Systems and methods for rapidly suspending and restoring movement deviations in repositionable arm of medical device

Abstract

A system and method for quickly suspending and restoring motion deviation in a medical device includes a computer-assisted medical device having a first repositionable arm having one or more first repositionable elements, a second repositionable arm having one or more second repositionable elements, and a control unit communicatively coupled to the first and second repositionable arms. The control unit is configured to control movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector based on the desired movement, monitor actual movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector, determine whether the actual movement deviates from the desired movement by more than a predetermined threshold, and control the first end effector when the actual movement deviates from the desired movement by more than the predetermined threshold. Movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector is suspended or movement of the second repositionable arm and the second end effector is suspended.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese patent application 202110978704.6, filed on December 20, 2016, entitled “System and method for quickly pausing and resuming motion deviation in a repositionable arm of a medical device”. Chinese patent application 202110978704.6 is a divisional application of Chinese patent application 201680058833.0 (PCT / US2016 / 067755), filed on December 20, 2016, entitled “System and method for quickly pausing and resuming motion deviation in a repositionable arm of a medical device”.

[0002] Related Applications

[0003] This patent application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 281,142, filed on January 20, 2016, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RAPIDHALT AND RECOVERY OF MOTION DEVIATIONS IN MEDICAL DEVICE REPOSITIONABLE ARMS,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to the operation of a medical device having a repositionable arm, and more particularly to rapidly halting and recovering the repositionable arm when a motion deviation above a threshold is detected. Background Art

[0005] More and more equipment is being replaced by autonomous and semi-autonomous devices. This is especially true in today’s hospitals, where a large number of autonomous and semi-autonomous medical devices can be found in operating rooms, interventional suites, intensive care units, emergency rooms, etc. For example, glass and mercury thermometers are being replaced by electronic thermometers, IV drip lines now include electronic monitors and flow regulators, and traditional handheld surgical instruments are being replaced by computer-assisted medical devices.

[0006] These computer-assisted medical devices provide both advantages and challenges for the personnel who operate them. One of the many advantages of these computer-assisted medical devices is the flexibility of the operating mode for supporting different operations and procedures. For example, a computer-assisted medical device with one or more repositionable arms and / or end effectors generally supports several modes for controlling the position and / or orientation (i.e., posture) of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors. In one possible mode, one or more of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors are operated via teleoperation using one or more input controls at an operator workstation and / or on the repositionable arms to control the motion and / or operation of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors. In another possible mode, one or more repositionable arms and / or end effectors are operated autonomously or semi-autonomously by the computer-assisted medical device to execute a motion plan. In some examples, the motion plan may optionally include maintaining the posture of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors so that no motion occurs. Examples of such computer-assisted medical devices that support these operating modes include the da Vinci surgical system commercialized by Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California. Surgical System).

[0007] During operation of the computer-assisted medical device, it is important for the computer-assisted medical device to monitor the actual motion performed by the repositionable arms and / or end effectors to determine if any of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors deviate beyond a reasonable threshold of the intended motion of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors. Such monitoring is often particularly important for any portion of the end effector that is inserted into the internal anatomy of a patient, as even small deviations in the motion of the end effector may damage tissue, such as an internal organ.

[0008] In some embodiments, the monitoring amount and / or sensitivity of the monitoring motion can be optionally changed between different control modes of the corresponding repositionable arm and / or end effector. For example, the medical staff uses the input controller at the operator workstation and / or the input controller on the repositionable arm to remotely operate the repositionable arm and / or end effector, and the input controller on the repositionable arm can sometimes be monitored by the medical staff, and the medical staff can observe the movement deviation and use the input controller to correct it. However, sometimes the repositionable arm and / or end effector that is remotely operated in part or in whole by the medical staff cannot be fully monitored by the medical staff. The medical staff may not observe the components of the repositionable arm and / or end effector during operation, lack sufficient knowledge or experience to predict the movement of the repositionable arm and / or end effector, etc. In addition, the repositionable arm and / or end effector (including those repositionable arms and / or end effectors that are being held in place) that are being autonomously and / or semi-autonomously controlled are usually not observed or not closely observed by the medical staff, making it unlikely that the movement deviation will be detected and / or compensated by the medical staff. Therefore, it is important that the computer-assisted medical device actively monitors motion deviations in the autonomously and / or semi-autonomously controlled repositionable arm and / or end effector.

[0009] Motion deviation in a repositionable arm and / or end effector may occur from many possible sources. In some examples, motion deviation may occur due to collision between two or more repositionable arms and / or end effectors. In some examples, motion deviation may occur due to collision between a repositionable arm and / or end effector and other objects or structures external to the computer-assisted medical device. These other objects or structures may include other medical Equipment, operating table, medical staff, patient anatomy structure, etc. In some examples, motion deviations occur due to the range of motion limits in the repositionable arm and / or end effector.

[0010] A common strategy for dealing with motion deviations is to place the computer-assisted medical device into a full emergency stop mode, such as by triggering a system-wide error condition. In the full emergency stop mode, all motion of the repositionable arm and / or end effector is stopped and no further motion is allowed until medical personnel performs a typically lengthy recovery procedure. While this approach tends to maximize safety, it is often more disruptive than is often desired because, for example, medical personnel are often able to compensate for motion deviations in the teleoperated repositionable arm and / or end effector and / or determine when the full-stop mode should be initiated.

[0011] Therefore, it would be advantageous to have systems and methods that provide more measured responses to motion deviations of an autonomously and / or semi-autonomously controlled repositionable arm and / or end effector. Summary of the invention

[0012] Advantageously, when a motion deviation is detected to be higher than a desired threshold in a repositionable arm and / or end effector, the system and method according to an embodiment of the present invention allow for a quick and / or measured response. In one aspect, when a motion deviation is detected to be higher than a desired threshold, the movement of each of the remotely operated, autonomously controlled or semi-autonomously controlled repositionable arms and / or end effectors (including each repositionable arm and / or end effector being held in place) is paused, and the pause is notified to one or more medical personnel. Once the condition causing the pause is cleared by one or more medical personnel, the remotely operated, autonomous and / or semi-autonomous control of each of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors is allowed to be resumed. In some aspects, the method for pausing the repositionable arms and / or end effectors varies based on the type of corresponding actuator used to allow repositioning of the repositionable arms and / or end effectors. For example, a brake is applied to a non-actuated repositionable element, an actuated repositionable element with a brake has an applied brake, and the set point and / or feedback gain of the control algorithm for the actuated repositionable element is changed. In some examples, set points and / or feedback gains for position, velocity, torque, etc. may optionally be changed based on the desired pause behavior. In some examples, feed-forward torque may optionally be applied to maintain active gravity and / or inertia compensation in the repositionable arm and / or end effector. In some aspects, the computer-assisted medical device may optionally provide instructions to one or more medical personnel on how to clear the condition causing the pause.

[0013] In some aspects, use of the pause and resume routine can optionally be limited to certain operating modes of the computer-assisted medical device, the repositionable arm, and / or the end effector. In some examples, the pause and resume routine is optionally used when the repositionable arm and / or the end effector is operating in a zero-space mode, in which the pose of the end effector is not expected to change even if redundant degrees of freedom of the repositionable arm proximate to the end effector are manipulated to reposition a portion of the repositionable arm. In some examples, the pause and resume routine is optionally used when the repositionable arm and / or the end effector is operating in an instrument removal mode, in which the end effector is removed from the patient and / or disconnected from the cannula at which the end effector is inserted into the patient's body.

