Method for controlling a slave device controlled by a master device in a medical or surgical teleoperated robotic system taking into account limited field of view, and related robotic system

Abstract

A method for controlling a slave device of a robotic system for teleoperation of medical or surgical procedures is described. The robotic system to which the method is applicable includes a master device configured to be moved by an operator, a slave device including a surgical instrument configured to be controlled by the master device, and a display means configured to display to the operator an image and / or video of a display space associated with a teleoperation area within which the surgical instrument operates. The method first determines whether the surgical instrument is located inside or outside an allowable space correlated to the display space. Then, the method controls movement of the slave device according to the determined position of the surgical instrument relative to the allowable space, such that movement of the surgical instrument is permitted only when the surgical instrument is located within the allowable space. A robotic system configured to be controlled by the aforementioned control method is also described.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for controlling a teleoperated robotic system for medical or surgical procedures.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to a method for controlling a slave device controlled by a master device in a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation, taking into account field of view limitations, and to an associated robotic system. [Background technology]

[0003] In a robotic surgical system, the field of view (FOV) provided by any associated display system (endoscope, laparoscope, microscope, or exoscope) is typically contained within the workspace of the slave device (also defined as the "slave workplace").

[0004] In other words, often when using high magnification, or when the camera is positioned very close to the workspace or a small workspace, or simply because the workspace of the slave device is large, the field of view FOV represents a subspace, i.e., a subset of the workspace of the slave device's joints. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Thus, the movements of the implements controlled by the master device are mapped within the slave workspace (i.e., in the space of the slave joints), but may be outside the effective field of view (FOV). Therefore, in a robotic teleoperation system, the movements of the implements controlled by the master device are not performed under the full control of the operator, who closes the control loop for each movement through his or her own vision via the display system.

[0006] In particular, taking an instrument out of the field of view or moving an instrument that is already out of the field of view can be dangerous and can cause injury to the patient, such as perforation and / or tissue laceration, because robotic instruments are typically too hard, strong, and sharp for tissue to withstand.

[0007] Further risks can arise if the operator attempts to re-enter remote control while the instrument is outside the FOV, or attempts to "blindly" position or move the instrument after it has fallen out of the FOV, significantly increasing the risk of injury to the patient.

[0008] US Patent Application US2022000579 provides a method for a robotic system to automatically move the endoscope backward to bring the instrument back into the FOV and expand the field of view when the instrument moves out of the field of view. In particular, the instrument is maintained within the field of view by autonomously rotating (rolling) a laparoscopic camera with a field of view tilted at an angle (e.g., 30° or 45°) from the top of the endoscope, thereby achieving a panoramic view of the surgical site, for example, by rotating one full revolution.

[0009] This solution has drawbacks such as discomfort due to frequent movements (position and / or orientation) of the display system to follow the surgical instruments, delays in updating the panoramic image, and / or frequent changes displayed on the screen as a result of camera position changes, which can disorient the operator during surgery.

[0010] From US patent application US20180025666 it is known to control and move a camera during a stopped remote control state, for example using a master controller.

[0011] Known solutions in the considered technical field do not satisfactorily solve the problems and drawbacks mentioned above.

[0012] In particular, there remains a need to avoid the risk of harming the patient when the surgical instrument is not visible. Furthermore, there is also an obvious risk of injury to the patient when a portion of the patient's anatomy is not visible because it is outside the field of view and the surgical instrument is moved towards that portion.

[0013] These adverse effects are particularly felt in robotic platforms that lack force feedback to the master device, that avoid mechanical constraints on the movement of the master device, and that are intended for mono-lateral teleoperation.

[0014] Therefore, there is a strong need in the considered technical field to control the subordinate operation of a slave device following a master device based on means and control algorithms that overcome or at least mitigate the aforementioned problems and drawbacks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling a slave device controlled by a master device in a medical or surgical telerobotic system, taking into account field of view limitations, thereby at least partially overcoming the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and in particular meeting the above-mentioned needs felt in the art. Such an object is achieved by a method as set forth in claim 1.

[0016] Further embodiments of such a method are defined in claims 2 to 28.

[0017] It is also an object of the present invention to provide a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation configured to be controlled by the aforementioned method, and such object is achieved by a system as claimed in claim 29.

[0018] Further embodiments of such a system are defined in claims 30 to 56.

[0019] Further characteristics and advantages of the method according to the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an embodiment of a robotic system for teleoperation of medical or surgical procedures in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an embodiment of a robotic system for teleoperation of medical or surgical procedures in accordance with the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates the relationship between two surgical instruments included in the robotic system described above and the space within which they must operate, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments and their possible movements included in the robotic system described above and the space within which the surgical instruments must operate, according to one embodiment of the method of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a simplified block diagram of a robotic system of the present invention, according to one embodiment; [Figure 5bis] 1 is a simplified block diagram of a robotic system of the present invention, according to one embodiment; [Figure 5ter] 1 is a simplified block diagram of a robotic system of the present invention, according to one embodiment; [Figure 6] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 7] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 7bis]1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 7ter] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 7quater] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 8] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 9] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 10] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 11] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 12] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 13] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 14]1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 15] 1 illustrates the geometrical aspects of the display space defined by an embodiment of the method according to the invention; [Figure 16] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; [Figure 16bis] 1 illustrates the relationship between the surgical instruments included in the robotic system and the space within which they must operate, and the correlation with the display space, according to an embodiment of the method of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] 1 to 16, a method for controlling a slave device of a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation will be described.

[0022] The robotic system to which this method is applied comprises at least one master device 110 adapted to be moved by an operator 150, at least one slave device including a surgical instrument 170 adapted to be controlled by the master device, and further comprises display means configured to display to the operator 150 images and / or videos of a display space associated with a remote operation area in which the surgical instrument 170 operates.

