Surgical input devices for minimally invasive surgery

Abstract

The present invention relates to a surgical input device (300) used by a surgeon to control a robotic surgical instrument in minimally invasive surgical procedures. The surgical input device (300) comprises a housing (302), a pinch button (304), and a clutch button (306). A sensor (310) is located within the housing (302) and detects the pressing and depressing of the pinch button (304) by the surgeon's fingers. Multiple infrared (IR) sensors (308a, 308b, 308c) can be configured within the housing (302) to detect the presence of the surgeon's hand. A sensor (314) is operably coupled to an electromagnetic wave generator (130) and is configured to detect at least one of the position and orientation of the surgeon's hand within a given electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic wave generator (130) and to transmit a signal to a console processor (118). The clutch button (306) allows the surgeon's hand to remain still, allowing the surgeon to be in a comfortable position without moving the surgical instrument.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of robotic surgical systems for minimally invasive surgery, and more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgeon input device for directing the movement of a robotic-assisted surgical system in a minimally invasive surgical procedure.

Background Art

[0002] This section is intended to introduce readers to various technical aspects that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure described below. The present disclosure is considered useful for providing readers with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Therefore, these descriptions should be read from this perspective and it should be understood that they are not merely an endorsement of the prior art.

[0003] Robotic-assisted surgical systems have been adopted worldwide to gradually replace conventional surgical procedures such as open surgery and laparoscopic procedures. Robotic-assisted surgery provides various benefits to patients during and after the recovery time of the surgery. Robotic-assisted surgery also provides many advantages to surgeons in terms of improving the ability of the surgeon to perform the surgery accurately, reducing fatigue, and providing an enlarged clear three-dimensional (3D) view of the surgical site. Further, in robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon typically operates with a hand controller / master controller / surgeon input device / joystick at a surgeon console system that seamlessly captures and transmits complex movements performed by the surgeon himself, giving the perception that the surgeon is directly articulating the surgical tools / instruments to perform the surgery himself.

[0004] A robot-assisted surgical system may include multiple modular robotic arms to assist in the performance of robot-assisted surgery. The surgeon controls the robotic arms and the instruments attached to them using a surgical console. The surgical console includes a visualization system that enables the surgeon to perform the surgery. Furthermore, hand controllers / master controllers / surgical input devices are integrated with the surgical console that the surgeon operates to perform the surgery. The surgeon performing the surgery with the surgical console system may be located away from the surgical site or may be located inside the operating room where the patient is being operated on.

[0005] Performing surgery using a surgical console presents new challenges. During surgery, surgeons often need to sit in positions that cause fatigue for hours due to the hardware structure of such surgical consoles.

[0006] A major challenge with existing surgical input devices is that the control for activating and deactivating surgeon commands via the device is performed by pressing a clutch pedal on a foot pedal assembly. This leads to errors such as pressing the wrong pedal in existing closed-console robotic surgical systems and to surgeon fatigue.

[0007] Furthermore, another challenge was that existing multi-arm robotic surgical systems lacked features to prevent the movement of the surgical input device from being transmitted to the surgical instruments if it were accidentally dropped from the surgeon's hand.

[0008] Furthermore, another challenge was that existing surgical input devices could not detect the surgeon's grip in the palm of the hand in response to each movement of the surgeon's hand while the surgical input device was being held.

[0009] Furthermore, another challenge is the difficulty in keeping the surgeon's hands stationary within the surgical input device's workspace during an ongoing surgery without moving any of the robotic surgical instruments.

[0010] In light of the challenges described above, there is a need for robotic surgical systems equipped with improved surgical input devices, such as sensor-based surgical input devices for use with multi-arm robotic surgical systems, to solve the aforementioned problems associated with robotic surgery. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0011] Some or all of the aforementioned problems related to surgical input devices are proposed to be addressed by specific embodiments of this disclosure.