[0014] In accordance with some embodiments, a computer-assisted medical device includes: a first repositionable arm having one or more first repositionable elements for positioning the first repositionable arm (and positioning the first end effector when the first end effector is mounted to the first repositionable arm); a second repositionable arm having one or more second repositionable elements for positioning the second repositionable arm (and positioning the second end effector when the second end effector is mounted to the second repositionable arm); and a control unit communicatively coupled to the first repositionable arm and the second repositionable arm. The control unit is configured to control the movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector; monitor the actual movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector; determine whether the actual movement deviates from the expected movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector by more than a predetermined threshold; and when the actual movement deviates from the expected movement by more than the predetermined threshold, suspend the movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector or suspend the movement of the second repositionable arm and the second end effector.

[0015] In accordance with some embodiments, a method of operating a computer-assisted medical device includes controlling the movement of a first repositionable arm and a first end effector by a control unit of the computer-assisted medical device. The first repositionable arm includes one or more first repositionable elements for positioning the first repositionable arm, and the first end effector is mounted to the first repositionable arm. The method also includes: monitoring the actual movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector by the control unit; determining by the control unit whether the actual movement deviates from the expected movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector by more than a predetermined threshold; and pausing the movement of the second repositionable arm and the second end effector by the control unit when the actual movement deviates from the expected movement by more than a predetermined threshold. The second repositionable arm includes one or more second repositionable elements for positioning the second repositionable arm, and the second end effector is mounted to the second repositionable arm.

[0016] In accordance with some embodiments, a non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions, the plurality of machine-readable instructions being adapted to cause one or more processors associated with a computer-assisted medical device to perform a method when executed by the one or more processors. The method includes controlling movement of a first repositionable arm and a first end effector. The first repositionable arm includes one or more first repositionable elements for positioning the first repositionable arm, and the first end effector is mounted to the first repositionable arm. The method further includes monitoring the first repositionable arm and the first end effector. The actual movement is determined to determine whether the actual movement deviates from the expected movement by more than a predetermined threshold. value, and when the actual movementThe movement of the second repositionable arm and the second end effector is suspended when the deviation from the expected movement exceeds a predetermined threshold. The second repositionable arm includes one or more second repositionable elements for positioning the second repositionable arm, and the second end effector is mounted to the second repositionable arm.

[0017] In accordance with some embodiments, a computer-assisted medical device includes a repositionable arm, an input device, and a control unit. The repositionable arm has one or more repositionable elements for positioning the repositionable arm and an end effector. The control unit is coupled to the repositionable arm and the input device and is configured to receive commands from the input device, wherein the commands indicate desired movements of the repositionable arm and the end effector. The control unit is further configured to: monitor actual movement of the repositionable arm and the end effector, determine whether the actual movement deviates from the desired movement of the repositionable arm and the end effector by more than a predetermined threshold, and pause the movement of the repositionable arm and the end effector in response to the actual movement deviating from the desired movement by more than the predetermined threshold. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a computer-assisted system according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 2 is a simplified diagram illustrating a computer-assisted medical system, according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 3 is a simplified diagram of a method for rapid suspension and resumption of a computer-assisted medical device, according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 4 is a simplified diagram of a method of pausing a repositionable element and / or an end effector in a repositionable arm according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 5 is a simplified diagram illustrating a computer-assisted medical system, according to some embodiments.

[0023] In the drawings, elements with the same reference numerals have the same or similar functions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In the following description, the specific details of some embodiments consistent with the present disclosure are described. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these specific details. The specific embodiments disclosed herein are intended to illustrate rather than limit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although not specifically described herein, they are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, one or more features shown and described in association with an embodiment may be incorporated into other embodiments, unless otherwise specifically described or if one or more features will make the embodiment inoperative. The term "include" means including but not limited to, and unless otherwise stated, each of the one or more individual items included should be considered optional. Similarly, the term "may / can" indicates that an item is optional.

[0025] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a computer-assisted system 100 according to some embodiments. Figure 1 As shown, the computer-assisted system 100 includes a computer-assisted system 110 (also referred to as a "patient-side support system 110") having one or more repositionable arms 120. In some examples, each of the one or more repositionable arms 120 may optionally include one or more links and one or more joints that allow the one or more links to be articulated. In some examples, each of the one or more repositionable arms 120 may optionally include one or more flexible members, such as a steerable tube. Each of the one or more repositionable arms 120 supports one or more end effectors 125, which may optionally be mounted to the distal end of a corresponding one of the repositionable arms 120. In some examples, the device 110 may be consistent with a computer-assisted medical device (such as a teleoperated surgical device). The one or more end effectors 125 include surgical instruments, imaging devices, and / or the like. In some examples, the surgical instruments include clamps, clamps, retractors, cautery tools, suction tools, suturing devices, and / or the like. In some examples, the imaging devices include stereoscopic and monoscopic imaging devices, imaging devices in the visible and infrared ranges, steerable endoscopic imaging devices, etc. In some examples, each repositionable arm 120 and / or end effector 125 can optionally be configured to have a remote center of motion that can maintain a stationary position in space even if the links and / or joints of the corresponding repositionable arm 120 and / or end effector 125 near the remote center of motion change the position or orientation of the end effector 125 relative to the remote center. In some examples, the remote center of motion can optionally correspond to a point at which the corresponding repositionable arm 120 and / or end effector 125 is inserted through the patient's body wall.

[0026] The computer aided device 110 is coupled to the control unit 130 via an input / output (I / O) interface 140. The I / O interface 140 may optionally include one or more cables, connectors, ports, and / or buses, and the I / O interface 140 may optionally further include one or more networks having one or more network switching and / or routing devices. In some examples, the I / O interface 140 may optionally include a wireless interface. The control unit 130 includes a processor 150 coupled to the memory 160 and the I / O interface 140. The operation of the control unit 130 is controlled by the processor 150. Although the control unit 130 is shown as having only one processor 150, it should be understood that the processor 150 represents one or more central processing units, multi-core processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or the like in the control unit 130. The control unit 130 may optionally be implemented as an independent subsystem and / or board added to a computing device or as a virtual machine. In some embodiments, the control unit may optionally be included as part of an operator workstation (not shown) and / or operate separately from but in conjunction with the operator workstation. In some embodiments, the computer aid 110 and control unit 130 may optionally correspond to the da Vinci surgical system commercialized by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California. The memory 160 is used to store software executed by the control unit 130 and / or one or more data structures used during the operation of the control unit 130. The memory 160 includes one or more types of machine-readable media. Some common forms of machine-readable media may include floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, any other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, any other optical media, punch cards, paper tapes, any other physical media with hole patterns, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge memory, and / or any other medium suitable for a processor or computer to read.

[0027] As shown, the memory 160 includes a motion control application 170 that supports control of the autonomous, semi-autonomous, and / or teleoperation of the computer-assisted device 110. The motion control application 170 includes one or more control modules for actuating the repositionable arm 120 and / or the end effector 125 so as to drive the repositionable arm 120 and / or the end effector 125 to a desired pose based on the motion control strategy currently used for the autonomous, semi-autonomous, and / or teleoperation of the corresponding repositionable arm 120 and / or the end effector 125. The motion control application 170 may optionally include one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) for receiving position, motion, and / or other sensor information from the computer-assisted device 110 via the I / O interface 140, exchanging position, motion, and / or collision avoidance information with other devices (such as an operating table and / or an imaging device) associated with other control units, and / or planning and / or assisting in the motion planning of the computer-assisted device 110, the repositionable arm 120, and / or the end effector 125 of the computer-assisted device 110. In some embodiments, one or more tracking sensors, such as imaging devices, may alternatively be used to track one or more registration markers, fiducial markers, and / or the like mounted on the repositionable arm 120 and / or end effector 125 to supplement and / or replace sensor inputs to determine the pose of the repositionable arm 120 and / or end effector 125. Optionally, other position and shape sensing components are additionally and / or alternatively used, such as a fiber optic shape sensor using fiber Bragg grating technology, such as the fiber optic shape sensor disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 7,720,322, entitled “Fiber Optic Shape Sensor,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0028] Although the motion control application 170 is described as a software application, the motion control application 170 may be implemented using hardware, software, and / or a combination of hardware and software.

