Device for providing information on robotic joint replacement surgery

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for providing information on robotic joint replacement surgery. The apparatus for providing information on robotic joint replacement surgery according to the present invention includes: a memory unit configured to store surgical plan information set before surgery, the surgical plan information including a cutting path of a target bone for surgery; a target acquisition unit configured to acquire positions of a plurality of cutting target points forming the cutting path based on the surgical plan information; a robot position calculation unit configured to calculate a current cutting position of the surgical robot among the cutting target points based on a surgical process of the surgical robot; a GUI providing unit configured to generate a graph representing surgical process information, the surgical process information including the current cutting position of the surgical robot and the positions of the cutting target points on a virtual bone model corresponding to the target bone for surgery; and a display unit configured to display the virtual bone model and the surgical process information. Accordingly, the cutting path planned before surgery, the surgical process information on which position of the cutting path the surgical robot is currently passing through, and the status information of the surgical robot are provided to the user, thereby helping the user to identify and monitor the surgical process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for providing robotic surgery information, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for providing information on the progress of a surgery when a robot performs an artificial joint replacement surgery. Background Art

[0002] Since the first use of the robotic doctor (ROBODOC) for robotic surgery in 1994, surgical robots have recently been widely used in the field of orthopedic surgery, including artificial joint replacement surgeries such as knee replacement surgeries and hip replacement surgeries, and the robotic systems for surgical robots have also been continuously developed.

[0003] It is reported that compared with the manual surgery by a surgeon, robotic surgery not only improves the accuracy of the surgery and the patient's satisfaction, but also reduces the complications that may occur after the surgery. Therefore, the proportion of robotic surgery in the field of orthopedic surgery is expected to gradually increase.

[0004] Robotic surgery is roughly divided into passive robotic surgery, semi-active robotic surgery, and active robotic surgery. In passive robotic surgery, the surgeon directly controls the robot to perform the surgery throughout the operation. In semi-active robotic surgery, the surgeon uses the robot to perform processes such as cutting, but the robot plays a role in restricting the surgical tool moved by the surgeon within a preset path through tactile feedback, etc. On the other hand, in active robotic surgery, the robot automatically performs the surgery based on a preoperative plan without the intervention of the surgeon.

[0005] Different from passive robotic surgery or semi-active robotic surgery, active robotic surgery has a problem of not displaying surgical information because it excludes the intervention of the surgeon. Here, surgical information allows the surgeon to monitor the progress of the surgery. For example, whether the robot is currently accurately performing the surgery along the preoperative planned path, the current operation speed of the robot, the load the robot is receiving, etc. Therefore, when the surgeon is on the path where the robot moves to cut the bone, the surgeon may be injured, and even if the robot moves along the wrong path, it may be difficult for the surgeon to quickly grasp the wrong movement of the robot, thus bringing great risks to the patient.

[0006] However, traditional surgical robot systems do not provide any surgical information, or even if surgical information is provided, it only provides extremely limited information, such as bone images, etc., after the cutting is completed. Therefore, traditional surgical robot systems cannot provide information to comprehensively grasp the current progress of the robot or the information on what will be executed in the future, etc.

[0007] Therefore, during the surgical procedure, it is necessary to provide surgical information that allows the surgeon to quickly grasp the surgical path along which the robot moves or the state of the robot. Especially in active robot surgery that excludes surgeon intervention, it is even more necessary to provide such surgical information. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Technical Problem

[0009] The present disclosure is proposed to solve the above problems, and an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and method for providing surgical information that allows a surgeon to grasp the surgical path of the robot or the state of the robot during the process of joint replacement robot surgery.

[0010] Technical Solution

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus for providing information about joint replacement robot surgery includes: a memory unit configured to store surgical plan information set before the surgery, the surgical plan information including a cutting path of a target bone for surgery; a target acquisition unit configured to acquire positions of a plurality of cutting target points forming the cutting path based on the surgical plan information; a robot position calculation unit configured to calculate a current cutting position of the surgical robot among the cutting target points based on the surgical process of the surgical robot; a GUI providing unit configured to generate a graph representing surgical process information, the surgical process information including the current cutting position of the surgical robot and the positions of the cutting target points on a virtual bone model corresponding to the target bone for surgery; and a display unit configured to display the virtual bone model and the surgical process information.

[0012] Herein, the apparatus may further include a view switching unit configured to switch a view of the virtual bone model displayed on the display unit according to a part of the target bone for surgery cut by the surgical robot.