[0012] According to an aspect of the present invention, a surgeon input device for controlling a robotic surgical system, comprising a plurality of robotic arms, one of which is coupled to an endoscope camera, the remaining arms to robotic surgical instruments, a surgeon console having a control processor, and the surgeon input device comprising a housing configured to be held in the hand of a surgeon; a pinch button on the housing configured to be pressed / released by the surgeon's finger to open and close the jaws of the end effector of any surgical instrument; a clutch button located on the housing, configured to keep the surgeon's hand stationary within the working space of the surgeon input device without moving the respective robotic surgical instrument; a plunger connected below the pinch button, configured to provide mechanical force feedback to the surgeon when the pinch button is pressed by applying a specific predetermined force; and at least one sensor located inside the housing. The system comprises: at least one sensor configured to detect the pressing and depressuring of a pinch button by the surgeon's finger and transmit a signal to a console processor to control the opening and closing of the jaws of the end effector of each robotic surgical instrument; at least one sensor located within the housing and configured to detect the presence of the surgeon's hand and transmit a signal to a console processor to activate the robotic surgical system; and at least one sensor located within the housing and operably coupled to an electromagnetic field generator, configured to detect at least one of the position and orientation of the surgeon's hand in a given electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic field generator and transmit a signal to a console processor; the plunger provides mechanical force feedback to the surgeon's hand by applying force to the surgeon's finger, giving the surgeon the sensation or indication that tissue or blood vessels are being held by the jaws of each surgical instrument; and after receiving mechanical force feedback, the surgeon can press the pinch button harder to cut the tissue / blood vessels.A surgical input device is disclosed, in which the number and position of at least one sensor are optimized so that at least one of the sensors detects the presence of the surgeon's hand for each movement of the surgeon's hand using the surgical input device.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the electromagnetic sensor transmits a signal to the control system of a console processor in order to convert the movements of the surgeon's hand into the movements of the end effector of a surgical instrument.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the sensor may be any one of the following: an infrared sensor, a capacitive sensor, and so on.

[0015] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the sensor may be any one of a Hall sensor, a reed switch, a proximity sensor, and the like.

[0016] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the surgeon input device can be connected to the surgeon console using a wired connection.

[0017] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the surgeon input device may be wirelessly connected to the surgeon console by Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or the like.

[0018] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, in wireless mode, a power source such as a battery may be embedded inside the housing of the surgical input device.

[0019] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the clutch button can be used in conjunction with the camera clutch to perform functions such as zooming in and zooming out of the camera.

[0020] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the default or normal position of the pinch button is the open position.

[0021] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the spring provided in the surgeon input device facilitates the return of the pinch button to its normal position.

[0022] Other embodiments, aspects, and features of the present invention, systems, methods, and devices will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

[0023] The above summary, as well as the following detailed description of the disclosure, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For purposes of illustrating the disclosure, an exemplary configuration of the disclosure is shown in the drawings. However, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and means disclosed herein. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the drawings are not drawn to scale. Whenever possible, like elements are denoted with the same numbers. Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following figures.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a multi-arm remote robotic surgery system that can be used with one or more features according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a surgeon console of a robotic surgery system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3a] FIG. 3a shows a surgeon input device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3b] FIG. 3b shows a surgeon input device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows an internal view of a surgeon input device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0025] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the embodiments shown in the drawings and specific language is used to describe it. Nevertheless, no limitation of the scope of the present disclosure is thereby intended and such changes and further modifications shown in the illustrated system and such further applications of the principles of the present disclosure as are set forth or shown therein are contemplated as would normally occur to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0026] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Throughout the present patent specification, the convention employed is that like reference numerals denote like components in the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Throughout this specification, reference to "an embodiment", "another embodiment", "an implementation", "another implementation", or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances throughout this specification of "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment", "in an implementation", "in another implementation", and the like, while they may all refer to the same embodiment, are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0028] The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusions, and as a result, the processes or methods constituting the enumeration of steps may include not only those steps but also other steps not explicitly enumerated or specific to such processes or methods. Similarly, one or more devices, subsystems, elements, or structures preceding “comprises...a” does not, without further constraint, exclude the existence of other devices, subsystems, elements, or structures or additional devices, subsystems, elements, or structures.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains. The devices, systems, and examples provided herein are illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0030] In this specification, the terms "a" and "an" do not indicate a limit on quantity, but rather indicate that there is at least one item being referenced. Furthermore, the terms "sterilization barrier" and "sterilization adapter" have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably throughout this description.