[0029] In some embodiments, the computer-assisted system 100 may be found in an operating room and / or interventional suite. Although the computer-assisted system 100 includes only one computer-assisted device 110 having two repositionable arms 120, one of ordinary skill will appreciate that the computer-assisted system 100 may include any number of other devices. Examples of other devices include additional computer-assisted devices having repositionable arms and / or end effectors of similar and / or different designs than the computer-assisted device 110. In some examples, each computer-assisted device having repositionable arms and / or end effectors may include fewer or more repositionable arms and / or end effectors.

[0030] Figure 2 2 is a simplified diagram showing a computer-assisted medical system 200 according to some embodiments. For example, the computer-assisted medical system 200 may be consistent with the computer-assisted medical system 100. Figure 2 As shown, the computer-assisted medical system 200 includes a computer-assisted medical device 210 having one or more repositionable arms. The computer-assisted medical system 200 is configured to work with an operating table 280. Figure 2 1, but the computer-assisted medical device 210 and / or the operating table 280 may be coupled together using one or more interfaces (such as the I / O interface 140) and one or more control units (such as the control unit 130) so that kinematic information about the computer-assisted medical device 210 is known to a motion control application (such as the motion control application 170) that is used to execute the motion of the repositionable arm of the computer-assisted medical device 210. In some embodiments, the operating table 280 is part of the computer-assisted medical system 200; in other embodiments, the operating table 280 is not part of the computer-assisted medical system 200.

[0031] The computer-assisted medical device 210 includes various links and joints. Figure 2 In an embodiment of the present invention, the computer-assisted medical device 210 is generally divided into three different groups of connections and joints. Starting from the proximal end, a movable member or mobile cart 215 serves as a mechanical ground for the computer-assisted medical device 210. The mobile cart 215 can optionally be repositioned and / or reoriented around the operating table 280 to support different procedures performed by the computer-assisted medical device 210. Coupled to the mobile cart 215 is a mounting (set-up) structure 220. Coupled to the distal end of the mounting structure is a series of links and mounting joints 240, thereby forming a repositionable arm of an articulated variation. And coupled to the distal end of the mounting joint 240 is a multi-joint manipulator 260. In some examples, the series of mounting joints 240 and manipulators 260 can correspond to one of the repositionable arms 120. Although the computer-assisted device is shown as having only a series of mounting joints 240 and corresponding manipulators 260, a person of ordinary skill should understand that the computer-assisted medical device 210 may optionally include more than one series of mounting joints 240 and a plurality of corresponding manipulators 260, such that the computer-assisted medical device 210 is equipped with a plurality of repositionable arms.

[0032] As shown, the computer-assisted medical device 210 is mounted on a mobile cart 215. The mobile cart 215 is capable of transporting the computer-assisted medical device 210 from one location to another, such as between operating rooms or within an operating room to better position the computer-assisted device near the operating table 180. The mounting structure 220 is mounted on the mobile cart 215. Figure 2 As shown, mounting structure 220 includes a two-part column including column links 221 and 222. Coupled to the upper or distal end of column link 222 is shoulder joint 223. Coupled to shoulder joint 223 is a two-part cantilever including cantilever links 224 and 225. At the distal end of cantilever link 225 is wrist joint 226, and coupled to wrist joint 226 is arm mounting platform 227.

[0033] The linkages and joints of the mounting structure 220 include various degrees of freedom for changing the position and orientation (i.e., posture) of the arm mounting platform 227. For example, the height of the arm mounting platform 227 is adjusted using the two-part column by moving the shoulder joint 223 up and down along the axis 232. The arm mounting platform 227 also rotates around the mobile cart 215, the two-part column, and the axis 232 using the shoulder joint 223. The horizontal position of the arm mounting platform 227 is adjusted along the axis 234 using the two-part cantilever. And the orientation of the arm mounting platform 227 can also be adjusted by rotating the arm mounting platform 227 around the arm mounting platform orientation axis 236 using the wrist joint 226. Therefore, subject to the motion limitations of the linkages and joints in the mounting structure 220, the position of the arm mounting platform 227 can be adjusted vertically above the mobile cart 215 using the two-part column. The position of the arm mounting platform 227 can optionally be adjusted radially and angularly around the mobile cart 215 using the two-part cantilever and the shoulder joint 223, respectively. And the angular orientation of the arm mounting platform 227 can optionally be changed using the wrist joint 226.

[0034] The arm mounting platform 227 is used as a mounting point for one or more repositionable arms. The ability to adjust the height, horizontal position, and orientation of the arm mounting platform 227 about the mobile cart 215 provides a flexible mounting structure for positioning and orienting one or more repositionable arms about a workspace located near the mobile cart 215 where an operation or surgical procedure is being performed. For example, the arm mounting platform 227 can be positioned above a patient so that the various repositionable arms and their corresponding manipulators and instruments have sufficient range of motion to perform a surgical procedure on the patient. Figure 2 A single repositionable arm is shown coupled to the arm mounting platform 227 using a first mounting joint 242. Although only one repositionable arm is shown, one of ordinary skill will appreciate that two, three, four, or even more repositionable arms may be coupled to the arm mounting platform 227 using additional first mounting joints.

[0035] The first mounting joint 242 forms the most proximal portion of the mounting joint 240 portion of the repositionable arm. The mounting joint 240 may further include a series of joints and links. Figure 2 As shown, the mounting joint 240 includes at least links 244 and 246 coupled via one or more joints (not explicitly shown). The joints and links of the mounting joint 240 include the ability to rotate the mounting joint 240 relative to the arm mounting platform 227 about the axis 252 using the first mounting joint 242, adjust the radial or horizontal distance between the first mounting joint 242 and the link 246, adjust the height of the manipulator mount 262 at the distal end of the link 246 relative to the arm mounting plane 227 along the axis 254, and rotate the manipulator mount 262 about the axis 254. In some examples, the mounting joint 240 may optionally further include additional joints, links, and axes that allow additional degrees of freedom for changing the posture of the manipulator mount 262 relative to the arm mounting platform 227.

[0036] Manipulator 260 is coupled to the distal end of mounting joint 240 via manipulator mount 262. Manipulator 260 includes additional joints 264 and links 266, with instrument bracket 268 mounted at the distal end of manipulator 260. Instrument 270 is mounted to instrument bracket 268. Instrument 270 includes shaft 272 aligned along the insertion axis. Shaft 272 is typically aligned so that it passes through a remote center of motion 274 associated with manipulator 260. The position of remote center of motion 274 is typically maintained in a fixed translational relationship relative to manipulator mount 262, such that operation of joints 264 in manipulator 260 causes shaft 272 to rotate about remote center of motion 274. Depending on the embodiment, remote center of motion 274 is maintained in a fixed translational relationship relative to manipulator mount 262 using physical constraints in joints 264 and links 266 of manipulator 260, using software restrictions imposed on the motion allowed by joints 264, and / or a combination of both. Representative embodiments of computer-assisted surgical devices utilizing a remote center of motion maintained using physical constraints in joints and links are described in U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 906,888, filed on May 13, 2013, entitled “Redundant Axis and Degree of Freedom for Hardware-Constrained Remote Center Robotic Manipulator,” and U.S. Patent No. 8,004,229, filed on May 19, 2005, entitled “Software Center and Highly Configurable Robotic Systems for Surgery and Other Uses,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In some examples, the remote center of motion 274 may correspond to the location of a body opening (such as an incision site or body orifice) of the patient 278 through which the shaft 272 is inserted into the patient 278. Because remote center of motion 274 corresponds to the body opening, remote center of motion 274 remains stationary relative to patient 278 when instrument 270 is used to limit stress on the anatomy of patient 278 at remote center of motion 274. In some examples, shaft 272 may optionally pass through a cannula (not shown) located at the body opening.In some examples, instruments having a relatively large shaft or guide tube outer diameter (e.g., 4-5 mm or larger) may be passed through a body opening using a cannula, and for instruments having a relatively small shaft or guide tube outer diameter (e.g., 2-3 mm or smaller), the cannula may optionally be omitted.