[0013] Meanwhile, the target acquisition unit may perform coordinate conversion from the position of the cutting target point in a first coordinate system of an implant to be replaced in the target bone for surgery to a position in a second coordinate system based on the virtual bone model.

[0014] In addition, the robot position calculation unit may estimate the current cutting position of the surgical robot according to the cutting speed of the surgical robot based on the surgical plan information and the distance between the cutting target points.

[0015] Here, the device may further include a notification unit configured to provide a notification when an actual cutting position of the surgical robot based on information received from the tracking device is away from an estimated current cutting position of the surgical robot by more than a predetermined distance, the tracking device being configured to track the position of the surgical robot.

[0016] In addition, the robot position calculation unit may calculate an actual cutting position of the surgical robot based on information received from the tracking device, the tracking device being configured to track the position of the surgical robot.

[0017] Meanwhile, the device may further include a signal receiver configured to receive status information of the surgical robot from the surgical robot, wherein the display unit displays the status information of the surgical robot.

[0018] In addition, the GUI providing unit may set whether to display the surgical process information through the display unit based on an on / off state of the surgical robot.

[0019] In addition, the GUI providing unit may generate a graph corresponding to each of the plurality of cutting target points, a cutting line formed by connecting the cutting target points, and a graph corresponding to a current cutting position of the surgical robot.

[0020] In addition, the GUI providing unit may generate a graph based on the cutting line formed by connecting the cutting target points such that a cutting line that the surgical robot has passed and a cutting line that the surgical robot is currently passing are distinguishable from each other with respect to a current cutting position of the surgical robot calculated by the robot position calculation unit.

[0021] In addition, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of providing information about joint replacement robot surgery, the steps of the method being performed by a joint replacement robot surgery information providing device for providing information about joint replacement robot surgery, the method including the steps of: storing surgical plan information set before surgery, the surgical plan information including a cutting path of a surgical target bone; obtaining positions of a plurality of cutting target points forming the cutting path based on the surgical plan information; calculating a current cutting position of the surgical robot among the cutting target points based on a surgical process of the surgical robot; generating a graph representing surgical process information, the surgical process information including a current cutting position of the surgical robot and positions of the cutting target points on a virtual bone model corresponding to the surgical target bone; and displaying the virtual bone model and the surgical process information on a display unit.

[0022] Here, the method may further include: switching a view of the virtual bone model displayed on the display unit according to a part of the surgical target bone cut by the surgical robot.

[0023] Meanwhile, the step of calculating a current cutting position of the surgical robot may include: estimating the current cutting position of the surgical robot according to a cutting speed of the surgical robot based on the surgical plan information and a distance between the cutting target points.

[0024] In addition, the step of generating a graph based on the surgical progress information may include: generating graphs respectively corresponding to the plurality of cutting target points, a cutting line formed by connecting the cutting target points, and a corresponding graph of the current cutting position of the surgical robot.

[0025] Furthermore, the step of generating a graph based on the surgical progress information may include: generating a graph based on the cutting line formed by connecting the cutting target points, such that the cutting line that the surgical robot has passed through and the cutting line that the surgical robot is currently passing through are distinguished from each other with respect to the current cutting position of the surgical robot.

[0026] Advantageous Effects

[0027] As described above, according to the present disclosure, a cutting path planned before surgery, surgical progress information on which position the surgical robot is currently passing through on the cutting path, and status information of the surgical robot are provided to a user, thereby helping the user identify and monitor the surgical progress. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a joint replacement robotic surgery system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the joint replacement robotic surgery system including a device for providing information on joint replacement robotic surgery;

[0029] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a device for providing information on joint replacement robotic surgery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 3 is a reference diagram for explaining a cutting path based on a surgical plan according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 4 is a reference diagram for explaining an example of a position of a cutting target point acquired by a target acquisition unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 5 shows an example of a screen for explaining an operation of a view switching unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a method of providing information about robotic joint replacement surgery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 7 and Figure 8 shows an example of an image displayed when the surgical robot cuts the distal portion of the femur;

[0035] Figure 9 shows an example of an image displayed when the surgical tool of the surgical robot is closed; and

[0036] Figure 10 shows an example of an image displayed when the surgical robot cuts the anterior portion of the femur. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in the following description and drawings, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations that may obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted. In addition, throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same elements.

[0038] For reference, the robotic joint replacement surgery disclosed in this specification includes robotic knee replacement surgery and robotic hip replacement surgery. Hereinafter, robotic knee replacement surgery will be described as an example of robotic joint replacement surgery.

