the routines according to the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized equipment to perform the described operations. In addition, it will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages ​​may be used to implement the examples described herein.

[0079] Although certain examples have been described and shown in the drawings, it should be understood that these examples are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and that the examples described are not limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other modifications may be made by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A robot system, comprising: An instrument holder configured to receive an elongated device, wherein the instrument holder comprises: a set of actuators configured to drive the elongated device along at least one degree of freedom; and a set of drive sensors configured to monitor the set of actuators; and A tracking system coupled to the instrument carrier and configured to: receiving an indication that the elongated device is mounted on the instrument holder; operating the set of actuators to articulate a distal portion of the elongated device in at least one degree of freedom; generating a set of actuation sensor data from the set of actuation sensors during the articulation; generating a set of articulation sensor data from an articulation sensor attached to the elongated device during the articulation; comparing the set of drive sensor data to the set of articulation sensor data to generate a test curve including one or more aspects; determining whether the one or more aspects of the test curve meet one or more thresholds of a reference curve; and Based on whether the one or more aspects of the test curve meet the one or more thresholds of the reference curve, it is determined whether the elongated device requires corrective action.

2. The robotic system of claim 1, wherein the robotic system further comprises a display system configured to display instructions for an operator to install the elongated device.

3. The robot system of claim 1, wherein the tracking system is further configured to: determining a first set of joint angles from the set of drive sensor data; determining a second set of joint angles from the set of articulation sensor data; and Based on the comparison of the first set of joint angles with the second set of joint angles, the set of drive sensor data is compared with the set of articulation sensor data to generate the test curve.

4. The robotic system according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a neutral position offset of at least one of the set of drive sensor data or the set of articulation sensor data.

5. The robot system according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a slope of at least one sensor data in the set of drive sensor data or the set of articulation sensor data.

6. The robotic system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include differences between the set of drive sensor data and the set of articulation sensor data.

7. The robotic system according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include linearity of at least one of the set of drive sensor data or the set of articulation sensor data.

8. The robotic system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a noise measure of at least one of the set of drive sensor data or the set of articulation sensor data.

9. The robotic system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a hysteresis measurement of at least one of the set of drive sensor data or the set of articulation sensor data.

10. The robotic system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the tracking system is further configured to operate the set of actuators to articulate the distal portion of the elongated device in at least two degrees of freedom, and wherein the set of drive sensor data and the set of articulation sensor data are associated with movement in each of the at least two degrees of freedom.

11. The robotic system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the tracking system is further configured to determine a rotational orientation of the articulation sensor based on the test curve.

12. The robotic system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein operating the set of actuators comprises operating the set of actuators to articulate the distal portion of the elongated device through a plurality of command poses; and Wherein the tracking system is further configured to monitor position differences by comparing posture data from the articulation sensor to the plurality of command postures during the articulation.

13. The robotic system of claim 12, wherein the tracking system is further configured to adjust a control feedback loop of the robotic system based on the position differences during articulation to the plurality of command poses.

14. The robotic system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of command poses articulate the elongated device in multiple degrees of freedom.

15. The robotic system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of command gestures comprises: a first pose articulated in a first degree of freedom in a first direction and not articulated in a second degree of freedom; a second posture articulated in the first degree of freedom along a second direction and in the second degree of freedom along a third direction; as well as A third pose is articulated in the first degree of freedom along the second direction and in the second degree of freedom along a fourth direction.

16. The robotic system of claim 1, wherein the corrective action comprises adjusting a calibration of the articulation sensor or the set of drive sensors.

17. The robotic system of claim 1, wherein the corrective action comprises instructing an operator to repair, reinstall, or replace the elongated device.

18. The robotic system of claim 1, wherein determining that the elongated device requires corrective action comprises diagnosing a drive train fault.

19. A device comprising: one or more processors; as well as a non-transitory computer memory storing machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to: receiving an indication that the flexible elongated device is coupled to the drive unit; commanding articulation of a distal portion of the flexible elongated device in at least one degree of freedom; receiving a set of drive sensor data during said articulation; receiving a set of articulation sensor data from an articulation sensor attached to the flexible elongated device during the articulation; comparing the set of drive sensor data to the set of articulation sensor data to generate a test curve including one or more aspects; determining whether the one or more aspects of the test curve meet one or more thresholds in a reference curve; as well as Whether to perform corrective action is determined based on whether the one or more aspects of the test curve meet the one or more thresholds in the reference curve.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the non-transitory computer memory stores machine executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to provide instructions to an operator to install the flexible elongated device.

21. A device according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the non-transitory computer memory stores machine executable instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the device to determine a first set of joint angles from the set of drive sensor data and a second set of joint angles from the set of articulation sensor data.