[0037] At the distal end of shaft 272 is end effector 276. The degrees of freedom of manipulator 260 due to joint 264 and linkage 266 can allow control of at least roll, pitch, and yaw of shaft 272 and / or end effector 276 relative to manipulator mount 262. In some examples, the degrees of freedom of manipulator 260 can further include the ability to advance and / or retract shaft 272 using instrument carriage 268 so that end effector 276 can be advanced and / or retracted along the insertion axis and relative to remote center of motion 276. In some examples, manipulator 260 can be used with the da Vinci surgical system commercialized by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California. In some examples, the instrument 270 is consistent with a manipulator used with a surgical system. In some examples, the instrument 270 is a surgical instrument, an imaging device, etc. In some examples, possible surgical instruments consistent with the instrument 270 include clamps, clamps, retractors, cautery tools, suction tools, suturing devices, and / or the like. In some examples, possible imaging devices consistent with the instrument 270 include stereoscopic and monoscopic imaging devices, imaging devices in the visible and infrared ranges, controllable endoscopic imaging devices, and / or the like. In some examples, the end effector 276 may include additional degrees of freedom, such as roll, pitch, yaw, grip, etc., which allow additional local manipulation of portions of the end effector 276 relative to the distal end of the axis 272.

[0038] During surgery or other medical procedures, a patient 278 is typically positioned on an operating table 280. The operating table 280 is typically positioned adjacent to the mobile cart 215 so that the instrument 270 and / or end effector 276 can be manipulated by the computer-assisted medical device 210 while the shaft 272 of the instrument 270 is inserted into the patient 278 at the body opening. The operating table 280 may optionally include a repositionable structure 290 that includes one or more joints or linkages so that the relative position of the patient 278 with respect to the mobile cart 215 is further controllable.

[0039] As stated above and further emphasized here, Figure 2These are merely examples that should not unduly limit the scope of the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, substitutions, and modifications. It should be understood that the computer-assisted medical system 200 is shown for illustrative purposes only, and that the various embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to computer-assisted systems of different designs and configurations. As an example, in some embodiments, the computer-assisted medical device 210 may optionally be mechanically grounded in a manner other than via the mobile cart 215. In some examples, the computer-assisted medical device 210 may optionally be mechanically grounded by mounting the computer-assisted medical device 210 to an operating table 280, a wall of an operating room, a ceiling of an operating room, and / or any combination thereof. As another example, in some embodiments, the computer-assisted medical device 210 has a Figure 2 The different kinematic structures shown may include any appropriate number and type of joints, links, and other components, and may have different sets of degrees of freedom. As yet another example, in various embodiments, the computer-assisted medical device 210 includes a single repositionable arm, multiple repositionable arms physically coupled to a single base, multiple repositionable arms grounded to different bases, etc.

[0040] Because the end effector 276 and / or other portions of the computer-assisted medical device 210 may be inserted into the patient 278 and / or operated near the patient 278, other medical equipment such as an operating table 280, and / or medical personnel, it is important for the computer-assisted medical system 200 to monitor the current motion of the computer-assisted medical device 210 and / or the end effector 276 to determine whether any motion of the computer-assisted medical device 210 and / or the end effector 276 deviates from the expected motion beyond a reasonable threshold. This monitoring is often particularly important for any portion of the end effector 276 inserted into the patient 278, because even small deviations in motion and, therefore, the posture of the end effector 276 may damage tissue (e.g., an internal organ) of the patient 278. In some examples, detecting deviations in motion includes monitoring kinematic and / or dynamic values ​​associated with the computer-assisted medical device 210 and / or the end effector 276. In some examples, this may optionally include monitoring the actual position of one or more repositionable elements of the computer-assisted medical device 210, the rotation and / or velocity of actuators and / or repositionable elements of the computer-assisted medical device 210, the forces and / or torques applied by the actuators, etc. In some examples, detecting a deviation may optionally include monitoring a motion plan for the computer-assisted medical device 210 to predictively determine whether a collision may be imminent.

[0041] In some embodiments, the monitoring amount and / or sensitivity of monitoring various kinematic and / or dynamic values ​​can be optionally changed between different control modes of the corresponding repositionable arms and / or end effectors of the computer-assisted medical device 210. For example, a repositionable arm and / or end effector that is remotely operated by a medical staff using input controls at an operator workstation and / or by a medical staff using input controls on a repositionable arm of a computer-assisted medical device 210 is typically observed by the medical staff and corrected using the input controls. In contrast, repositionable arms and / or end effectors that are being remotely operated, autonomously controlled, and / or semi-autonomously controlled, including those that remain stationary in a fixed posture, are typically not observed by the medical staff or are not closely observed, making it unlikely that motion deviations can be detected and / or compensated by the medical staff. Therefore, it is important that the computer-assisted medical system 200 actively monitors motion deviations in the remotely operated, autonomously controlled, and / or semi-autonomously controlled repositionable arms and / or end effectors of the computer-assisted medical device 210.

[0042] Motion deviations in the repositionable arms and / or end effectors may occur from many possible sources. In some examples, motion deviations may occur due to collisions between two repositionable arms and / or end effectors of the computer-assisted medical device 210. In some examples, motion deviations may occur due to collisions between the repositionable arms and / or end effectors and other objects or structures located near the computer-assisted medical device 210. These other objects or structures may include other medical devices, operating tables 280, medical personnel, the anatomical structure of the patient 278, etc. In some examples, motion deviations may occur due to the range of motion limits in the computer-assisted medical device 210. In some examples, deviations may be predictively determined using collision avoidance methods that predict the likelihood of an impending collision.

[0043] Once a motion deviation exceeding a threshold is determined in the teleoperated, autonomously controlled and / or semi-autonomously controlled repositionable arm and / or end effector 276, the computer-assisted medical system 200 can be configured to place the computer-assisted medical device 210 in a mode that minimizes the likelihood of an increase in the amount of motion deviation. This helps prevent injury to the patient 278, damage to the computer-assisted medical device 210, damage to the operating table 280, damage to other medical equipment, injury to medical personnel, etc.

[0044] Figure 5is a simplified diagram illustrating a computer-assisted medical system 500 according to some embodiments. For example, the computer-assisted medical system 500 may be consistent with the computer-assisted medical system 100. Therefore, much of the previous discussion, including discussions associated with the computer-assisted medical systems 100, 200, is applicable to embodiments of the computer-assisted medical system 500.

[0045] like Figure 5 As shown, the computer-assisted medical system 500 includes a computer-assisted medical device that includes two repositionable arms 501, 502 mounted to two different bases 510, 550, respectively. The bases 510, 550 are movable relative to each other and to an operating table 280 designed to support a patient 590 during a medical procedure. The computer-assisted medical system is configured to work with the operating table 280. In various embodiments, the two repositionable arms 501, 502 may or may not be communicatively coupled to the operating table 580.

[0046] A schematic diagram of a repositionable arm 501 is shown having a number of links and joints (six links 511, 513, 515, 517, 519, 530, five swivel joints 512, 514, 516, 518, 520, and no prismatic joints). A telescoping cannula mounting system is located at the end of the repositionable arm 501. The telescoping cannula mounting system includes a cannula mounting portion 534 that can extend from or rest within a distal portion 532 of the link 530. A cannula can be mounted to the cannula mounting arm 1255, and a tool 540 can extend through the cannula to perform an operation. Examples of tools 540 include imaging devices such as endoscopes and tissue manipulation instruments such as graspers and staplers.