[0023] The master device 110 is preferably a one-sided remote control, non-force-feedback, "ungrounded" type master device. For example, a master device can therefore be a one-sided remote control, non-force-feedback, "ungrounded" type master while simultaneously being a master that is mechanically tethered to the operating console.

[0024] The master device 110 is preferably a type of master device that is not mechanically constrained by an operation console.

[0025] The method first includes determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the display space to determine whether the surgical instrument 170 is located inside or outside of an allowable space relative to the display space.

[0026] The method then controls the movement of the slave device according to the determined position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the allowable space correlated to the display space, and controls the movement of the slave device such that movement of the surgical instrument 170 is permitted only when the surgical instrument 170 is located within the allowable space correlated to the display space, and that movement of the surgical instrument 170, even if permitted, is in any case limited to within said display space.

[0027] According to an implementation option, the method includes that the movement of the surgical instrument 170, if permitted, is in any case restricted to within the aforementioned allowable space relative to the display space.

[0028] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned allowed space relative to the display space corresponds to the display space.

[0029] According to another embodiment of the method, said tolerance space relative to the display space includes the display space and further includes an external surrounding extending beyond the boundaries of the display space by a spatial tolerance ε.

[0030] According to another embodiment of the method, the aforementioned tolerance space correlated to the display space comprises a subset of the display space, which subset of the display space corresponds to the display space with an inner perimeter removed that extends inside the boundary of the display space by a spatial tolerance ε.

[0031] According to an implementation option of the above-described embodiment that includes a spatial tolerance, the step of determining whether the surgical instrument 170 is located inside or outside the display space is performed near the boundary of the viewing space, within the tolerance of that spatial tolerance ε.

[0032] According to an implementation option of the method, said display space is defined by the field of view (FOV) of the display means.

[0033] Such an implementation refers to a robotic system equipped with a display means, or a general-purpose display system (including digital image / video acquisition means) that can capture a portion of the observed world through an appropriate lens or light guide system.

[0034] Considering terminology known in the art, such portion of the world from which an image or video is captured has an extension called the "field of view" (FOV), which is typically taken along one of the diagonals or axes of the digital image / video capture system and is expressed in degrees.

[0035] According to another implementation option of the method, said display space is defined by a predefined subset of the field of view (FOV) of the display means.

[0036] In fact, the boundaries of the region or volume defining the display space of interest do not necessarily coincide with the field of view: they may be configured on a sub-volume of the field of view where observation is optimal, and / or may be configured to have a particular geometric shape, and / or may be configured to be specially selected to facilitate mobility of the slave device, and / or for other reasons.

[0037] According to another implementation option of the method, the aforementioned view space is defined by a field-of-view workplace, which is made up of a geometric volume associated with said field of view in the reference coordinate system of the robot system.

[0038] Such a field of view workspace (hereinafter also referred to as "FOV workspace") is, for example, a volume, such as a trapezoid, extending from the lens to infinity and centered on the major axis of the optical system; the trapezoidal volume can represent the field of view of a digital display system, for example, for a lens with a "field of view" FOV of less than 180 degrees. When a plane is fixed relative to the lens, the field of view extension can be evaluated in metric units by evaluating the portion of the plane that intersects the "FOV workspace," and typically such a plane is orthogonal to the major axis. The rectangular diagonal of the plane at a given distance is defined as the "FOV diagonal."

[0039] According to another implementation option of the method, said display space is defined by the geometric limits of the field of view, constituted by the bounding surfaces of said field of view workspace in the reference coordinate system of the robot system.

[0040] For example, the FOV workspace may be constructed relative to a trapezoid originating from the camera image plane of the display system. From there, a simplified geometry can be constructed called a "field of view workspace constraint" (FOV workspace constraint) that is applied to constrain the movement of the slave device. Such a geometry may be defined as a plane orthogonal to the display system, or as a curved surface, in either case defined within the field of view workspace.

[0041] According to some possible embodiments, said display means comprise at least one camera 120 or comprise an endoscope and / or a laparoscope and / or a microscope and / or a speculum.

[0042] According to an embodiment, the display means comprises a stereoscopic display system including two cameras, each defining an "FOV workspace" (175L, 175R) referred to as "field of view workspace of camera L" (FOV workspace L) and "field of view workspace of camera R" (FOV workspace R), respectively. The intersection of these two field of view workspaces of camera L and camera R generates a "common field of view workspace" that ensures maximum visibility of objects in the scene.

[0043] For a given point in such a "common view workspace," the disparity or difference in lateral position of the same element (in a given unit) can be calculated. If the disparity is too large, depth perception may be lost and blurring may occur.

[0044] According to another possible embodiment, the display means can magnify the field of view and change the magnification over time. This allows the "FOV workspace" to change without physically moving the display means. This allows the field of view to be expanded without retracting the camera, even when a surgical instrument approaches the edge of the field of view and / or is controlled at a position outside the current field of view, as shown, for example, in FIG. 13 (where the FOV(t1) and FOV(t2) indicators accurately represent the FOV at different times). For example, such a display means may include a digital display means suitable for robotic surgery and / or microsurgery.

[0045] According to one embodiment of the method, the step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the allowable space correlated to the display space includes determining the current position of the surgical instrument 170 and / or the presence of the surgical instrument 170 in the allowable space correlated to the display space based on digital data obtained from the display means.

[0046] According to another embodiment of the method, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: mapping said tolerance space relative to a display space in a corresponding slave viewing workspace in a slave reference coordinate system associated with the slave device; determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 by its respective position coordinates in said slave reference frame; determining a position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to a tolerance space relative to a display space based on a comparison of said position coordinates in the slave reference coordinate system with said slave viewing workspace; Includes.

