User arm support for use in a robotic surgical system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robotic surgical systems lack ergonomic and efficient user interfaces, leading to user fatigue and reduced precision during minimally-invasive surgeries, as existing systems do not adequately accommodate user characteristics and surgical task requirements.
Innovation Solution
A user system featuring a handheld groundless user interface device and an adjustable ergonomic arm support linkage within a user console, which includes a seat and a SCARA linkage system, allowing for customizable configurations based on user and task characteristics, along with sensor systems for tracking and adjusting the arm support linkage to optimize user positioning and reduce fatigue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional robotic systems are used with fixed user interface devices, then the system structure is simple, but user fatigue increases and precision decreases during surgical procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The arm support linkage is designed as a dynamic structure with multiple degrees of freedom, allowing it to adjust its configuration based on user characteristics and surgical task requirements. The linkage includes actuated joints that can change position during operation, transforming the static support structure into an adaptive system that maintains optimal ergonomic positioning throughout the surgical procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes physical parameters of the arm support linkage including position, orientation, and configuration based on detected user characteristics (height, weight, girth) and surgical task requirements. The linkage can transition between folded storage configuration and unfolded use configuration, with pre-stored model configurations providing optimized parameters for different user profiles and surgical procedures.
2Ease of operation
If an adjustable ergonomic arm support linkage is added to accommodate user characteristics and surgical tasks, then user comfort and precision improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arm support linkage is divided into multiple independent segments (proximal segment, intermediate segment, distal segment) that can move and adjust independently. Each segment is connected through joints that provide specific degrees of freedom, allowing the system to achieve complex ergonomic positioning through coordinated movement of simpler individual components rather than requiring a single complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensor systems that automatically detect user characteristics and surgical task requirements, then autonomously adjust the arm support linkage configuration without requiring manual intervention. The sensor system characterizes usage patterns and compares them against pre-stored model configurations, enabling the system to self-optimize its ergonomic support provided through the adjustable arm support linkage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the arm support linkage is made adjustable for different user characteristics, then adaptability improves, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring user parameters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs sensor systems that continuously detect user arm position, contact points, and usage patterns of the arm support linkage. This feedback information is processed to characterize actual usage patterns and compare them against pre-stored model configurations associated with specific user characteristics. The system uses this feedback loop to automatically adjust linkage configuration and provide real-time guidance for optimal positioning, transforming the challenge of parameter detection into an automated adaptive process.
Data Source
AI summary
A user system for a robotic surgical system, the user system including a handheld groundless user interface device configured to control the robotic surgical system, and a user console. The user console includes a seat and a first adjustable, ergonomic arm support linkage coupled to the seat, in which the first arm support linkage is movable between a folded storage configuration and at least one unfolded use configuration corresponding to at least one of a user characteristic and a surgical task characteristic. The at least one unfolded use configuration may be pre-stored in a database.