Co-Manipulation Robot Arm Control for Laparoscopic Setup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laparoscopic surgical procedures face challenges in managing vision and access, with existing robotic systems being expensive, having a large footprint, and requiring system-specific instruments, which limits the surgeon's ability to seamlessly position and manipulate surgical instruments.
Innovation Solution
A co-manipulation surgical system with a robot arm that includes a controller programmed to switch between passive, co-manipulation, and haptic modes, allowing for automatic impedance adjustment and optical scanner-assisted depth data analysis to guide surgical instruments, enabling seamless instrument positioning and manipulation without the need for extensive manual interaction or system-specific tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If complex robot-assisted systems are used to enhance laparoscopic surgical procedures, then surgical precision and control are improved, but system cost and footprint increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the surgical robot into modular components: a mobile platform with base, multiple independently controllable robot arms, and detachable surgical instruments. This segmentation allows the system to provide precise surgical capabilities through individual arms while reducing overall system complexity and cost by allowing selective use of components rather than requiring a fully integrated complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot arms are designed with universal interfaces that can accommodate multiple types of surgical instruments and can be used for different surgical tasks. The arms can operate in multiple modes (passive, co-manipulation, haptic, robotic) to perform diverse functions, reducing the need for multiple specialized systems and thereby lowering overall system complexity and cost.
2Ease of operation
If robot arms are made freely moveable to allow seamless instrument manipulation, then ease of operation is improved, but control stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The robot arm control system dynamically adjusts between multiple operational modes based on surgical needs: passive mode for stable positioning, co-manipulation mode for collaborative surgeon-robot control, haptic mode for force feedback and precision control, and robotic mode for fully automated operation. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to provide both ease of manipulation and control stability as required by different surgical tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes control parameters including impedance levels, force thresholds, and motion constraints depending on the operational mode and surgical task. By adjusting these parameters, the robot arm can transition from highly compliant and easy to manipulate to precisely controlled and stable, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and control stability.
3Manufacturing precision
If impedance is increased to improve control precision, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The impedance of the robot arm is dynamically adjusted based on the operational mode and surgical task requirements. In modes requiring precision (haptic and robotic modes), impedance is increased to improve control precision. In modes requiring ease of manipulation (passive and co-manipulation modes), impedance is reduced to allow smoother, easier operation. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between precision and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Co-manipulation robotic systems are described herein that may be used for assisting with laparoscopic surgical procedures. The co-manipulation robotic systems allow a surgeon to use commercially-available surgical tools while providing benefits associated with surgical robotics. Advantageously, the surgical tools may be seamlessly coupled to the robot arms using a disposable coupler while the reusable portions of the robot arm remain in a sterile drape. Further, the co-manipulation robotic system may operate in multiple modes to enhance usability and safety, while allowing the surgeon to position the instrument directly with the instrument handle and further maintain the desired position of the instrument using the robot arm.