[0047] According to an implementation option of the aforementioned embodiment, the method comprises: defining a slave kinematic workspace 175 in a slave reference coordinate system SFO based on physical movement limits of the slave device and / or motion constraints that are not correlated with the display means; defining an effective slave workspace 200 in a slave reference coordinate system corresponding to the intersection of said slave field of view workspace and said slave kinematic workspace 175; Further includes:

[0048] In such a case, the step of controlling the movement of the slave device includes controlling the movement of the slave device such that movement of the surgical instrument 170 is permitted only when the surgical instrument 170 is located within said effective slave workspace 200, and even if movement of the surgical instrument 170 is permitted, such movement is limited to within said effective slave workspace 200.

[0049] More specifically, for example, a field of view slave workspace (or "FOV slave workspace") can be defined as a workspace that is geometrically equivalent to the field of view slave workspace, but displaced by a mapping function (e.g., a rotational transformation) in the slave device's reference system.

[0050] Such an "FOV slave workspace" is guaranteed to intersect with and lie within the slave kinematic workspace 175, resulting in the aforementioned effective slave workspace 200, which can be used in various movement constraint algorithms.

[0051] According to implementation options, the FOV slave workspace is contained within the slave kinematic workspace 175 .

[0052] According to another implementation option, the field of view slave workspace is only partially contained within the slave kinematic workspace 175.

[0053] According to an implementation option, the effective slave workspace 200 is the intersection of the slave kinematic workspace 175 and the field of view slave workspace.

[0054] According to implementation options, the effective slave workspace 200 is reduced and limited by the field of view slave workspace.

[0055] According to some possible implementations of this method, such a constraint may be made by a pure geometric intersection between two convex shapes, or may be simplified to a parallelepiped or pyramid trunk within such an intersection (thus resulting in an effective slave workspace 200 with, for example, the desired shape / application, calculated by the software).

[0056] As already mentioned, according to one embodiment of this method, the above step of determining whether the surgical instrument 170 is located inside or outside the display space is performed minus a spatial tolerance ε around the boundary of the display space.

[0057] Depending on the implementation options, such spatial tolerance ε may depend on one or more factors such as the speed, scale factor, and magnification of the display medium.

[0058] As already explained above, according to a preferred implementation option, such spatial tolerance ε defines an area larger than the display space area, and in another option, defines an area smaller than the display space area.

[0059] According to one embodiment of the method, the above steps of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the allowable space correlated to the display space are performed periodically and / or continuously in real time to verify the position or presence of the surgical instrument 170 in the display space or effective slave workspace 200 in real time.

[0060] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned steps of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the allowable space correlated to the display space are performed periodically and / or continuously in real time, starting from the master input and further using and estimating the future pose of the surgical instrument relative to the FOV workspace from contextual information such as proximity to the target area and the instrument's movement history over the past few seconds.

[0061] Depending on the implementation, the method applies to situations where the field of view (FOV) is dynamic and depends, for example, on the position of the display means (e.g., microscope), zoom, scale factor, etc., while the kinematic workspace tends to be static and predefined.

[0062] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the allowable space correlated to the display space includes calculating and / or determining the positions of real points belonging to the surgical instrument or the positions of virtual points integrated with the surgical instrument 170 based on the image provided by the display system.

[0063] According to implementation options, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 includes determining the position of a virtual control point 600 of the slave device (e.g., located between the tips 171, 172 or "jaws" 171, 172 of the surgical instrument 170).

[0064] According to another embodiment, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 includes determining the position of at least one of the tips 171 , 172 of the surgical instrument 170 .

[0065] According to an implementation option, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 includes determining the position of at least one of the links of a hinged wrist (or “end effector”) 177 included in the surgical instrument 170.

[0066] According to another embodiment, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 includes determining the position of the positioning shaft 179 or a distal portion of the shaft 179 near the hinged wrist 177 of the surgical instrument 170.

[0067] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned step of determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 includes determining the position of the surgical instrument 170 based on a nominal position of the slave device within a workspace of the slave device defined in a slave reference coordinate system, controlled by the master device, or based on a nominal target pose of the slave device within a workspace of the slave device defined in a slave reference coordinate system, which corresponds to a respective pose of the master device within the workspace of the master device.

[0068] According to one embodiment, the method further includes stopping teleoperation of the robotic system or exiting the teleoperation state of the robotic system when the presence of the surgical instrument is not detected within the allowable space correlated to the display space or within the effective slave workspace 200, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be outside the allowable space correlated to the display space or outside the effective slave workspace 200.

[0069] According to another embodiment, the method further includes permitting and / or enabling movement of the surgical instrument 170 only when the presence of the surgical instrument is detected within the allowed space or effective slave workspace 200 correlated with the display space, or only when the aforementioned nominal position of the slave device is determined to be within the allowed space or effective slave workspace 200 correlated with the display space.

[0070] According to another embodiment, the method further includes allowing and / or enabling an alignment operation between the master device and the slave device only when the presence of a surgical instrument is detected within the allowable space correlated with the display space or within the effective slave workspace 200, or only when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be within the allowable space correlated with the display space or within the effective slave workspace 200. For example, the master device is a type of master device that is not mechanically limited by an operation console.

[0071] According to another embodiment in which the robotic system includes multiple slave devices and respective surgical instruments, the method provides that movement or alignment operations between the master device and the slave devices are permitted and / or enabled only for surgical instruments detected to be present within the allowable space or effective slave workspace 200 correlated with the display space, or only for surgical instruments of a slave device of the multiple slave devices whose nominal position is determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace 200 correlated with the display space.