[0047] A schematic diagram of a repositionable arm 502 is shown having a number of links and joints (six links 551, 556, 558, 560, 562, 564, six rotational joints 553, 555, 557, 559, 561, 563, and no prismatic joints). An imaging device 570 is shown mounted at the end of link 564, and other embodiments may include different tools, or the tools may be changed during operation.

[0048] The computer-assisted medical system 200 is shown for illustrative purposes only, and is merely an example that should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, substitutions, and modifications.

[0049] Figure 3is a simplified diagram of a method 300 for rapid pause and resume of a computer-assisted medical device according to some embodiments. One or more of the processes 310-360 of the method 300 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., processor 150 in control unit 130) may cause the one or more processors to perform one or more of the processes 310-360. In some embodiments, the method 300 may optionally be used to monitor a computer-assisted medical device (such as computer-assisted medical device 210) to help ensure that undesirable deviations in the motion of one or more of a repositionable arm and / or an end effector (such as end effector 276) are quickly and effectively detected and managed to reduce the possibility of injury to a patient, injury to medical personnel, damage to the computer-assisted medical device, damage to other equipment, etc. In some examples, use of method 300 may also optionally allow active continuation of teleoperation of one or more repositionable arms and / or end effectors of the computer-assisted medical device while appropriately pausing one or more teleoperated, autonomously controlled, and / or semi-autonomously controlled repositionable arms and / or end effectors. In various embodiments, the computer-assisted medical device may change the mode of a repositionable arm and / or end effector to pause its motion in an autonomous or semi-autonomous mode, or resume its motion after pausing its motion.

[0050] According to some embodiments, processes 310-340 are applied simultaneously to each repositionable arm and / or end effector of the computer-assisted medical device, such that any deviation in the motion of the repositionable arm and / or end effector that exceeds a threshold triggers the suspension and resumption of processes 350 and 360. In some examples, the application of processes 310-340 may optionally be limited to operating the repositionable arm and / or end effector in a mode that is subject to the suspension and resumption of processes 350 and 360. According to some embodiments, the order in which processes 310-360 are performed may optionally differ from Figure 3 In some examples, processes 310-330 may optionally be performed simultaneously. In some examples, processes 350 and 360 may optionally be performed simultaneously. In some examples, processes 310-340 may optionally continue throughout method 300, such that the repositionable arm and / or end effector is continuously under control and monitoring by the computer-assisted medical system.

[0051] At process 310, control of the movement of the repositionable arm and / or end effector occurs. Typically, each repositionable arm and / or end effector of a computer-assisted medical device is always actively controlled at a certain level. This even includes those repositionable arms and / or end effectors that are held in place in a fixed posture (when the desired movement is no movement). This is because maintaining a fixed posture may optionally include activating one or more brakes of the corresponding repositionable arm and / or end effector and / or applying inertia and / or gravity compensation, which prevents the posture of the corresponding repositionable arm and / or end effector from changing due to the force of gravity acting on the corresponding arm and / or end effector. Controlling the movement of the repositionable arm and the corresponding end effector includes sending one or more signals (such as voltage, current, pulse width modulation, etc.) to one or more actuators for controlling the end effector and / or one or more repositionable elements of the repositionable arm and / or repositionable arm and other structures for manipulating the movement, thereby changing the posture of the repositionable arm and / or end effector. The one or more signals are then converted into forces and / or torques to achieve the desired movement. In some examples, the control of the repositionable arm and / or end effector and various actuators may optionally include a control algorithm that manages the position, velocity, force, torque, etc. of one or more repositionable elements of the end effector and / or actuator. In some examples, one or more kinematic models for the repositionable arm, end effector, and / or computer-assisted medical device may optionally be used to convert the desired motion into corresponding control signals for each actuator. For repositionable arms and / or end effectors that are remotely operated and controlled by medical personnel, the motion is optionally controlled by the medical personnel using one or more inputs located at the operator console, on the computer-assisted medical device, and / or other suitable locations. For repositionable arms and / or end effectors under autonomous and / or semi-autonomous control, the motion is optionally guided by a motion plan for the repositionable arm and / or end effector, which is optionally varied according to the desired autonomous or semi-autonomous motion. For repositionable arms and / or end effectors under remote operation, the motion is optionally adjusted by the computer-assisted medical device according to the desired motion, such as by command instructions entering an input device used by the operator.

[0052] At process 320, the actual kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector are monitored. When the repositionable arm and / or end effector is controlled using process 310, the actual kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector are monitored to help verify that the repositionable arm and / or end effector makes the expected movement. In some examples, the position and / or rotation feedback sensors of the actuator and / or one or more repositionable elements coupled to the repositionable arm and / or end effector are monitored. In some examples, this may optionally include monitoring the actual position of the repositionable element, the rotation and / or speed of the actuator and / or repositionable element, the force and / or torque applied by the actuator, etc. In some examples, various repositionable element and / or actuator sensor readings may optionally be applied to a kinematic model of the repositionable arm and / or end effector to determine the actual posture of the end effector. In some embodiments, one or more registration markers, fiducial markers, and / or the like mounted on the end effector and / or the repositionable arm may be tracked using one or more tracking sensors (e.g., imaging devices) to supplement and / or replace sensors to determine the actual position of the repositionable element and / or the pose of the end effector. Optionally, other position and shape sensing components are additionally and / or alternatively used, such as a fiber optic shape sensor using fiber Bragg grating technology, such as the fiber optic shape sensor disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 7,720,322, entitled "Fiber Optic Shape Sensor," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0053] Typically, the actual pose of the end effector is determined based on the various degrees of freedom of motion available to the end effector. In some examples, the degrees of freedom may optionally include the x, y, and / or z spatial positions of one or more end effectors, the roll, pitch, and / or yaw orientations of the end effector, and / or one or more actuator degrees of freedom (such as the opening angle of the jaws, the position of the cutting blade, the position of the nail actuation sled, etc.). In some examples, the pose may optionally include a combination of some or all of the degrees of freedom. For example, monitoring of the actual pose may optionally be limited to the x, y, and z position degrees of freedom and ignore the orientation and / or actuation degrees of freedom.

[0054] At process 330, a deviation of the actual kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector from the desired kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector is determined. Using the actual kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector determined during process 320 and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector that controls the movement of the repositionable arm and / or end effector through process 310 commands, the deviation between the actual kinematics and / or dynamics and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics is determined. In some examples, for each kinematic and / or dynamic value (e.g., position, rotation, velocity, force, torque, and / or posture) monitored during process 320, the deviation is optionally determined separately. In some examples, the deviation is optionally determined by measuring a composite deviation (such as a root mean square (RMS) error) between the actual kinematic and / or dynamic value and its corresponding expected value. In some examples, when monitoring of process 320 is limited to the actual position of the end effector, the deviation corresponds to the physical distance between the actual position of the end effector and the desired position. In some examples, each value monitored during process 320 can be optionally weighted to place more or less emphasis on one or more values. In some examples, higher weights, and therefore emphasis, can optionally be placed on the position of the end effector rather than on the orientation of the end effector. In some examples, higher weights can optionally be placed on position, rotation, velocity, force, and / or torque values ​​for repositionable elements located on the kinematic chain closer to the repositionable arm because they may be more likely to have a greater impact on the posture of the end effector. In some examples, higher weights can optionally be placed on position and / or rotation values ​​over velocity, force, and / or torque values.