[0039] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a robotic joint replacement surgery system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the robotic joint replacement surgery system 1 includes a device for providing information about robotic joint replacement surgery.

[0040] Referring to Figure 1 , the robotic joint replacement surgery system 1 placed within the surgical site includes bone markers BM1 and BM2 fixed to the surgical target bones B1 and B2, a surgical robot 100, a tracking device 200, and a device 300 for providing information about robotic joint replacement surgery.

[0041] The surgical target bones B1 and B2 refer to the bones on which robotic surgery is to be performed. For example, Figure 1 shows the femur (Femur) B1 and the tibia (Tibia) B2. The bone markers BM1 and BM2 are respectively fixed to the femur B1 and the tibia B2, and are used as references for tracking the positions of the femur B1 and the tibia B2 during the surgery.

[0042] The surgical robot 100 refers to a robot that performs surgeries for joint replacement, and includes a robot base 101 and a robot arm 103. Various surgical tools 103a for bone cutting, etc. (such as a bur) can be coupled to the end effector (i.e., the end of the robot arm 103). In addition, the surgical robot 100 can be equipped with various sensors to sense the state of the surgical robot 100, such as the load applied to the coupled surgical tool, the speed of the robot operation, etc. The robot marker RM is fixed to the base 101 of the surgical robot 100 and serves as a reference for tracking the surgical robot 100 during the surgery.

[0043] As a reference, passive optical markers or active optical markers can be used as the bone markers BM1 and BM2 and the robot marker RM. The optical markers include a plurality of bar members that branch out in different directions with respect to a center point and are shaped like tree branches. Each bar can be formed with a ball marker at its end. This shape of the optical marker is only an example. Of course, the optical markers can have various other well-known shapes.

[0044] The tracking device 200 can be implemented as an Optical Tracking System (OTS) to track the positions and poses of the bone markers BM1 and BM2 fixed to the surgical target bones B1 and B2 and the robot marker RM fixed to the surgical robot 100. As a reference, an optical tracking system refers to a system that can track markers by using two infrared cameras and convert distances based on triangulation to track positions and poses in a three-dimensional space in real time. The tracking principle of such an optical tracking system is well known, and thus its detailed description will be omitted for the sake of simplicity.

[0045] When the surgical robot 100 performs a surgery on the surgical target bones B1 and B2, a device 300 for providing information about the robotic joint replacement surgery (hereinafter referred to as the "surgical information providing device") generates and provides surgical progress information. Here, the surgical progress information includes information about the cutting paths of the surgical robot 100 for cutting the surgical target bones B1 and B2, the cutting positions where the surgical robot 100 is currently performing cutting, and the state of the surgical robot 100.

[0046] The surgical information providing device 300 can be implemented to include a computer (or a processor) and a display unit. Figure 1FIG. shows that the surgical information providing device 300 is implemented as an independent device physically separated from the surgical robot 100. However, as needed, the processor of the surgical information providing device 300 may be placed in the surgical robot 100, and the display may be connected to and mounted with the tracking device 200 such that the processor and the display unit can exchange various information through the communication module.

[0047] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the surgical information providing device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 2 , the surgical information providing device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a signal receiver 310, a display unit 320, a memory unit 330, and a controller 340.

[0048] The signal receiver 310 is configured to receive signals or various data from the outside, and may include, for example, a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector and a D-sub connector for connecting to an external device, or a communication module for connecting to a wired / wireless network (such as the Internet). The signal receiver 310 receives various information from the surgical robot 100 and the tracking device 200. For example, the signal receiver 310 may receive information about various detected robot states from the surgical robot 100, and information about the tracking positions and postures of the surgical robot 100 and the surgical target bones B1 and B2 from the tracking device 200.

[0049] The display unit 320 is configured to display various information such as images, graphics, etc. on its screen, and may be implemented as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a light emitting diode (LED) panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel, etc. The display unit 320 displays surgical process information, a virtual bone model, etc. during a robotic surgery. The virtual bone model refers to a 2D bone model / 3D bone model reconstructed based on medical images (such as computed tomography (CT) images, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, X-ray images, etc.) acquired before the surgery and related to the surgical target bones.