[0072] According to one embodiment (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 16 and 16bis), the method further includes modifying the slave nominal trajectory 606 of the slave device corresponding to the respective master trajectory 601 of the master device 110 when said slave nominal position is determined to be outside the display space (e.g., FOV) or outside the effective slave workspace 200, or when said slave nominal trajectory 606 of the slave device moves out of the display space or the effective slave workspace 200.

[0073] In such cases, the aforementioned correction steps determine a corrected slave target trajectory 607, as illustrated in FIG. 16, such that the corrected slave target trajectory 607 extends entirely within the display space (e.g., FOV) or effective slave workspace 200, and / or in either case extends along the edges or limits imposed by the field of view workspace.

[0074] In such a case, the method ultimately includes controlling the slave device so that it tracks and moves along the modified slave target trajectory.

[0075] According to implementation options of the aforementioned embodiment, the step of modifying the nominal slave trajectory 606 of the slave device includes stopping and / or freezing (“Freezing”) the surgical instrument 170 when the position of the surgical instrument 170 reaches the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace 200. The act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument 170 includes locking all degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument 170, both translational and directional, and terminating teleoperation.

[0076] According to another implementation option of the above-described embodiment, the above-described step of modifying the nominal slave trajectory 606 of the slave device includes stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument 170 when the position of the surgical instrument 170 reaches a limit of the allowable space or effective slave workspace 200 relative to the display space. The act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument 170, in this case, includes locking only a subset of the degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument 170 and allowing the surgical instrument 170 to remain in teleoperated state.

[0077] According to certain embodiments, the action of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument 170 described above includes locking all translational degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument 170 and leaving the distal directional degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument enabled, so that when approaching the limits of the display space, the surgical instrument 170 or its associated control point 600 does not follow the master device in translation but follows the master device in direction.

[0078] According to an embodiment, the action of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument 170 described above includes locking degrees of freedom of movement associated with directions exiting the boundaries of the allowed space relative to the displayed space, while keeping other degrees of freedom of movement active.

[0079] According to an implementation option of this method, when the motion imposed by the master device returns the slave device and surgical instrument 170 to an orientation or position within the allowed space relative to the display space, the aforementioned stopping and / or freezing action is discontinued and movement of the surgical instrument 170 in all degrees of freedom is again permitted.

[0080] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the aforementioned action of stopping and / or freezing ("Freezing") the surgical instrument 170 includes locking all degrees of freedom of movement, or locking some of the degrees of freedom of movement, and / or locking one or all of the degrees of freedom related to position, in particular, while leaving the distal directional degrees of freedom active.

[0081] For example, when near the limits of the FOV or working space 200, the surgical instrument 170 or its associated control point 600 does not translationally follow the master device but does directional follow the master device. In such a situation, the slave device can be configured to not translationally follow the master device only in directions outward from the FOV or working space 200, but to translationally follow the master device in directions inward from the FOV or working space 200.

[0082] According to another implementation option of the aforementioned embodiment, modifying the nominal slave trajectory of the slave device includes scaling down the movement of the slave device relative to the movement of the master device according to a dynamically variable scale factor Fs as the distance of the surgical instrument 170 to the limits of the display space or effective slave workspace 200 decreases.

[0083] According to another implementation option of the aforementioned embodiment, the step of modifying the slave nominal trajectory of the slave device comprises decreasing the translational velocity module of the slave device in a direction orthogonal to the limits of the display space or effective slave workspace 200 according to a transfer function that depends on the instantaneous velocity of the master device, and / or the instantaneous power or energy of the master device, and / or the distance between the current position of the slave device and the limits of the display space or effective slave workspace 200.

[0084] According to another implementation option of the aforementioned embodiment, the step of modifying the slave nominal trajectory of the slave device comprises reducing the instantaneous power or energy transferred from the master device to the slave device according to a transfer function that depends on the instantaneous velocity of the master device, and / or the instantaneous power or energy of the master device, and / or the distance between the current position of the slave device and the limits of the display space or effective slave workspace 200.

[0085] According to one embodiment of the method, the display space comprises the field of view (FOV) of said display means, or a predefined subset of the field of view (FOV).

[0086] According to another embodiment, the method comprises the further step of defining limits or edges of the display space, whereby upper and lower thresholds for allowed movement of the slave device are defined.

[0087] According to an embodiment, said limit or edge comprises a threshold boundary on a plane XY perpendicular to the depth direction Z of the field of view FOV.

[0088] Such threshold boundaries define upper / lower thresholds for movement within said plane XY and / or along orthogonal axes X, Y belonging to said plane XY, said threshold boundaries being calculated as a function of the distance of the plane XY to the display means.

[0089] According to another implementation option, the aforementioned limits or edges include threshold boundaries on the plane XY as well as upper / lower thresholds along the depth-direction Z axis of the field of view FOV.

[0090] In such cases, the upper / lower thresholds along the aforementioned depth direction Z axis are determined based on the good focus of the display means, evaluated and calculated in real time using data provided by the display means, or are determined based on the depth of field of the display means in a given configuration within a given focus tolerance provided by the display means.

[0091] In one embodiment, the limits of the visual workspace are defined as a pyramid trunk defined by Z as a complex function of X, Y, and Z, calculated taking into account the intersecting workspace of the stereoscopic display system.

[0092] According to the implementation options, upper and lower thresholds are defined to avoid entering areas where the difference between the two viewpoints is too large, which would cause blurring of the operator's vision.

[0093] According to one embodiment, the method further includes providing visual and audio warnings to the operator when the device approaches a limit or edge of the display space or effective slave workspace 200 .

[0094] According to one embodiment, the method further comprises a step of controlling the display means, for example by changing the zoom or adjusting the viewpoint, to dynamically adjust / alter the display space to improve or restore the display of the surgical instrument via the display means.