[0055] At process 340, it is determined whether the deviation is above a threshold. The deviation between the actual kinematics and / or dynamics and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector is expected during control of the end effector. This may occur, for example, due to delays in implementing the motion, calibration errors in the end effector and / or computer-assisted medical device, sensor errors, manufacturing differences between different computer-assisted medical devices, vibrations in the end effector and / or repositionable arm, movement of the patient (such as due to breathing), and / or any combination of these and / or other factors. Therefore, in determining the actual kinematic and / or dynamic values ​​being monitored, the threshold is optionally selected to be greater than the expected error, but not so large as to create an unreasonable risk of patient injury, medical personnel injury, end effector damage, computer-assisted medical device damage, and / or damage to other equipment and structures near the computer-assisted medical device. In some examples, the deviation of each of the kinematic and / or dynamic values ​​is optionally compared to a threshold value to determine whether any of the kinematic and / or dynamic values ​​is above the threshold value. In this case, the threshold value can be a single value applicable to all kinematic or dynamic values, or a vector or matrix including threshold elements corresponding to kinematic and / or dynamic values. In some examples, the threshold value (or threshold element) for each kinematic and / or dynamic value can be optionally different. In some examples, the threshold value can be optionally selected and / or adjusted based on the operating mode of the end effector, the operating mode of the computer-assisted medical device, the type of movement controlled by process 310, etc. In some examples, the threshold value can be optionally selected based on the acceptable clinical deviation allowed before the patient's risk of injury is considered too high. In some examples, the threshold value is set based on the type and / or number of kinematic and / or dynamic values ​​used to determine the deviation. In some examples, the threshold value is set to a range corresponding to a deviation of about 6-12mm of the posture of the end effector, which is generally a reasonable safety distance that the end effector may deviate from the desired posture before causing patient injury. When the deviation between the actual kinematics and / or dynamics and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics is not higher than the threshold value, the movement of the end effector continues to be controlled by repeating processes 310-340. When the deviation between the actual kinematics and / or dynamics and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics exceeds a threshold, one or more of the The pause and resume process of the positioning arm begins at process 350 .

[0056] At process 350, the movement of one or more repositionable arms is paused. In some embodiments, after detecting a posture deviation exceeding a threshold, the movement of one or more repositionable arms is optionally paused as quickly as possible. In some examples, the detection of the deviation exceeding the threshold and the initiation of the pause process occur within a single cycle of a control loop used by process 310, which is used to control the movement of the end effector and / or repositionable arms so as to minimize deviations in the movement. In some examples, the detection of the deviation exceeding the threshold and the initiation of the pause process occur within 1 millisecond or less of the detection of the movement deviation above the threshold. In some examples, the detection of the deviation exceeding the threshold and the initiation of the pause process occur within a predetermined time period based on the current operating mode and / or the type of movement performed by each end effector and / or repositionable arm.

[0057] According to some embodiments, when the process 340 detects an unacceptable deviation between the actual kinematics and / or dynamics of the repositionable arm and / or end effector and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics, it may indicate an unacceptable inability to control the repositionable arm and / or end effector. The deviation between the actual kinematics and / or dynamics and the desired kinematics and / or dynamics may indicate a collision between the repositionable arm and / or end effector and another repositionable arm and / or end effector, a collision between the repositionable arm and / or end effector and other objects and structures, a collision between the repositionable arm and / or end effector and the patient and / or other medical personnel, a limited range of motion in the repositionable arm and / or end effector, etc. Since these conditions may not be easily detected in each repositionable arm and / or end effector of the computer-assisted medical device, the motion is paused in each case where the repositionable arm and / or end effector is subject to pause and resume. This is because the condition may produce a deviation in the kinematics and / or dynamics of one end effector faster than another end effector produces a deviation. As just one of many possible examples, a medical professional's end effector and its corresponding repositionable arm under teleoperation control may collide with an end effector and repositionable arm that is held in position, which may result in a deviation between actual kinematics and / or dynamics and desired kinematics and / or dynamics above a threshold, which may first be detected in one of the end effector and / or repositionable arm. Additionally, the collision may not result in a deviation between actual kinematics and / or dynamics and desired kinematics and / or dynamics above a threshold for both the end effector and / or repositionable arm. When an unacceptable deviation in the kinematics and / or dynamics of any end effector and / or repositionable arm is detected, it is desirable to pause the end effector and / or repositionable arm of the computer-assisted medical device and possibly one or both of the other end effectors and / or repositionable arms. This typically occurs when an unacceptable deviation occurs or is detected in an end effector and / or repositionable arm. In some embodiments, one or more end effectors and / or repositionable arms that do not exhibit kinematic and / or dynamic deviations above a threshold are paused. In one In some embodiments, kinematic and / or dynamic deviations are presented. One or more end effectors above a threshold and / or Or repositionable arms are paused. In some embodiments, only those end effectors and / or repositionable arms whose kinematic and / or dynamic deviations are above a threshold are optionally paused, and other end effectors and / or repositionable arms are allowed to continue moving.

[0058] In some embodiments, the selection of which of the end effectors and / or repositionable arms to be paused may optionally depend on the type of motion being performed by each of the respective end effectors and / or repositionable arms and / or the current mode of operation. In some examples, any end effector and / or repositionable arm operating in a teleoperation mode, an autonomous mode, or a semi-autonomous mode may optionally be paused when a posture deviation above a threshold is detected. An expected motion without motion is equivalent to an expected static posture. In some examples, an end effector and / or repositionable arm guided to remain in place is paused when a posture deviation above a threshold is detected. In some examples, an end effector and / or repositionable arm operating in a null space mode (in a null space mode, the posture of the corresponding end effector is not expected to change, even if the redundant degrees of freedom in the corresponding repositionable arm adjacent to the corresponding end effector are manipulated to reposition a portion of the corresponding repositionable arm) is paused when a kinematic and / or dynamic deviation above a threshold is detected. In some examples, an end effector and / or repositionable arm operating in an instrument removal mode (in a zero space mode, the corresponding end effector is removed from the patient and / or disconnected from a cannula through which the corresponding end effector is inserted into the patient) is paused when a kinematic and / or dynamic deviation above a threshold is detected.

[0059] Figure 4 is a simplified diagram of a method 400 for pausing a repositionable element in a repositionable arm and / or end effector according to some embodiments. One or more of the processes 410-480 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., processor 150 in control unit 130) may cause the one or more processors to perform one or more of the processes 410-480. In some embodiments, the method 400 may optionally be used to pause each of the one or more repositionable elements (such as joints) in the one or more end effectors and / or repositionable arms, where the process 350 determines to pause each of the one or more repositionable elements (such as joints) in the one or more end effectors and / or repositionable arms due to a detected posture deviation above a threshold. In some embodiments, the pausing of each of the one or more repositionable elements occurs simultaneously for each repositionable element and / or occurs in a staggered manner, where the pausing of different repositionable elements occurs at different times. According to some embodiments, the order in which processes 410-480 are performed may optionally be different from Figure 4In some examples, processes 440 and 450 and / or 460 and 470 may optionally be performed simultaneously or in any order. In some examples, process 480 may optionally be performed simultaneously with any of processes 440-470. In some examples, process 480 is optional and may be omitted.

[0060] At process 410, determine whether to actuate the repositionable element. The method for pausing the repositionable element (e.g., articulated, rotary and / or prismatic joint) depends on whether the repositionable element is actuated. When one or more actuators (such as motors, servo systems, solenoids, etc.) can be used to apply force and / or torque to the repositionable element to change its position and / or orientation, the repositionable element is actuated. For example, a rotary joint coupled to a motor or servo mechanism that can be driven to change the rotation angle of a rotary joint is an actuating joint. In contrast, the repositionable element that is only equipped with a brake or similar mechanism prevents the movement in the repositionable element from being actuated. In some examples, the actuator for moving the repositionable element can be optionally directly coupled to the repositionable element and / or indirectly coupled by one or more cables, rods, gears, cogs, etc., so that the actuator does not have to be located at or near the repositionable element. When the repositionable element is not actuated, the movement of the repositionable element is suspended by using process 420 to apply a brake. When the repositionable element is actuated, process 430 is used to determine whether the repositionable element includes a detent.