[0050] The memory unit 330 is implemented as a memory device such as a random access memory (RAM), and is configured to store various operating systems (OSs), middleware, platforms, and various applications for the surgical information providing device 300, and store program codes, processed video and audio signals, and various data. The memory unit 330 is configured to store medical images of a patient acquired before surgery, a virtual bone model reconstructed based on the medical images, surgical plan information set before surgery, and the like. The surgical plan can be formulated based on the medical images of the patient, and the surgical plan information includes information about the type, shape, size, position, and orientation of an implant to be implanted into a target bone for surgery, a cutting path for the target bone for surgery, a cutting speed, and the like. The cutting path can be variously defined as a straight line, a curve, or a combination of a straight line and a curve. In this case, the cutting path or the cutting speed can be planned integrally or individually with respect to each cutting plane.

[0051] Figure 3 FIG. is a reference diagram for explaining a cutting path based on a surgical plan according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, showing cutting planes of a femur B1 and a tibia B2 during a total knee replacement robotic surgery.

[0052] Referring to Figure 3 , during the surgery, six surfaces of the femur are cut, and three surfaces of the tibia are cut. In this way, when cutting is performed with respect to a plurality of cutting planes, the surgical plan can be set individually for each cutting plane or can be set integrally for all cutting planes, and the surgical plan includes a cutting path corresponding to the cutting plane and a cutting speed on each cutting path.

[0053] The controller 340 controls the overall operation of the surgical information providing device 300 based on a user command received through a user input unit (not shown) or an internal program. The controller 340 can be implemented as including a processor that executes programs and program codes to process and control signals. The controller 340 can generate and provide a graph based on surgical process information corresponding to a robotic surgery process, thereby allowing a user to identify and monitor the surgical process of the surgical robot 100.

[0054] Referring to Figure 2 , the controller 340 includes a target acquisition unit 341, a robot position calculation unit 343, a graphical user interface (GUI) providing unit 345, a view switching unit 347, and a notification unit 349. As a reference, the controller 340 is functionally divided into specific elements, but the controller 340 can be implemented as including a software program for executing instructions for the functions of the target acquisition unit 341, the robot position calculation unit 343, the GUI providing unit 345, the view switching unit 347, and the notification unit 349, and a processor for executing these software programs.

[0055] The target acquisition unit 341 is configured to acquire the positions of a plurality of cutting target points that form a cutting path based on the surgical plan information stored in the memory unit 330. The cutting path may be formed by a set of position coordinates of a plurality of cutting target points corresponding to the plurality of points.

[0056] As a reference, during the surgical planning, the shape and size of the implant, as well as the position and orientation of the implant, are planned first, and the cutting path is set based on the plan for the implant, so as to form a cutting path in the implant coordinate system based on the origin of the implant. Therefore, as will be described later, in order to mark the virtual bone model with the set cutting path during the surgical planning, it is necessary to process the conversion of the position coordinates of the cutting target points based on the surgical plan into the position coordinates in the bone model coordinate system based on the origin of the virtual bone model.

[0057] Therefore, the target acquisition unit 341 performs coordinate conversion by multiplying the position coordinates of the target points defined in the implant coordinate system by the transformation matrix between the bone model coordinate system and the implant coordinate system. This method of coordinate conversion for converting the coordinates of points in one coordinate system into the coordinates in another coordinate system is well-known, and therefore, for the sake of simplicity of description, its detailed description will be omitted.

[0058] When acquiring the positions of the plurality of cutting target points, the target acquisition unit 341 may set the number of acquired cutting target points differently according to the shape or pattern of the cutting path.

[0059] Figure 4 FIG. is a reference diagram for illustrating an example of acquiring the positions of cutting target points by the target acquisition unit 341 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0060] Referring to Figure 4 , (a) shows an example in which the cutting path is formed by a combination of straight lines, and (b) shows an example in which the cutting path is formed by curves.

[0061] When the cutting path is formed by a straight line or a combination of straight lines as shown in Figure 4 (a), the target acquisition unit 341 may be configured to acquire the positions of the cutting target points corresponding to two points (i.e., the starting point of a straight path and the end point of the corresponding straight path). For example, when the cutting path is formed by a combination of five straight lines as shown in Figure 4 (a), whenever the path switches from one straight line to another, the target acquisition unit 341 may acquire the positions P1 to P6 corresponding to the starting point and the end point of each straight line. In this case, the straight lines forming the cutting path are connected to each other, so the points P2, P3, P4, and P5 are used not only as the end points of one straight line but also as the starting points of another connected straight line.

[0062] As a reference,Figure 4 FIG. (a) shows an example in which a plurality of straight lines are connected to each other. However, the cutting path may be given in the form of a plurality of separate straight lines, a combination of a plurality of separate straight lines, etc.