[0095] In particular, in one embodiment, a robotic system coupled to a display system can autonomously operate to zoom by widening the display space (e.g., FOV) when an instrument reaches the limits of its field of view, thereby preventing the surgeon from accidentally moving the instrument out of view.

[0096] In one embodiment, a first zoom value associated with a first display space (e.g., a first FOV) and a second zoom value associated with a second display space (e.g., a second FOV) are stored, where: The first zoom value is greater than the second zoom value, The first display space (eg, first FOV) is smaller than the second display space (eg, second FOV).

[0097] Self-adjustment of the zoom when a limit imposed by the display space (e.g., FOV) is reached can vary between the aforementioned first and second zoom values and associated first and second FOVs.

[0098] For example, the variable zoom self-adjustment is an intermediate change between two values calculated and evaluated based on the target position of the instrument or when a limit is reached, generating an intermediate display space that is included between the first and second display spaces, or the variable zoom self-adjustment is one of two zoom values and switches from one zoom value to another when the instrument is outside or inside the first display space (e.g., FOV).

[0099] In one embodiment, an associated pedal allows pressure or maintenance to be switched from a first zoom to a second zoom.

[0100] In one embodiment, the magnification is part of a high-resolution digital image, and at least one of the first and second zoom values and at least one of the first and second display spaces are part of the acquired digital image. In such an embodiment, the transition between the first and second zoom values, or vice versa, does not involve mechanical movement of joints, lenses, or microscopes, but only digital processing.

[0101] In one embodiment, the first workspace (e.g., first FOV) is a subportion of the image acquired by the display system and can change or simply move within the boundaries of the acquired image according to the pose of the instrument, always maintained within the first display space. In such an embodiment, tracking the instrument and maintaining it within the FOV does not involve mechanical movement of joints, lenses, or microscopes, but only digital processing.

[0102] According to an implementation option, the digital display system has an associated screen, and the digital display system projects an image onto the screen.

[0103] According to one embodiment of the method, movement of the slave device is stopped or inhibited except during an allowed time, during which slow movement of the slave device is permitted even when the surgical instrument is out of field of view, thereby maintaining consistency of directional movement between the master device and the slave device.

[0104] 1 through 16, a robotic system 100 for teleoperation of medical or surgical procedures included in the present invention will now be described.

[0105] Such a robotic system comprises at least one master device 110 configured to be moved by an operator 150, at least one slave device including a surgical instrument 170 configured to be controlled by the master device, display means configured to display to the operator 150 images and / or video of a display space associated with a teleoperation area within which the surgical instrument 170 operates, and finally a control unit configured to control the slave device based on movements of the master device during teleoperation.

[0106] The control unit further comprises: determining a position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the display space and determining whether the surgical instrument 170 is located inside or outside of a tolerance space relative to the display space; controlling movement of the slave device according to the determined position of the surgical instrument 170 relative to the allowable space correlated to the display space, such that movement of the surgical instrument 170 is permitted only when the surgical instrument 170 is located within the allowable space correlated to the display space; The device is configured to perform operations including:

[0107] According to some possible implementation options of the robotic system, the control unit is configured to execute a method for controlling a slave device of a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation according to any one of the method embodiments presented hereinabove.

[0108] As will be appreciated, the aforementioned objects of the invention are fully achieved by the method and system disclosed above, in accordance with the features detailed above.

[0109] Those skilled in the art can make changes and adaptations to the above method and system embodiments and substitute functionally equivalent elements for other elements to meet their foreseeable needs without departing from the scope of the claims. Each feature described as belonging to a possible embodiment is applicable to other embodiments regardless of the embodiment described. [Explanation of symbols]

[0110] 100 Remotely controlled robot system 110 Master Device 120 Display means, e.g., camera 150 Operators 170 Slave Device Surgical Instruments 171, 172 distal links (or "jaws") of slave surgical instruments 175 Slave kinematic workspace, or the workspace of the slave device joints 175L Left Slave Kinematic Workspace 175R Right Slave Kinematic Workspace 177 hinged wrist 179 Distal portion of rod or positioning shaft 200 Effective working space or useful working space 600 Slave Device Control Points 607 Corrected target trajectory FOV field of view ε tolerance SFO Global Slave Reference System SF Local Slave Reference System SFL Left Local Slave Reference System SFR Right Local Slave Reference System t1,t2 First and second times SS Surgical Instrument Roll Shaft

Claims

1. 1. A method for controlling a slave device of a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation, comprising: The robot system includes: at least one master device (110) configured to be operated by an operator (150); at least one slave device including a surgical instrument (170) configured to be controlled by said master device; a display means configured to display to the operator an image and / or video of a display space associated with a remote control area within which the surgical instrument operates; Equipped with The method comprises: determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the display space and determining whether the surgical instrument (170) is located inside or outside a tolerance space relative to the display space; controlling movement of the slave device in response to the determined position of the surgical instrument with respect to the allowable space correlated to the display space, such that movement of the surgical instrument is permitted only when the surgical instrument is located within the allowable space correlated to the display space; Including, method.

2. the allowed space relative to the display space corresponds to the display space; The method of claim 1.

3. the tolerance space relative to the display space includes the display space and further includes an outer perimeter extending beyond the boundary of the display space by a spatial tolerance (ε); The method of claim 1.

4. the allowed space relative to the display space comprises a subset of the display space; the subset of the display space corresponds to the display space with an inner perimeter removed that extends inside the boundary of the display space by a spatial tolerance (ε). The method of claim 1.