[0061] At process 420, the brake of the non-actuated repositionable element is applied. One or more signals (such as voltage, current, pulse width modulation signal, etc.) are sent to the brake of the non-actuated repositionable element to pause and / or significantly hinder the further movement of the non-actuated repositionable element. In some examples, the one or more signals can optionally cause the activation of the electric, magnetic, piezoelectric, hydraulic and / or pneumatic brakes that apply friction and / or pause force to one or more surfaces of the repositionable element. In some examples, the one or more signals can optionally cause the deactivation of the electric, hydraulic and / or pneumatic mechanism that prevents the application of the brake, such as the mechanism of one or more springs that are used to offset the application that will cause the brake, but for activating the electric, magnetic, piezoelectric, hydraulic and / or pneumatic mechanism. Depending on the repositionable element, the brake can optionally be gradually and / or all at once for the repositionable element. Once the brake is applied to the non-actuated repositionable element, the method 400 for the repositionable element ends.

[0062] At process 430, it is determined whether the actuated repositionable element includes a brake. Applying a brake in the actuated repositionable element increases the likelihood that the repositionable element will be paused; however, depending on the operating mode of the repositionable element, using a brake in the actuated repositionable element may be optional. When the actuated repositionable element includes a brake, the brake is applied using process 440. When the actuated positioning element does not include a brake, the pause of the actuated repositionable element continues with process 460.

[0063] At process 440, a substantially similar process as process 420 for a non-actuated repositionable element is used. The process The brake of the actuated repositionable element is applied.

[0064] At process 450, the feedback torque of the actuated repositionable element is set to zero. In order to keep the actuated repositionable element against the brake applied during process 440, the feedback torque applied to the actuated repositionable element to help drive the actuated repositionable element to its command position is set to zero. In some examples, by setting one or more feedback gains to zero, the feedback torque can be optionally directly and / or indirectly set to zero. In some examples, the feedback gain set to zero includes a combination of torque feedback gain and / or position feedback gain and speed feedback gain. In some examples, the feedback torque and / or one or more feedback gains can be optionally immediately set to zero or set to zero using a ramp and / or a series of discrete processes. Once the feedback torque is removed by process 450, gravity and / or inertia compensation is optionally applied using process 480.

[0065] At process 460, the command position of the actuated repositionable element is locked. In some examples, because the actuated repositionable element is driven to follow the motion plan and / or motion profile, locking the command position of the actuated repositionable element to its current command value prevents the actuated repositionable element from continuing to follow the motion plan and / or motion profile. This actually causes the actuated repositionable element to be driven to the current command position when the pause is initiated, while also preventing the position of the actuated repositionable element from possibly jumping.

[0066] At process 470, the command speed of the actuated repositionable element is set to zero. Using process 460 to lock the command position and set the command speed of the actuated repositionable element to zero causes the control module of one or more actuators to be used to actuate the actuated repositionable element to suspend the motion of the actuated repositionable element. Therefore, the actuated repositionable element resists the deviation from its current position. In some examples, the command speed can be optionally set to zero immediately or set to zero using ramps and / or a series of discrete processes. In some examples, the speed feedback gain of the actuated repositionable element can be optionally set to zero, rather than directly setting the command speed to zero.

[0067] At optional process 480, gravity and / or inertial compensation is applied to the actuated repositionable element. In order to compensate for the effects of gravity on the finite mass of the end effector and / or repositionable arm, the control module for the actuated repositionable element can optionally introduce feedforward forces and / or torques in one or more actuators for the actuated repositionable element. In some examples, these injected forces and / or torques compensate for potential drift when the actuated repositionable element is paused. An example of a control module that provides inertial and / or gravity compensation in an actuated repositionable element is further described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 9,198,730, entitled "Control System for Reducing Internally Generated Frictional and Inertial Resistance to Manual Positioning of a Surgical Manipulator", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0068] As stated above and further emphasized here, Figure 4 These are merely examples that should not unduly limit the scope of the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, substitutions, and modifications. In some embodiments, the use of a brake on an actuated repositionable element with a brake is optional, such that the actuated repositionable element with a brake can be optionally paused using processes 460 and 470, thereby omitting processes 430-450.

[0069] Refer to Figure 3, at process 360, the pause is cleared. In some embodiments, it is often desirable to quickly clear the condition that caused the motion deviation to occur above the threshold. In some examples, clearing the condition that caused the deviation in motion to be above the threshold may optionally include setting the command position for one or more repositionable elements to the current position of the one or more repositionable elements. In some examples, clearing the condition that caused the deviation in motion to be above the threshold may optionally involve intervention by one or more medical personnel operating the computer-assisted medical device. In some examples, the computer-assisted medical device may optionally provide feedback and / or instructions to the medical personnel on how to clear the condition that caused the motion deviation to be above the threshold. In some examples, the feedback and / or instructions may optionally include the computer-assisted medical device providing one or more audio and / or visual alarms to one or more medical personnel. In some examples, the alarm may optionally include an alarm that one or more end effectors and / or repositionable arms have been paused during process 350, an identification of which of the end effectors and / or repositionable arms has been paused, one or more instructions on how to clear the condition that caused the pause, and the like. In some examples, the alarm may optionally include making one or more sounds (such as a designated chime), lighting and / or flashing one or more indicator lights indicating a pause alarm, issuing one or more verbal instructions for clearing the condition that caused the pause, sending one or more messages and / or instructions for clearing the condition that caused the pause to a status and / or operational display unit (such as a display unit in an operator console, etc.). In some examples, the alarm may optionally be issued immediately or immediately after the corresponding end effector and / or repositionable arm is paused during process 350.

[0070] In some embodiments, the form and / or content of the alert may optionally vary based on the current mode of operation and / or type of motion being performed by each paused end effector and / or repositionable arm. In some examples, the content of the alert may optionally vary to provide mode-specific instructions for clearing the condition that caused the corresponding end effector and / or repositionable arm to be paused. In some examples, when the corresponding end effector and / or repositionable arm is operating in zero space mode, the alert may optionally include instructions for one or more medical personnel to deactivate one or more input controls for activating and / or entering zero space mode, cancel a command to place the corresponding end effector and / or repositionable arm in zero space mode, and the like. In some examples, when the corresponding end effector and / or repositionable arm is operating in instrument removal mode, The alarm may optionally include instructions for one or more personnel to disable the device used to activate and / or enter the Remove the module One or more input controls of the system and / or manually removing the instrument from the patient and / or the cannula through which the instrument and end effector are inserted.

[0071] After the state causing the pause for each paused end effector and / or repositionable arm is cleared, motion of the end effector and / or repositionable arm based on their respective current operating modes and / or motion types is resumed by returning to process 310 .

[0072] As stated above and further emphasized here, Figure 3 These are merely examples that should not unduly limit the scope of the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, substitutions, and modifications. In some embodiments, the end effector and / or repositionable arm are not subject to the pause and can continue to cycle through processes 310-340 due to their respective operating modes, motion types, and / or other factors not being affected by processes 350 and 360, thereby allowing their respective motions to continue even if one or more other end effectors and / or repositionable arms of the computer-assisted medical device are still in the pause state proposed during process 350.

[0073] Some examples of control units (such as control unit 130) may include: a non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium including executable code that, when executed by one or more processors (e.g., processor 150), may cause the one or more processors to perform the processes of method 300 and / or 400. Some common forms of machine-readable media that may include the processes of method 300 and / or 400 are, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, any other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, any other optical media, punch cards, paper tapes, any other physical media with a pattern of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, and / or any other medium suitable for a processor or computer to read.