[0063] Meanwhile, when the cutting path is formed by a curve as shown in Figure 4 FIG. (b), the target acquisition unit 341 may be configured to acquire not only the start point and the end point of the curve, but also the positions of more cutting target points than the cutting target points of the straight path according to the curvature of the curve, the change rate of the curvature, and the direction change. For example, as the curvature or the change rate of the curvature increases, the target acquisition unit 341 may acquire the positions of more points. As a reference, Figure 4 FIG. (b) shows an example of acquiring fourteen positions corresponding to P10 to P23.

[0064] The robot position calculation unit 343 is configured to calculate the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 corresponding to the surgical process of the surgical robot 100 among the cutting target points acquired by the target acquisition unit 341. Here, the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 may include an estimated position or an actual position where the surgical robot 100 actually uses a surgical tool to perform cutting.

[0065] In other words, the robot position calculation unit 343 may calculate the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 based on the cutting speed of the surgical robot 100 stored in the memory unit 330, the time taken for the surgical robot 100 to perform cutting, and the distance between the cutting target points acquired by the target acquisition unit 341. For example, when it is assumed that the cutting tool of the surgical robot 100 is turned on at time t1 to start a cutting operation, the current time is t2, and the surgical robot 100 has a cutting speed v based on the surgical plan information, the distance traveled by the surgical robot 100 is (t2 - t1)*v. In this way, it is possible to estimate which position among the plurality of cutting target points the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 is at. In this case, when the cutting speed of the surgical robot 100 is planned to change according to the cutting position based on the surgical plan information, the current cutting position is estimated based on the planned cutting speed corresponding to the cutting position.

[0066] In addition, through the information about the position of the surgical robot 100 received from the tracking device 200, the robot calibration performed before the surgery, and the registration between the image of the virtual bone model and the space of the robot, the robot position calculation unit 343 may acquire the actual position of the surgical robot 100 on the virtual bone model to calculate the current cutting position.

[0067] The robot position calculation unit 343 may calculate only one of the aforementioned estimated cutting position and the actual cutting position, but may also calculate both of them.

[0068] Since the cutting position of the surgical robot 100 changes at all times during the surgical procedure, the robot position calculation unit 343 calculates and updates the changing current cutting position in real time.

[0069] The GUI providing unit 345 is configured to generate a graph representing the surgical progress information on the virtual bone model of the surgical target bone. In other words, the GUI providing unit 345 generates a graph based on the surgical progress information (including the position of the cutting target point obtained by the target acquisition unit 341 and the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 calculated by the robot position calculation unit 343). The surgically generated progress information is overlapped and displayed on the virtual bone model by the display unit 320. The GUI providing unit 345 may include a graphic card to send the generated data to the display unit 320.

[0070] The GUI providing unit 345 generates a graph based on the graphs corresponding to the multiple cutting target points obtained by the target acquisition unit 341, a cutting line (e.g., a straight line or a curve) formed by connecting the cutting target points according to the cutting order of the surgical robot 100, and a graph corresponding to the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 calculated by the robot position calculation unit 343. The cutting line that the surgical robot 100 has passed and the cutting line that the surgical robot 100 is currently passing through can be generated to be distinguishable from each other graphically with respect to the current cutting position. For example, the passed cutting line and the currently passed cutting line can be different in terms of color, transparency, line blinking, line type, etc.

[0071] In addition, when the robot position calculation unit 343 calculates both the estimated cutting position and the actual cutting position, the estimated cutting position and the actual cutting position can be displayed in different shapes, colors, etc. to distinguish them from each other, so that the user can easily monitor the surgical progress by visually checking the distance difference between the two positions.

[0072] Meanwhile, the GUI providing unit 345 can set whether to display the surgical progress information through the display unit 320 according to the on and off states of the surgical robot 100, and can set the display type. For example, when the surgical tool for cutting of the surgical robot 100 is turned on, the surgical progress information can be overlapped and displayed on the virtual bone model. On the other hand, when the surgical tool is turned off, the surgical progress information may not be displayed. Optionally, even when the surgical tool is turned off, the surgical progress information can be displayed in a color with relatively low visibility (such as gray), or can be displayed with high transparency to look faint.

[0073] The display unit 320 can provide status information (such as on / off information of a surgical tool (or cutting tool), the load applied to the surgical tool, the speed of the surgical robot 100, etc.) and surgical process information through the GUI. In this case, the speed of the surgical robot 100 can include a speed based on a surgical plan or an actual speed based on values sensed during the cutting process.

[0074] The view switching unit 347 is configured to switch the view of the virtual bone model displayed on the display unit 320 according to the part of the surgical target bone being cut by the surgical robot 100.