[0031] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0032] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a multi-arm remotely operated robotic surgical system that can be used with one or more features according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 1 shows a multi-arm robotic surgical system (100) having five robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), (102e) mounted on five robotic arm carts arranged around an operating table (104). The five robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), (102e) (as depicted in Figure 1) are for illustrative purposes only, and the number of robotic arms may vary depending on the type of surgery. The five robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), and (102e) can also be arranged in any different manner, not limited to the robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), and (102e) positioned along the operating table (104). The robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), and (102e) may be mounted separately on five robotic arm carts, or the robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), and (102e) may be mechanically and / or electrically connected to one another, or the robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), and (102e) may be connected to a central body (not shown) so that the robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102c), (102d), and (102e) branch off from the central body (not shown). Furthermore, the multi-arm remotely operated robotic surgical system (100) may include an accessory stand (106) for surgical instruments, a vision cart (108), and a surgeon console system (110). The endoscope camera (C) is connected to the robotic arm (102c), and the robotic surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4) are connected to the remaining robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102d), and (102e).

[0033] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a surgeon's console for a robotic surgical system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The surgeon's console (110) assists a surgeon in remotely operating on a patient lying on an operating table (104) by controlling various surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4) and an endoscope camera (C) attached to robotic arms (102a), (102b), (102d), (102e), and (102c), respectively. The surgeon's console (110) has a console processor (118) configured to control the movement of the surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4) while the instruments are inside the patient's body (as shown in Figure 2). The surgeon's console (110) may include at least adjustable display means (112) and (114), but is not limited to 2D / 3D monitors, wearable display means (116), and combinations thereof. The surgical console (110) can be equipped with multiple displays that not only show the 3D high-resolution (HD) endoscopic view of the surgical site on the operating table (104), but can also show additional information from various medical devices that the surgeon may need during robotic surgery. Furthermore, the display means (112) and (114) can provide various modes of the robotic surgical system (100), but are not limited to identifying collision information along with medical data such as the number of attached robotic arms, the type of surgical instrument currently attached, the end effector tip position of the current instrument, ECG, ultrasound display, fluoroscopy images, CT, and MRI information.

[0034] A surgeon (not shown) must wear trackable 3D glasses (116) for use with a surgical console (110). The surgeon's trackable 3D glasses (116) are tracked by a sensing device such as a head-tracking camera (120) that can be fixed to a 3D HD monitor (112). Preferably, the head-tracking camera (120) can be fixed on top of the 3D HD monitor (112). This is a safety feature to prevent inadvertent use of the multi-arm robotic surgical system (100) for robotic surgery and unintended movements while the surgeon's attention is not focused on the 3D HD monitor (112). The surgeon input devices (122, 124) of the surgical console (110) are required to seamlessly capture and transmit complex movements performed by the surgeon, giving the surgeon the perception that they are directly articulating the surgical tools. Different types of surgeon input devices may be used to perform procedures on the surgical robot. In some embodiments, the surgical input devices (122, 124) may be one or more manual input devices such as joysticks, exoskeleton gloves, or powered gravity-compensated manipulators. These surgical input devices (122, 124) control motors connected to actuator units, which in turn control the movement of surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4) attached to the robotic arms.

[0035] The chair (not shown) may be adjustable by means of height, elbow rest, etc., according to the surgeon's convenience, and various control means may be provided on the chair. Furthermore, the surgeon console (110) may be in a single location inside the operating room, or it may be distributed to any other location in the hospital, as long as the connection to the robotic arm is maintained. Data related to the surgeon's movement of the surgeon input devices (122, 124), data from various foot toggle switches (126), clutch mechanism (128), and any other sensor-based data for robotic surgical instruments are communicated to the console processor (118). The surgeon input devices (122) and (124) can be used with the left hand and the right hand, respectively. Both surgeon input devices (122) and (124) are identical.

[0036] Figures 3a to 3(b) show a surgical input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this specification, surgical input devices (122) and (124) may be referred to as surgical input device (300). The surgical input device (300) may include a housing (302), a pinch button (304), a plurality of sensors (308a, 308b, 308c), and a clutch button (306). The sensors (308a, 308b, 308c) may be any of the following: infrared (IR) sensors, capacitive sensors, etc.