[0074] Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications, changes and substitutions are contemplated in the foregoing disclosure, and in some cases, some features of the embodiments may be employed without the corresponding use of other features. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, substitutions and modifications. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be limited only by the appended claims, and the claims should be interpreted broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A computer-assisted medical device, comprising: a first repositionable arm having one or more first repositionable elements for positioning the first repositionable arm, the first repositionable arm being configured to mount a first end effector; a second repositionable arm having one or more second repositionable elements for positioning the second repositionable arm, the second repositionable arm being configured to mount a second end effector; Input devices; a control unit communicatively coupled to the first repositionable arm, the second repositionable arm, and the input device, the control unit being configured to: receiving a command from the input device, the command indicating a desired movement of at least one of the first repositionable arm or the first end effector; sending one or more signals to actuate the one or more first repositionable elements based on the received command; monitoring actual movement of at least one of the first repositionable arm or the first end effector; determining a resultant deviation between a plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​of the actual motion and the plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​of the desired motion; determining whether the composite deviation is greater than a deviation threshold; and In response to the composite deviation deviating from the desired motion by more than the deviation threshold: pausing motion of the first repositionable arm or the second repositionable arm.

2. The computer-assisted medical device according to claim 1, wherein: In order to determine the resultant deviation, the control unit is configured to calculate a root mean square error between the plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​of the actual movement and the plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​of the desired movement.

3. The computer-assisted medical device according to claim 1, wherein: In determining the composite deviation, each of the plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​is weighted.

4. The computer-assisted medical device according to claim 3, wherein: The weight assigned to the position of the first end effector is higher than the weight assigned to the orientation of the first end effector.

5. The computer-assisted medical device according to claim 3, wherein: the one or more first repositionable elements comprising a third repositionable element and a fourth repositionable element; the third repositionable element being located closer in the kinematic chain of the first repositionable arm than the fourth repositionable element; and The kinematic or dynamic values ​​associated with the third repositionable element have a higher weight than the dynamic or dynamic values ​​associated with the fourth repositionable element.

6. The computer-assisted medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The deviation threshold is based on an operating mode of the first end effector, an operating mode of the computer-assisted medical device, or a type of motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector.

7. The computer-assisted medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: To pause the motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector, the control unit is configured to: locking a command position of an actuated repositionable element of the one or more first repositionable elements to a current command position of the actuated repositionable element and setting a command velocity of the actuated repositionable element to zero; or The actuated repositionable element of the one or more first repositionable elements is braked and a feedback torque of the actuated repositionable element is set to zero.

8. The computer-assisted medical device of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the desired motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector is no motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector.

9. The computer-assisted medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The control unit is further configured to clear the condition that caused the motion to be paused; and To clear the condition, the control unit is configured to set the commanded position of a commanded element of the one or more first repositionable elements to the current position of the commanded element.

10. A method of operating a computer-assisted medical device, the method comprising: receiving, by a control unit of the computer-assisted medical device, a command from an input device of the computer-assisted medical device, the command indicating a desired movement of a first repositionable arm of the computer-assisted medical device and a first end effector supported by the first repositionable arm; sending, by the control unit, one or more signals based on the received command to actuate one or more repositionable elements of the first repositionable arm; monitoring, by the control unit, actual movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector; determining, by the control unit, a resultant deviation between a plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​of the actual movement and the plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​of the desired movement; determining, by the control unit, whether the combined deviation is greater than a deviation threshold; and In response to the composite deviation deviating from the desired motion by more than the deviation threshold: pausing, by the control unit, motion of the first or second repositionable arm of the computer assisted medical device.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: In determining the composite deviation, each of the plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​is weighted.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The weight assigned to the position of the first end effector is higher than the weight assigned to the orientation of the first end effector.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: the one or more first repositionable elements comprising a third repositionable element and a fourth repositionable element; the third repositionable element being located closer in the kinematic chain of the first repositionable arm than the fourth repositionable element; and The kinematic or dynamic values ​​associated with the third repositionable element have a higher weight than the dynamic or dynamic values ​​associated with the fourth repositionable element.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The deviation threshold is based on an operating mode of the first end effector, an operating mode of the computer-assisted medical device, or a type of motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector.

15. A computer-assisted medical device, comprising: a first repositionable arm having one or more first repositionable elements for positioning the first repositionable arm, the first repositionable arm being configured to mount a first end effector; a second repositionable arm having one or more second repositionable elements for positioning the second repositionable arm, the second repositionable arm being configured to mount a second end effector; Input devices; a control unit communicatively coupled to the first repositionable arm, the second repositionable arm, and the input device, the control unit being configured to: receiving a teleoperation command from a user using the input device, the teleoperation command indicating a desired movement of at least one of the first repositionable arm or the first end effector; sending one or more signals to actuate the one or more first repositionable elements based on the received teleoperation command; monitoring actual movement of at least one of the first repositionable arm or the first end effector; determining whether the actual motion deviates from the expected motion by more than a deviation threshold; and In response to the actual movement deviating from the desired movement by more than the deviation threshold: pausing movement of the first repositionable arm or the second repositionable arm.

16. The computer-assisted medical device according to claim 15, wherein: To pause motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector, the control unit is configured to pause movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector according to the mode in which the first repositionable arm and the first end effector are being operated.

17. The computer-assisted medical device according to claim 15, wherein: The deviation threshold is based on an operating mode of the first end effector, an operating mode of the computer-assisted medical device, or a type of motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector.

18. The computer-assisted medical device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: To monitor the actual movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector, the control unit is configured to determine a position of a point of interest associated with the first end effector.

19. The computer-assisted medical device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: To determine whether the actual motion deviates from the desired motion by more than the deviation threshold, the control unit is configured to determine a resultant deviation among a plurality of kinematic or dynamic values ​​associated with the first repositionable arm or the first end effector.

20. The computer-assisted medical device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: To pause the motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector, the control unit is configured to: locking a command position of an actuated repositionable element of the one or more first repositionable elements to a current command position of the actuated repositionable element and setting a command velocity of the actuated repositionable element to zero; or The actuated repositionable element of the one or more first repositionable elements is braked and a feedback torque of the actuated repositionable element is set to zero.

21. The computer assisted medical device of any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the desired motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector is no motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector.

22. A method of operating a computer-assisted medical device, the method comprising: receiving, by a control unit of the computer-assisted medical device, a teleoperation command from a user using an input device of the computer-assisted medical device, the command indicating a desired movement of a first repositionable arm of the computer-assisted medical device and a first end effector supported by the first repositionable arm; sending, by the control unit, one or more signals based on the received teleoperation command to actuate one or more repositionable elements of the first repositionable arm; monitoring, by the control unit, actual movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector; determining, by the control unit, whether the actual motion deviates from the expected motion by more than a deviation threshold; and In response to the actual movement deviating from the expected movement by more than the deviation threshold: pausing, by the control unit, movement of the first repositionable arm or the second repositionable arm of the computer assisted medical device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein pausing motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector comprises: Movement of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector is paused based on the mode in which the first repositionable arm and the first end effector are being operated.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein: The deviation threshold is based on an operating mode of the first end effector, an operating mode of the computer-assisted medical device, or a type of motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein monitoring the actual motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector comprises: A location of a point of interest associated with the first end effector is determined.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein pausing motion of the first repositionable arm and the first end effector comprises: locking a command position of an actuated repositionable element of the one or more first repositionable elements to a current command position of the actuated repositionable element and setting a command velocity of the actuated repositionable element to zero; or The actuated repositionable element of the one or more first repositionable elements is braked and a feedback torque of the actuated repositionable element is set to zero.

27. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors associated with a computer-assisted medical device, are adapted to cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 10-14 or 22-26.

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