22. A device according to claim 21, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include an offset of at least one joint angle in the first set of joint angles or the second set of joint angles at a certain posture, and the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to determine whether the offset satisfies a threshold among the one or more thresholds.

23. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a slope of at least one joint angle in the first set of joint angles or the second set of joint angles during the articulation, and the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine whether the slope satisfies a threshold among the one or more thresholds.

24. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a difference between the first set of joint angles and the second set of joint angles during the articulation, and the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine whether the difference satisfies a threshold among the one or more thresholds.

25. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include the linearity of at least one joint angle in the first set of joint angles or the second set of joint angles during the articulation, and the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine whether the linearity satisfies a threshold among the one or more thresholds.

26. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a noise measurement of at least one joint angle in the first set of joint angles or the second set of joint angles during the articulation, and the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine whether the noise measurement satisfies a threshold among the one or more thresholds.

27. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a hysteresis measurement of at least one joint angle in the first set of joint angles or the second set of joint angles during the articulation, and the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine whether the hysteresis measurement satisfies a threshold among the one or more thresholds.

28. An apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the non-transitory computer memory stores machine executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the orientation of the articulation sensor of the flexible slender device based on the test curve.

29. Apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the commanded articulation is in at least two degrees of freedom.

30. The apparatus of claim 19 or 20, wherein the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to: commanding articulation of the distal portion of the flexible elongated device through a plurality of commanded postures; receiving gesture data of the articulation sensor data during articulation commanded by the plurality of command gestures; as well as The gesture data is compared to the plurality of command gestures.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein the non-transitory computer memory stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to: A control feedback loop of the device is adjusted based on a comparison of the gesture data to the plurality of command gestures.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the plurality of command poses articulate the flexible elongate device in multiple degrees of freedom.

33. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein commanding the distal portion of the flexible, elongated device to articulate in at least one degree of freedom is based on the drive sensor data, and commanding the flexible, elongated device to articulate through the plurality of command postures is based on the articulation sensor data.

34. A method of performing a calibration test sequence for a robotic system, the method comprising: receiving an indication that the flexible elongated device is coupled to a drive system of the robotic system, the drive system comprising one or more drive system sensors; commanding articulation of the flexible elongated device in at least one degree of freedom; generating drive sensor data from the one or more drive system sensors during commanded articulation; generating articulation sensor data from an articulation sensor attached to the flexible elongated device during the commanded articulation; comparing the drive sensor data and the articulation sensor data to generate a test curve including one or more aspects; determining whether the one or more aspects of the test curve meet one or more thresholds of a reference curve; as well as A determination is made as to whether corrective action is required for the flexible elongate device based on determining whether the one or more aspects of the test curve meet the one or more thresholds of the reference curve.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising providing instructions to an operator for installing the flexible elongate device.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising determining a first set of joint angles from the drive sensor data and determining a second set of joint angles from the articulation sensor data.

37. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a neutral position offset of at least one of the drive sensor data or the articulation sensor data.

38. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a slope of at least one of the drive sensor data or the articulation sensor data.

39. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include differences between the drive sensor data and the articulation sensor data.

40. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include linearity of at least one of the drive sensor data or the articulation sensor data.

41. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a noise measure of at least one of the drive sensor data or the articulation sensor data.

42. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein the one or more aspects of the test curve include a hysteresis measurement of at least one of the drive sensor data or the articulation sensor data.

43. A method according to any one of claims 34-36, wherein commanding the flexible, elongated device to articulate comprises commanding the flexible, elongated device to articulate in at least two degrees of freedom, and wherein the drive sensor data and the articulation sensor data are associated with movement in each of the at least two degrees of freedom.

44. The method of any one of claims 34-36, further comprising determining a rotational orientation of the articulation sensor based on the test curve.

45. The method of any one of claims 34-36, wherein commanding articulation of the flexible elongated device comprises commanding articulation of the flexible elongated device through a plurality of commanded gestures, the method further comprising: Position differences are monitored by comparing posture data from the articulation sensor to the plurality of commanded postures during the commanded articulation.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, further comprising: A control feedback loop of the robotic system is adjusted based on the position difference.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the plurality of command poses articulates the flexible elongate device in multiple degrees of freedom.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein the plurality of command gestures comprises: a first pose articulated in a first degree of freedom in a first direction and not articulated in a second degree of freedom; a second posture articulated in the first degree of freedom along a second direction and in the second degree of freedom along a third direction; as well as A third pose is articulated in the first degree of freedom along the second direction and in the second degree of freedom along a fourth direction.

49. A method according to claim 45, wherein commanding the flexible, elongated device to articulate in at least one degree of freedom is based on the drive sensor data, and commanding the flexible, elongated device to articulate through the multiple command postures is based on the posture data from the articulation sensor.

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