[0037] Figure 4 shows an internal view of a surgeon's input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The housing (302) shown in Figures 3a-3(b) is removed to reveal the internal components of the surgeon's hand input device (300). The components and functions of the surgeon's input device may be the same for both the left and right hands. A pinch button (304) can be pressed by the surgeon's finger to close the jaws of the end effector of any surgical instrument (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4). When the surgeon's finger releases the pinch button (304), the jaws may open. Furthermore, a sensor (310) and a magnet (312) are located within the housing (302) to sense the pressing and depressuring of the pinch button (304) by the surgeon's hand and control the opening and closing of the jaws of the end effector of the surgical instrument (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4). When the surgeon releases the pinch button (304), a spring (318) facilitates the return of the pinch button (304) to its normal position. The default or normal position of the pinch button (304) is the open position. The sensor (310) may be any magnetic sensor such as a Hall sensor, reed switch, or proximity sensor.

[0038] An electromagnetic sensor (314) is provided in the housing (302), and an electromagnetic wave generator (130) is provided in the surgeon console (110). The electromagnetic sensor (314) detects at least one of the position and orientation of the surgeon's hand in a predetermined electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic wave generator (130), and transmits a signal to the control system of the console processor (118) to convert the surgeon's hand movements into movements of surgical instruments, instrument actuators, and end effectors of the robotic arm. The surgeon input device (300) is connected to the surgeon console (110) using a wired connection. The surgeon input device (300) may also be connected wirelessly to the surgeon console (110) by Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, etc. In wireless mode, a power source such as a battery may be embedded inside the housing (302) of the surgeon input device (300).

[0039] A clutch button (306) is provided in the housing of the surgical input device (300). The clutch button (306) has multiple uses. The clutch button (306) can be used in conjunction with a camera clutch (not shown) to perform functions such as zooming in and zooming out of the camera. Furthermore, during surgery, pressing the clutch button (306) allows the surgeon to keep their hand still without moving the surgical instruments, allowing the surgeon to maintain a comfortable position. Also, pressing the clutch button (306) allows the surgeon's hand to be within the workspace of the surgical input device.

[0040] A plunger (316) is positioned on the surgeon input device (300). Whenever the surgeon wants to hold tissue or blood vessels within the patient's body, the surgeon presses the pinch button (304) by applying a specific predetermined force. However, if the surgeon applies extra force to the pinch button (304) that is greater than the desired force to hold the tissue or blood vessel, the plunger (316) applies force to the surgeon's hand, giving the sensation or indication that the tissue or blood vessel is being held by the jaws of the respective surgical instrument. The plunger (316) provides mechanical force feedback to the surgeon's hand. If the surgeon wants to cut or grasp the tissue or blood vessel, the surgeon can press the pinch button (304) more forcefully.

[0041] As shown in Figures 3a-3(b), multiple infrared (IR) sensors (308a), (308b), and (308c) are provided on the surgeon input device (300). The number and position of the IR sensors (308a), (308b), and (308c) are optimized so that for each movement of the surgeon's hand using the surgeon input device (300), at least one of the IR sensors (308a), (308b), and (308c) detects the presence of the surgeon's hand. In an alternative embodiment, capacitive sensors (not shown) can be used instead of IR sensors to detect the presence of the surgeon's hand. When the surgeon holds the surgeon input device (300), the multiple infrared (IR) sensors detect the presence of the surgeon's hand and transmit a signal to activate the robotic surgical system (100).

[0042] In a multi-arm robotic surgical system, the surgeon may need to use three or more surgical instruments at different points in time while performing a surgical procedure. If the surgeon is using a surgical instrument in the left robotic arm and another surgical instrument in the right arm, the surgeon may want to switch between the left and right arms to perform a specific surgical action. This can be achieved by pressing the respective toggle switches (128) located on the surgeon's console (110).

[0043] This disclosure has the following advantages: The surgical input device of this disclosure has an ergonomic design. Furthermore, the surgical input device of this disclosure is very easy to hold and use. Furthermore, it does not cause fatigue to the surgeon's hand during prolonged use in surgery. Also, if the surgical input device is accidentally dropped from the surgeon's hand or held in a stand in the surgeon's command center, the control system of the console processor (118) freezes the movement of the surgical instrument. Furthermore, it is possible to easily detect whether the surgical input device is held in the surgeon's palm for each movement of the surgeon's hand. Furthermore, the surgical input device is equipped with a safety feature that provides mechanical feedback to the surgeon to avoid the accidental application of excessive force to the pinch button by the surgeon, which could lead to the cutting of blood vessels or tissue.