5. The display space is: the field of view (FOV) of the display means, and / or a predefined subset of the field of view (FOV) of said display means, and / or a visual field workspace consisting of a geometric volume associated with the visual field in a reference coordinate system of the robot system; and / or the geometric limits of the field of view, in the reference coordinate system of the robot system, constituted by the bounding surfaces of the field of view workspace; is defined by 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. Determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: determining, based on digital data obtained from the display means, the current position of the surgical instrument (170) and / or the presence of the surgical instrument (170) in the allowed space correlated to the displayed space; 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. Determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: mapping the tolerance space relative to the display space in a corresponding slave viewing workspace in a slave reference coordinate system associated with the slave device; determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) by respective position coordinates in the slave reference frame; determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space based on a comparison of the position coordinates in the slave reference coordinate system and the slave viewing workspace; Including, 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. The method comprises: defining a slave kinematic workspace (175) in a slave reference coordinate system (SFO) based on physical movement limits of the slave device and / or motion constraints that are not correlated with the display means; defining an effective slave workspace (200) in the slave reference coordinate system corresponding to the intersection of the slave field of view (FOV) workspace and the slave kinematic workspace (175); Further comprising: The step of controlling the movement of the slave device includes: controlling movement of the slave device such that movement of the surgical instrument (170) is permitted only when the surgical instrument (170) is located within the effective slave workspace (200), and even when movement of the surgical instrument (170) is permitted, movement of the surgical instrument (170) is limited to within the effective slave workspace (200); The method of claim 7.

9. determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space is performed periodically and / or continuously in real time to verify the position or presence of the surgical instrument (170) in the display space or effective slave workspace (200) in real time; 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: Calculating and / or determining the positions of real points belonging to the surgical instrument or the positions of virtual points integrated with said surgical instrument (170), and / or Calculating and / or determining the position of the virtual control point (600) of the slave device, and / or Determining the position of at least one of the tips (171, 172) of the surgical instrument (170); and / or Determining the position of at least one of the links of a hinged wrist (177) included in said surgical instrument (170); and / or Determining the position of a distal portion of a positioning shaft (179) near the hinged wrist (177) of the surgical instrument (170); Including, 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. Determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) comprises: determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) controlled by the master device based on a nominal position of the slave device within a workspace of the slave device defined in a slave reference coordinate system, or based on a nominal target pose of the slave device within a workspace of the slave device defined in the slave reference coordinate system, the nominal target pose corresponding to a respective pose of the master device within the workspace of the master device; 8. The method according to claim 6 or 7.

12. and further comprising the step of stopping teleoperation of the robotic system or exiting a teleoperation state of the robotic system when the presence of the surgical instrument is not detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be outside the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space.

12. The method of claim 1 or 11.

13. permitting and / or enabling movement of the surgical instrument (170) only when the presence of the surgical instrument is detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space.

12. The method of claim 1 or 11.

14. permitting and / or enabling an alignment operation between the master device (110) and the slave device (170) only when the presence of the surgical instrument is detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space.

12. The method of claim 1 or 11.

15. the robotic system includes a plurality of the slave devices and a surgical instrument for each of the slave devices; Movement or alignment operations between the master device and the slave device are permitted and / or enabled only for surgical instruments whose presence is detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or only for surgical instruments of slave devices whose nominal positions are determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14.

16. modifying a slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device corresponding to each master trajectory (601) of the master device (110) when it is determined that the slave nominal position is outside the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space, or when the slave nominal trajectory of the slave device deviates from the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space, wherein the step of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) determines a modified slave target trajectory (607) such that the modified slave target trajectory (607) extends entirely within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space and / or extends along an edge or limit imposed by a field of view workspace; controlling the slave device so that the slave device tracks and moves along the modified slave target trajectory; Further comprising:

12. The method of claim 1 or 11.

17. The step of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device comprises: stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) when the position of the surgical instrument (170) reaches a limit of the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space; The act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking all degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument (170), both translational and directional, and terminating remote manipulation.

17. The method of claim 16.

18. The step of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device comprises: stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) when the position of the surgical instrument (170) reaches a limit of the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space; The act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking only a subset of the degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument (170) and allowing the surgical instrument (170) to remain in a teleoperated state.

17. The method of claim 16.

19. the act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking all translational degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument (170) and leaving a distal directional degree of freedom of the surgical instrument enabled, whereby when approaching the limits of the display space, the surgical instrument (170) or a control point (600) associated with the surgical instrument (170) does not follow the master device in translation but follows the master device in direction; 20. The method of claim 18.

20. the act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking degrees of freedom of movement associated with directions out of a boundary of the allowed space relative to the displayed space, while keeping other degrees of freedom of movement active.

20. The method of claim 18 or 19.

21. when the motion imposed by the master device returns the slave device and the surgical instrument (170) to an orientation or position within the allowed space relative to the displayed space, the stopping and / or freezing action is interrupted and movement of the surgical instrument (170) in all degrees of freedom is again permitted.

21. The method of any one of claims 18 to 20.

22. The step of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device comprises: Decreasing the translational velocity module of the slave device in a direction orthogonal to the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200) according to a transfer function that depends on the instantaneous velocity of the master device, and / or the instantaneous power or energy of the master device, and / or the distance between the current position of the slave device and the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200); and / or Decreasing the instantaneous power or energy transferred from the master device to the slave device according to a transfer function that depends on the instantaneous speed of the master device, and / or the instantaneous power or energy of the master device, and / or the distance between the current position of the slave device and the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200); and / or scaling down the movement of the slave device relative to the movement of the master device according to a dynamically variable scale factor (Fs) as the distance of the surgical instrument (170) to the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200) decreases; Including, 18. The method of claim 16 or 17.

23. the display space comprises the field of view (FOV) of the display means, or a predetermined subset of the field of view (FOV), or a field of view (FOV) workspace, or the effective slave workspace (200); the method includes the further step of defining limits or edges of the display space, whereby upper and lower thresholds for allowed movement of the slave device are defined; The method according to claim 5 or 7.

