Cooperative Surgical Instrument Control Across Variable Access Trajectories
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical procedures face challenges in coordinating multiple instruments with variable surgical site access trajectories, particularly when anatomical limitations restrict simultaneous access, and existing imaging systems struggle to provide comprehensive information about concealed structures and dimensions during operations.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising two surgical instruments, each with a dedicated endoscope and image sensor, and a controller that acquires images of both instruments to determine their locations relative to each other, enabling coordinated movement and cooperative treatment, even when one instrument is outside the field of view of the other's endoscope.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple surgical instruments are used to operate on tissue from different anatomic spaces, then the ability to perform complex surgical procedures is improved, but the difficulty of coordinating and controlling the instruments relative to each other increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates image sensors that continuously capture images of surgical instruments and provides real-time feedback through a display system. The controller receives images from multiple sensors and determines relative locations of instruments, enabling surgeons to visually monitor and coordinate instrument positions during the procedure
Solution Approach 2:
A controller acts as an intermediary between multiple surgical instruments and the display system. The controller receives images from various image sensors, processes the data to determine relative instrument locations, and coordinates the presentation of this information to the surgeon, facilitating instrument coordination without direct physical connection
2Measurement precision
If imaging systems are used to visualize the surgical site, then the ability to monitor instrument positions is improved, but the ability to recognize concealed structures and communicate three-dimensional information is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system presents two-dimensional images in a configuration that represents three-dimensional spatial relationships. By displaying images from multiple angles and positions simultaneously on a display system, the surgeon can perceive depth and spatial orientation of concealed structures and instrument positions that would be impossible to discern from a single two-dimensional view
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines images from multiple image sensors positioned at different locations into a unified display. The controller merges these separate image streams to provide a comprehensive view that includes both visible and concealed structures, allowing the surgeon to see information that would be invisible to any single imaging device
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods for controlling cooperative surgical instruments with variable surgical site access trajectories are provided. Various aspects of the present disclosure provide for coordinated operation of surgical instruments accessing a common surgical site from different approach and/or separate body cavities to achieve a common surgical purpose. For example, various methods, devices, and systems disclosed herein can enable the coordinated treatment of tissue by disparate minimally invasive surgical systems that approach the tissue from varying anatomical spaces and must operate differently, but in concert with one another, to effect a desired surgical treatment.