[0075] Figure 5 An example of a screen for explaining the operation of the view switching unit 347 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As Figure 5 shown in (a), when the surgical robot 100 cuts the distal end of the femur, the view is set so that the center of the distal end is in front of the screen and clearly visible. As shown in (b), when cutting the front part of the femur, the view is switched so that the center of the front part is in front of the screen.

[0076] The view switching unit 347 is configured to perform view switching based on a user input related to the part of the surgical target bone that is currently being cut, and receives the user input through a user input unit (not shown) such as a keyboard or a mouse. Alternatively, the view switching unit 347 is configured to automatically perform view switching by receiving information about the position of the surgical robot 100 tracked by the tracking device 200 or information detected by the surgical robot 100, and obtaining the direction or position in which the robotic arm of the surgical robot 100 moves relative to the surgical target bone or the state of change in the direction of the surgical tool.

[0077] The view switching unit 347 can rotate the virtual bone model or switch the view based on improvements in aspects such as Euler Angle, Rotation Matrix, Quaternion, and Gimbal Lock problems. In this way, the objects displayed on the screen are rotated or changed in the view direction through various well-known operations, so for the sake of simplicity of description, their detailed description will be omitted.

[0078] In addition, the view switching unit 347 may be configured to not only switch views, but also magnify or reduce the virtual bone model at a predetermined magnification in consideration of the size of the cutting surface and the number of cutting target points displayed on the cutting surface of the virtual bone model. For example, when the cutting surface is relatively small, the virtual bone model may be magnified so as to be seen relatively larger. Even when the number of cutting target points to be overlapped and displayed on the virtual bone model is large, the virtual bone model may be magnified so that the user can easily distinguish the cutting target points.

[0079] The notification unit 349 is configured to provide a notification to the user when the surgical robot 100 performs a cut outside the cutting path based on the surgical plan information. The notification unit 349 may be implemented to include a speaker to provide a notification with sound (such as a warning sound), or may provide a visual notification of displaying a message on the display unit 320.

[0080] When the actual cutting position of the surgical robot 100 based on the position information of the surgical robot 100 received from the tracking device 200 is farther away from the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 estimated by the robot position calculation unit 343 by more than a predetermined distance, the notification unit 349 may provide a notification. In addition, when the actual cutting position calculated based on the information received from the tracking device 200 deviates from the cutting path based on the surgical plan information by more than a predetermined standard, the notification unit 349 may provide a notification.

[0081] With the foregoing configuration, the surgical information providing device 300 according to the present disclosure displays surgical progress information on the virtual bone model, such as cutting path information based on a surgical plan, the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100, the state of the robot, etc., thereby helping the user to recognize and monitor the surgical progress.

[0082] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a method of providing information about joint replacement robotic surgery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, reference will be made to Figure 6 describe the organic operation of the surgical information providing device 300 configured as described above. As needed, repeated descriptions of the foregoing embodiments will be avoided.

[0083] Refer to Figure 6, The premise of the method for providing information on joint replacement robotic surgery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is to store information on the surgical plan set by the preoperative plan in the memory unit 330 (S10). The preoperative plan can be set based on medical images of the patient taken by various well-known types of planning software before the surgery. Through the preoperative plan, information such as the type, shape, and size of the implant to be implanted in the target bone of the surgery; the implantation position / orientation / angle of the implant; the cutting path along which the target bone of the surgery is cut to implant the corresponding implant; the cutting speed based on the density of the bone to be cut, etc. is generated.

[0084] When preparing the joint replacement robotic surgery system 1 with the aforementioned configuration at the surgical site, robot calibration for establishing the relationship between the visual sensor reference coordinate system of the tracking device 200 and the reference coordinate system of the robot is performed based on well-known techniques, registration is performed between the target bone of the surgery and the medical image to apply the surgical plan made based on the medical image to the actual target bone of the surgery, robot registration for establishing the relationship between the position / pose of the robot and the position / pose of the robot marker, etc. is performed, and robotic surgery is started according to the surgical plan.

[0085] When the robotic surgery starts, the target acquisition unit 341 acquires the positions of a plurality of cutting target points forming the cutting path based on the stored surgical plan information (S11). In this case, the cutting path is defined in the implant coordinate system. In order to display the cutting path on the virtual bone model, coordinate conversion is required to convert the position coordinate values in the implant coordinate system into position coordinate values in the virtual bone model coordinate system. At the same time, when the target acquisition unit 341 acquires the positions of a plurality of cutting target points, the number of cutting target points can be set differently according to the shape or pattern of the cutting path.