24. the limit or edge comprises a threshold boundary in a plane (XY) perpendicular to the depth direction (Z) of the field of view (FOV); said threshold boundaries defining upper / lower thresholds for movement within said plane (XY) and / or along orthogonal axes (X, Y) belonging to said plane (XY); the threshold boundary is calculated as a function of the distance of a plane (XY) relative to the display means; 24. The method of claim 23.

25. the limits or edges further include upper / lower thresholds along the depth (Z) axis of the field of view (FOV) in addition to the threshold boundaries in a plane (XY); the upper / lower thresholds along the depth (Z) axis are determined based on the good focus of the display means, evaluated and calculated in real time using data provided by the display means, or based on the depth of field of the display means in a given configuration; 25. The method of claim 24.

26. providing visual and audible warnings to an operator when a device approaches a limit or edge of said display space or effective slave workspace (200).

26. The method of any one of claims 1 to 25.

27. further comprising the step of controlling said display means, e.g. by changing zoom or adjusting viewpoint, dynamically adjusting / changing said display space to improve or restore or avoid losing the view of the surgical instrument via said display means.

27. The method of any one of claims 1 to 26.

28. further comprising storing a first zoom value associated with the first display space and a second zoom value associated with the second display space; the first zoom value is greater than the second zoom value and the first display space is smaller than the second display space; the self-adjustment of the zoom when a limit imposed by the display space is reached is variable between the first and second zoom values and the associated first and second display spaces; and / or the self-adjustment of the variable zoom is an intermediate change between two values calculated and evaluated based on the target position of the instrument or when a limit is reached, generating an intermediate display space included between the first display space and the second display space, or is one of two zoom values; and / or the self-adjusting includes switching from one zoom value to another when the instrument is outside or inside the first display space.

28. The method of claim 27.

29. A robotic system (100) for medical or surgical teleoperation, comprising: at least one master device (110) configured to be operated by an operator (150); at least one slave device including a surgical instrument (170) configured to be controlled by said master device; a display means configured to display to the operator an image and / or video of a display space associated with a remote control area within which the surgical instrument operates; a control unit configured to control the slave device based on a movement of the master device during remote operation; Equipped with The control unit determining a position of the surgical instrument relative to the display space and determining whether the surgical instrument is located inside or outside a tolerance space relative to the display space; configured to control movement of the slave device in response to a determined position of the surgical instrument with respect to the allowable space correlated to the display space, and to allow movement of the surgical instrument only when the surgical instrument is located within the allowable space correlated to the display space; system.

30. the allowed space relative to the display space corresponds to the display space; 30. The system of claim 29.

31. the tolerance space relative to the display space includes the display space and further includes an outer perimeter extending beyond the boundary of the display space by a spatial tolerance (ε); 30. The system of claim 29.

32. the allowed space relative to the display space comprises a subset of the display space; the subset of the display space corresponds to the display space with an inner perimeter removed that extends inside the boundary of the display space by a spatial tolerance (ε).

30. The system of claim 29.

33. The display space is: the field of view (FOV) of the display means, and / or a predefined subset of the field of view (FOV) of said display means, and / or a visual field workspace consisting of a geometric volume associated with the visual field in a reference coordinate system of the robot system; and / or the geometric limits of the field of view, in the reference coordinate system of the robot system, constituted by the bounding surfaces of the field of view workspace; is defined by 33. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 32.

34. The operation of determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: determining, based on digital data obtained from the display means, the current position of the surgical instrument (170) and / or the presence of the surgical instrument (170) in the allowed space correlated to the displayed space; 34. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 33.

35. The operation of determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: mapping the tolerance space relative to the display space in a corresponding slave viewing workspace in a slave reference coordinate system associated with the slave device; determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) by respective position coordinates in the slave reference frame; determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space based on a comparison of the position coordinates in the slave reference coordinate system and the slave viewing workspace; Including, 35. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 34.

36. The control unit further comprises: defining a slave kinematic workspace (175) in a slave reference coordinate system (SFO) based on physical movement limits of the slave device and / or motion constraints that are not correlated with the display means; configured to define, in the slave reference coordinate system, an effective slave workspace (200) corresponding to the intersection of the slave field of view (FOV) workspace and the slave kinematic workspace (175); The operation of controlling the movement of the slave device includes: controlling movement of the slave device such that movement of the surgical instrument (170) is permitted only when the surgical instrument (170) is located within the effective slave workspace (200), and even when movement of the surgical instrument (170) is permitted, movement of the surgical instrument (170) is limited to within the effective slave workspace (200); 36. The system of claim 35.

37. The operation of determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space is performed periodically and / or continuously in real time to verify the position or presence of the surgical instrument (170) in the display space or effective slave workspace (200) in real time.

37. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 36.

38. The operation of determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) relative to the tolerance space relative to the display space includes: Calculating and / or determining the positions of real points belonging to the surgical instrument or the positions of virtual points integrated with said surgical instrument (170), and / or Calculating and / or determining the position of the virtual control point (600) of the slave device, and / or Determining the position of at least one of the tips (171, 172) of the surgical instrument (170); and / or Determining the position of at least one of the links of a hinged wrist (177) included in said surgical instrument (170); and / or Determining the position of a distal portion of a positioning shaft (179) near the hinged wrist (177) of the surgical instrument (170); Including, 38. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 37.

39. The act of determining the position of the surgical instrument (170) comprises: determining a position of the surgical instrument (170) controlled by the master device based on a nominal position of the slave device within a workspace of the slave device defined in a slave reference coordinate system, or based on a nominal target pose of the slave device within a workspace of the slave device defined in the slave reference coordinate system, the nominal target pose corresponding to a respective pose of the master device within the workspace of the master device; 36. A system according to claim 34 or 35.

