Auxiliary View Generation for Medical Robotic Camera Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In medical robotic systems, the bundling of camera instruments with surgical tools limits their positioning and viewing capabilities, leading to potential collisions and difficulties in intuitive control during minimally invasive procedures.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented to provide a computer-generated auxiliary view of the camera, allowing for intuitive control and improved understanding of the camera's position and orientation, by determining mechanical element positions, generating a virtual camera model, and displaying it on a screen to guide the operator in positioning and orienting the camera tip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the camera instrument is bundled with surgical tools through a single entry guide, then the number of incisions is reduced and tissue injury is minimized, but the camera's positioning and viewing capabilities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the control interface by providing separate control mechanisms for camera positioning and surgical tool manipulation. The camera can be controlled independently through dedicated input devices, allowing the operator to position and orient the camera without affecting the surgical tools, thus maintaining both minimal incisions and full camera positioning capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a virtual visualization dimension by generating computer-generated auxiliary views that display the camera's position and orientation relative to surgical tools. This virtual representation provides the operator with spatial awareness in multiple dimensions, compensating for the physical constraints of bundled instruments through a fourth dimension of information display
2Length of stationary object
If the camera instrument is bundled with surgical tools, then the entry guide diameter is minimized for minimally invasive access, but collision avoidance between camera and surgical tool links becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements visual feedback by displaying computer-generated auxiliary views that show the relative positions of camera and surgical tool links. This feedback mechanism allows the operator to see potential collision risks before they occur, enabling proactive collision avoidance while maintaining the minimal entry guide diameter required for minimally invasive surgery
Solution Approach 2:
The computer-generated auxiliary view acts as an intermediary between the physical bundled instruments and the operator's perception. It provides a virtual representation that reveals spatial relationships and potential collisions that are not visible through the camera's direct view, enabling safer operation within the constrained entry guide
3Ease of operation
If intuitive control is provided for teleoperating surgical tools and camera, then operator ease of use is improved, but the linkages required to produce intuitive motions become non-obvious and collisions are more difficult to avoid
Solution Approach 1:
The computer-generated auxiliary view serves as an intermediary that makes the complex linkages transparent to the operator. By visualizing the camera's position and orientation relative to surgical tools in virtual space, the operator can intuitively control the system without needing to understand or anticipate the complex mechanical linkages, thus maintaining ease of operation while managing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of the camera's spatial configuration and displays it through computer-generated auxiliary views. This virtual copy allows the operator to understand and control camera positioning intuitively without dealing with the complexity of the actual mechanical linkages, separating the control interface from the mechanical complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with surgical tools and a camera extending out of its distal end. To supplement the view provided by an image captured by the camera, an auxiliary view including articulatable arms of the surgical tools and/or camera is generated from sensed or otherwise determined information about their positions and orientations and displayed on a display screen from the perspective of a specified viewing point. Intuitive control is provided to an operator with respect to the auxiliary view while the operator controls the positioning and orienting of the camera.