[0086] Then, the robot position calculation unit 343 calculates the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 among the cutting target points based on the surgical progress of the surgical robot (S13). Here, the current cutting position can be an estimated position estimated based on the time taken for the surgical robot 10 to perform the cutting and the cutting speed according to the surgical plan, or an actual position on the virtual bone model calculated based on the position information of the surgical robot tracked by the tracking device 200.

[0087] Next, the GUI providing unit 345 generates a graph showing the surgical progress information based on the data obtained above (S15). In this case, the target acquisition unit 341 acquires graphs respectively corresponding to a plurality of cutting target points, a cutting line (e.g., a straight line or a curve) formed by connecting the cutting target points according to the cutting order of the surgical robot 100, and a graph corresponding to the current cutting position of the surgical robot 100 calculated by the robot position calculation unit 343, which can be generated as graphs on the virtual bone model corresponding to the surgical target bone.

[0088] The display unit 320 displays the surgical progress information generated as a graph by the GUI providing unit 345 and the status information detected by the surgical robot 100 on the virtual bone model (S17).

[0089] Figures 7 to 10 An example of an image displayed on the display unit 320 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0090] Figure 7 and Figure 8 shows an image displayed when the surgical tool of the surgical robot 100 is turned on and the surgical robot 100 cuts the distal part of the femur. For reference, Figure 8 shows Figure 7 a state where cutting is further performed compared to

[0091] The current cutting position C of the surgical robot 100 is displayed in a spherical shape, and a plurality of cutting target points P are displayed in a spherical shape smaller than the current cutting position C. However, this is merely an example of the display. In addition to the spherical shape, the current cutting position C and the cutting target points P can be displayed in various shapes, sizes, and colors. For example, the spherical shape of the current cutting position C can be displayed in red, and the spherical shape of the cutting target points P can be displayed in yellow, so that the current cutting position C and the cutting target points P can be displayed to be distinguishable from each other.

[0092] Furthermore, referring to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the cutting line L p that the surgical robot 100 has passed through and the cutting line L c that the surgical robot 100 is currently passing through can be different in terms of color, saturation, brightness, line width, etc. to be distinguishable from each other. For example, the cutting line L p is colored yellow and the cutting line L c is colored red, thereby helping the user intuitively grasp the part where cutting is currently being performed.

[0093] Meanwhile, all the plurality of cutting target points P and the cutting line L of the entire cutting path based on the surgical plan can be displayed from the start. However, as Figure 7and Figure 8 As shown, the cutting target point P and the cutting line L can be sequentially displayed according to the cutting process of the surgical robot 100.

[0094] As the cutting is performed, the cutting position of the surgical robot 100 continuously changes. Therefore, the current cutting position C is displayed as if it were a moving picture moving along the cutting line L in real time on the display unit 320, which reflects this change in the cutting position.

[0095] Meanwhile, "Cutting: On" is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen, thereby indicating that the surgical tool of the surgical robot 100 has been turned on. In addition, in the lower left corner of the screen, the load applied to the surgical tool is displayed in N, and the cutting speed is displayed in mm / s. In this case, the cutting speed can be the planned speed based on the surgical plan information or the actual cutting speed.

[0096] Figure 9 An example of an image displayed when the surgical tool of the surgical robot 100 is turned off is shown. Refer to Figure 9 , only the status information, i.e., "Cutting: Off", is displayed in the upper left corner, and no other status information or surgical process information is displayed. This is merely an example. As described above, the information displayed in this way can vary in terms of color, transparency, etc., so that "On" and "Off" can be distinguished from each other.

[0097] Figure 10 An example of an image displayed when the surgical robot 10 cuts the front part of the femur is shown. Refer to Figure 10 , as Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown, the current cutting position C, the cutting line L, a plurality of cutting target points P, and the status information of the surgical robot are displayed. However, compared with Figure 7 and Figure 8 which show the status of the distal cutting part, Figure 10 the perspective is changed so that the front part can be clearly seen on the screen.

[0098] Therefore, when the surgical robot 100 finishes cutting a specific part and starts cutting another part, the view switching unit 347 can delete the previously displayed surgical process information and switch the view to another perspective.

[0099] Meanwhile, as needed, appropriate additions or changes can be made in the operation of the method described with reference to Figure 6 . For example, when the actual cutting position of the surgical robot 100 is more than a predetermined distance away from the estimated current cutting position of the surgical robot 100, or when the actual cutting position of the surgical robot 100 deviates from the cutting path based on the surgical plan information by more than a predetermined standard, an operation of providing a notification by the notification unit 349 can be added.