40. The control unit further comprises: configured to stop teleoperation of the robotic system or exit a teleoperation state of the robotic system when the presence of the surgical instrument is not detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be outside the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space.

40. A system according to claim 29 or 39.

41. The control unit further comprises: configured to permit and / or enable movement of the surgical instrument (170) only when the presence of the surgical instrument is detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) that correlates with the display space, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) that correlates with the display space.

40. A system according to claim 29 or 39.

42. The control unit further comprises: configured to permit and / or enable alignment operations between the master device (110) and the slave device (170) only when the presence of the surgical instrument is detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or when the nominal position of the slave device is determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space; 40. A system according to claim 29 or 39.

43. the robotic system includes a plurality of the slave devices and a surgical instrument for each of the slave devices; Movement or alignment operations between the master device and the slave device are permitted and / or enabled only for surgical instruments whose presence is detected within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space, or only for surgical instruments of slave devices whose nominal positions are determined to be within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) correlated with the display space.

43. A system according to claim 41 or 42.

44. The control unit further comprises: if it is determined that the slave nominal position is outside the allowable space or outside the effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space, or if the slave nominal trajectory of the slave device deviates from the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space, modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device corresponding to the respective master trajectory (601) of the master device (110), and determining a modified slave target trajectory (607) such that the modified slave target trajectory (607) extends entirely within the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space and / or extends along an edge or limit imposed by a field of view workspace; configured to control the slave device such that the slave device tracks and moves along the modified slave target trajectory.

40. A system according to claim 29 or 39.

45. The operation of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device comprises: stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) when the position of the surgical instrument (170) reaches a limit of the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space; The act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking all degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument (170), both translational and directional, and terminating remote manipulation.

45. The system of claim 44.

46. The operation of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device comprises: stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) when the position of the surgical instrument (170) reaches a limit of the allowable space or effective slave workspace (200) relative to the display space; The act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking only a subset of the degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument (170) and allowing the surgical instrument (170) to remain in a teleoperated state.

45. The system of claim 44.

47. the act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking all translational degrees of freedom of the surgical instrument (170) and leaving a distal directional degree of freedom of the surgical instrument enabled, whereby when approaching the limits of the display space, the surgical instrument (170) or a control point (600) associated with the surgical instrument (170) does not follow the master device in translation but follows the master device in direction; 47. The system of claim 46.

48. the act of stopping and / or freezing the surgical instrument (170) includes locking degrees of freedom of movement associated with directions out of a boundary of the allowed space relative to the displayed space, while keeping other degrees of freedom of movement active.

48. A system according to claim 46 or 47.

49. when the motion imposed by the master device returns the slave device and the surgical instrument (170) to an orientation or position within the allowed space relative to the displayed space, the stopping and / or freezing action is interrupted and movement of the surgical instrument (170) in all degrees of freedom is again permitted.

49. A system according to any one of claims 46 to 48.

50. The operation of modifying the slave nominal trajectory (606) of the slave device comprises: Decreasing the translational velocity module of the slave device in a direction orthogonal to the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200) according to a transfer function that depends on the instantaneous velocity of the master device, and / or the instantaneous power or energy of the master device, and / or the distance between the current position of the slave device and the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200); and / or Decreasing the instantaneous power or energy transferred from the master device to the slave device according to a transfer function that depends on the instantaneous speed of the master device, and / or the instantaneous power or energy of the master device, and / or the distance between the current position of the slave device and the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200); and / or scaling down the movement of the slave device relative to the movement of the master device according to a dynamically variable scale factor (Fs) as the distance of the surgical instrument (170) to the limits of the display space or the effective slave workspace (200) decreases; Including, 46. A system according to claim 44 or 45.

51. the display space comprises the field of view (FOV) of the display means, or a predetermined subset of the field of view (FOV), or a field of view (FOV) workspace, or the effective slave workspace (200); the control unit is further configured to define limits or edges of the display space, thereby defining upper and lower thresholds for allowed movement of the slave device.

36. A system according to claim 33 or 35.

52. the limit or edge comprises a threshold boundary in a plane (XY) perpendicular to the depth direction (Z) of the field of view (FOV); said threshold boundaries defining upper / lower thresholds for movement within said plane (XY) and / or along orthogonal axes (X, Y) belonging to said plane (XY); the threshold boundary is calculated as a function of the distance of a plane (XY) relative to the display means; 52. The system of claim 51.

53. the limits or edges further include upper / lower thresholds along the depth (Z) axis of the field of view (FOV) in addition to the threshold boundaries in a plane (XY); the upper / lower thresholds along the depth (Z) axis are determined based on the good focus of the display means, evaluated and calculated in real time using data provided by the display means, or based on the depth of field of the display means in a given configuration; 53. The system of claim 52.

54. The control unit is further configured to provide visual and audible warnings to an operator when a limit or edge of the display space or effective slave workspace (200) is approached.

54. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 53.

55. the control unit is further configured to dynamically adjust / change the display space, for example by changing the zoom or adjusting the viewpoint, to improve, restore or not lose the display of the surgical instrument via the display means.

55. A system according to any one of claims 29 to 54.

56. the control unit is further configured to store a first zoom value associated with the first display space and a second zoom value associated with the second display space; the first zoom value is greater than the second zoom value and the first display space is smaller than the second display space; the self-adjustment of the zoom when a limit imposed by the display space is reached is variable between the first and second zoom values and the associated first and second display spaces; and / or the self-adjustment of the variable zoom is an intermediate change between two values calculated and evaluated based on the target position of the instrument or when a limit is reached, generating an intermediate display space included between the first display space and the second display space, or is one of two zoom values; and / or the self-adjusting includes switching from one zoom value to another when the instrument is outside or inside the first display space.

56. The system of claim 55.

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