Articulated Arm Control-Point Feedback for Surgical Table Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices with articulated arms struggle to fully compensate for movement in body openings during surgical procedures, leading to potential patient injury, device damage, and other undesirable outcomes due to inadequate tracking of control points.
Innovation Solution
A computer-assisted medical device with articulated arms and a control unit that monitors and adjusts to the spatial configuration of control points by determining expected and actual configurations during surgical table movement, calculating differences, and compensating for changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If articulated arms are used to track movement of body openings during surgical procedures, then the ability to maintain instrument positioning is improved, but the system cannot fully compensate for all movements leading to potential patient injury and device damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the actual spatial configuration of control points during surgical table movement and compares it with the expected configuration. This feedback mechanism allows the system to detect deviations between expected and actual positions, enabling real-time adjustments to maintain tracking accuracy and prevent patient injury or device damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical tracking systems with an integrated computational system that uses sensors, processors, and control algorithms. The control unit calculates differences between expected and actual control point configurations and generates corrective commands, substituting mechanical complexity with intelligent control to improve both precision and reliability.
2Measurement precision
If the articulated arm attempts to compensate for surgical table movement, then instrument positioning is maintained, but the complexity of the control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into distinct functional modules: a sensing module that detects control point positions, a computation module that calculates expected configurations based on surgical table movement, and a control module that generates corrective commands. This segmentation allows each module to perform its function independently, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining high positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary control unit that acts as a mediator between the surgical table movement sensors and the articulated arm actuators. This intermediary processes spatial configuration data, calculates deviations, and translates them into appropriate control commands, reducing the complexity of direct point-to-point control while improving positioning accuracy.
3Reliability
If the control unit monitors spatial configuration continuously, then patient safety is improved, but the computational load and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates expected spatial configurations based on planned surgical table movements before actual movement occurs. By preparing expected position data in advance, the control unit can quickly compare actual positions against pre-computed values during real-time operation, reducing processing time while maintaining continuous monitoring for patient safety.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and method of monitoring control points during reactive motion includes a computer-assisted medical device. The computer-assisted medical device includes one or more articulated arms each having a control point and a control unit coupled to the one or more articulated arms. The one or more articulated arms and corresponding control points are configured to track movement of a surgical table. The control unit monitors a spatial configuration of the one or more control points by determining an expected spatial configuration of the one or more control points during the movement of the surgical table, determining an actual spatial configuration of the one or more control points during the movement of the surgical table, and determining a difference between the expected spatial configuration and the actual spatial configuration.