[0100] As described above, by means of the device 300 and method for providing information on robotic joint replacement surgery according to the present disclosure, the pre-operative planned cutting path, the surgical progress information on the position where the surgical robot 100 is currently passing along the cutting path, and the status information of the surgical robot 100 are provided to the user, thereby helping the user to identify and monitor the surgical progress.

[0101] The above embodiments can be implemented by hardware components, software components, and / or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the devices, methods, and components described in the embodiments may include, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of responding to and executing instructions, and are implemented using one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers. The processing device can run an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the OS. The processing device can also access, store, manipulate, process, and create data in response to the execution of the software. For simplicity, the description of the processing device uses the singular form; however, those skilled in the art will understand that the processing device may include multiple processing elements and various types of processing elements. For example, the processing device may include multiple processors or a processor and a controller. Additionally, different processing configurations, such as a parallel processor, are possible.

[0102] Software may include a computer program, code, instruction, or some combination thereof, to independently or collectively direct or configure a processing device to operate as required. Software and data may be permanently or temporarily embodied in any type of machine, component, physical device or virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device, or in a propagated signal wave capable of providing instructions or data to the processing device or being interpreted by the processing device. Software may also be distributed over computer systems connected by a network such that the software is stored and executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored by one or more non-transitory computer-readable recording media.

[0103] The method according to the above exemplary embodiments may be recorded in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which includes program instructions for implementing the various operations of the above exemplary embodiments. The medium may also include data files, data structures, etc., either alone or in combination with the program instructions. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be program instructions specifically designed and configured for the purposes of the exemplary embodiments, or they may be of the type well-known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic media, such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical media, such as CD-ROM discs, DVD discs, and / or Blu-ray discs; magneto-optical media, such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, etc. Examples of program instructions include machine code generated by a compiler and files containing higher-level code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter. The above-described apparatus may be configured to act as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the above exemplary embodiments, and vice versa.

[0104] Although some embodiments have been described above with reference to limited drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications and changes from the foregoing description. For example, suitable results can be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order and / or if the components in the described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and / or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other embodiments, other implementations, and equivalents of the claims also fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for providing information on robotic joint replacement surgery, the device comprising: A memory unit configured to store surgical plan information set before the surgery, the surgical plan information including a cutting path of a target bone for the surgery; A target acquisition unit configured to acquire the positions of a plurality of cutting target points forming the cutting path based on the surgical plan information; A robot position calculation unit configured to calculate the current cutting position of the surgical robot among the cutting target points based on the surgical progress of the surgical robot; A GUI providing unit configured to generate a graph representing surgical progress information, the surgical progress information including the current cutting position of the surgical robot and the positions of the cutting target points on a virtual bone model corresponding to the target bone for the surgery; and A display unit configured to display the virtual bone model and the surgical progress information; wherein the robot position calculation unit estimates the current cutting position of the surgical robot based on the cutting speed of the surgical robot and the distance between the cutting target points based on the surgical plan information.

2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a view switching unit configured to switch the view of the virtual bone model displayed on the display unit according to the part of the target bone for the surgery cut by the surgical robot.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the target acquisition unit performs a coordinate transformation from the position of the cutting target point in a first coordinate system of an implant to be replaced in the target bone for the surgery to the position in a second coordinate system based on the virtual bone model.

4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit configured to provide a notification when the actual cutting position of the surgical robot based on the information received from a tracking device is away from the estimated current cutting position of the surgical robot by more than a predetermined distance, the tracking device being configured to track the position of the surgical robot.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the robot position calculation unit calculates the actual cutting position of the surgical robot based on the information received from a tracking device, the tracking device being configured to track the position of the surgical robot.

6. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a signal receiver configured to receive the status information of the surgical robot from the surgical robot, wherein the display unit displays the status information of the surgical robot.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the GUI providing unit sets whether to display the surgical progress information through the display unit based on the on / off state of the surgical robot.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the GUI providing unit generates graphs corresponding to the plurality of cutting target points respectively, a cutting line formed by connecting the cutting target points, and a graph corresponding to the current cutting position of the surgical robot.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein, the GUI providing unit generates a graph based on a cutting line formed by connecting the cutting target points, such that the cutting line that the surgical robot has passed through and the cutting line that the surgical robot is currently passing through are distinguishable from each other with respect to the current cutting position of the surgical robot calculated by the robot position calculating unit.

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