[0044] The above description of exemplary embodiments of the Disclosure is presented for illustrative and explanatory purposes only. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the Disclosure to the exact form disclosed, and many modifications and variations are clearly possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments have been selected and described to best illustrate the principles of the Disclosure and their practical application, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to best utilize the Disclosure and its various embodiments with various modifications to suit their particular intended use. Where circumstances suggest or can be expressed as advantageous, various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are intended, but it is understood that this is intended to cover the application or practice without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the Disclosure.

[0045] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above in relation to specific embodiments. However, benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any components that may give rise to or make more prominent any benefit, advantage, or solution should not be construed as essential, necessary, or essential features or components of any or all of the claims.

[0046] Certain language has been used to illustrate this disclosure, but no limitations are intended to arise from it. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various functional modifications can be made to the apparatus to implement the concepts of the invention taught herein.

Claims

1. A surgeon input device (300) for controlling a robotic surgical system (100), comprising a plurality of robotic arms (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e), one of which arm (102c) is coupled to an endoscope camera (C), the remaining arms are connected to robotic surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4), and the surgeon console (110) has a control processor (118), and the surgeon input device (300) is, A housing (302) configured to be held in the hand of a surgeon, A pinch button (304) on the housing (302) is configured to be pressed / released by a surgeon's finger to open and close the jaws of the end effector of any surgical instrument (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4), A clutch button (306) is positioned on the housing (302), and the clutch button (306) is configured to keep the surgeon's hand stationary within the workspace of the surgeon input device (300) without moving each of the robotic surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4), A plunger (316) connected below the pinch button (304), wherein the plunger (316) is configured to provide mechanical force feedback to the surgeon when the pinch button (304) is pressed by applying a specific predetermined force, At least one sensor (310) disposed inside the housing (302), wherein the at least one sensor (310) is configured to detect the pressing and depressurization of the pinch button (304) by the surgeon's finger and to transmit a signal to the console processor (118) to control the opening and closing of the jaws of the end effectors of each of the robotic surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4), At least one sensor (308a, 308b, 308c) is disposed within the housing (302) and configured to detect the presence of the surgeon's hand and transmit a signal to the console processor (118) to activate the robotic surgical system (100), and At least one sensor (314) disposed within the housing (302) and operably coupled to the electromagnetic wave generator (130), the sensor (314) is configured to detect at least one of the position and orientation of the surgeon's hand in a predetermined electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic wave generator (130) and to transmit a signal to the console processor (118), Equipped with The plunger (316) provides mechanical force feedback to the surgeon's hand by applying force to the surgeon's fingers, giving the surgeon the sensation or indication that tissue or blood vessels are being held by the jaws of the respective surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4). After receiving the aforementioned mechanical force feedback, the pinch button (304) can be pressed more firmly to cut the tissue / blood vessel. The number and position of the at least one sensor (308a, 308b, 308c) of the surgeon input device (300) are optimized so that at least one of the sensors (308a, 308b, 308c) detects the presence of the surgeon's hand in response to each movement of the surgeon's hand using the surgeon input device (300).

2. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic sensor (314) transmits a signal to the control system of the console processor (118) to convert the movements of the surgeon's hand into movements of the end effectors of the surgical instruments (RSI1, RSI2, RSI3, RSI4).

3. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the sensors (308a, 308b, 308c) may be any one of an infrared (IR) sensor, a capacitive sensor, or the like.

4. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the sensor (310) may be any one of a Hall sensor, a reed switch, a proximity sensor, etc.

5. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the surgeon input device (300) can be connected to the surgeon console (110) using a wired connection.

6. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the surgeon input device (300) can be wirelessly connected to the surgeon console (110) by Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or the like.

7. In wireless mode, a power source such as a battery may be embedded inside the housing (302) of the surgeon input device (300), as described in claim 1.

8. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the clutch button (306) can be used together with the camera clutch to perform functions such as zooming in and zooming out of the camera.

9. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein the default or normal position of the pinch button (304) is the open position.

10. The surgeon input device (300) according to claim 1, wherein a spring (318) provided in the surgeon input device (300) facilitates the return of the pinch button (304) to its normal position.

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