Confidence-Based Shared Control for Surgical Robots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotically-assisted surgery (RAS) systems lack complete autonomy, requiring surgeon supervision and intervention due to limitations in automation, which can lead to errors and increased workload during surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A confidence-based shared control system that dynamically allocates control between automated and manual modes, using an allocation function to blend commands based on performance criteria, ensuring safe and efficient surgical operations by leveraging the strengths of both robotic accuracy and surgeon input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complete autonomy is implemented in RAS systems, then robotic accuracy and repeatability are maximized, but the system becomes infeasible for many surgical situations and procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The control system dynamically adjusts the level of autonomy based on surgical context. The shared control architecture allows the system to transition between fully autonomous operation and human supervision modes, making the autonomy level adaptive rather than fixed. This resolves the contradiction by implementing dynamic autonomy that maintains robotic accuracy while adapting to diverse surgical situations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of autonomy level from a fixed state to a variable state. By introducing a shared control mode that blends autonomous and manual control, the system can adjust the degree of automation based on procedural needs, tissue types, and surgical complexity, thereby maintaining accuracy while improving adaptability.
2Reliability
If complete autonomy is implemented in RAS systems, then robotic accuracy is improved, but the system cannot handle complex surgical environments requiring human judgment
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of implementing full autonomy across all surgical tasks, the system applies partial autonomy selectively. The shared control architecture enables autonomous operation for well-defined, repetitive tasks while maintaining human control for complex decision-making scenarios, achieving high accuracy where applicable without over-automating situations requiring human judgment.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared control system acts as an intermediary between fully autonomous control and fully manual control. This intermediate mode allows seamless transitions and blending of autonomous and human commands, resolving the contradiction by providing a spectrum of automation levels rather than a binary choice between complete autonomy and complete manual control.
3Reliability
If surgeon supervision is required in RAS systems, then safety is improved, but surgical errors and workload increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shared control system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor surgical progress and automatically adjust the level of supervision required. When the system operates autonomously within predefined safety boundaries, minimal human supervision is needed. When deviations or uncertainties arise, the system automatically requests human intervention, maintaining safety while minimizing unnecessary supervisory overhead and improving efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a system and method for controlling an articulating member including a tool. The method includes determining a first confidence indicator based on a manual control mode for the articulating member, determining a second confidence indicator based on an autonomous control mode for the articulating member, generating an allocation function based on the first confidence indicator and the second confidence indicator, and generating a control command for the articulating member based on the allocation function.