Cooperative Surgical Instrument Control Across Separate Access Trajectories
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical procedures often face challenges due to anatomical limitations and imaging system limitations, where surgical instruments operating from different anatomic spaces cannot be coordinated effectively, and existing imaging systems struggle to recognize concealed structures and convey necessary information to medical practitioners during procedures.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a first surgical instrument inserted outside a lumen structure and a second instrument inserted within, each with an endoscope for image acquisition, and a controller to determine their locations and coordinate cooperative movement, enabling the first instrument to deliver an adjunct and the second to provide a fixating implant, ensuring accurate placement and movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple surgical instruments operate from different anatomic spaces independently, then each instrument can access its target region, but coordinated operation between instruments becomes difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple independent surgical instruments into a single integrated robotic system with a common control architecture. The control circuit receives commands and coordinates multiple robotic arms, each holding different surgical instruments, enabling them to operate cooperatively from different anatomic spaces while maintaining precise spatial relationships and coordinated actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system is designed with universal capabilities to handle multiple types of surgical instruments through standardized interfaces and a unified control platform. The system can accommodate various surgical tools including cutting instruments, stitching instruments, and imaging devices, allowing coordinated operation across different anatomic spaces through a single multi-functional platform.
2Loss of information
If imaging systems are used to view the surgical site, then visual information is provided, but concealed structures and three-dimensional spatial information remain unrecognizable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs multiple imaging devices positioned at different locations to capture two-dimensional images from various angles, then uses image processing circuits to reconstruct three-dimensional spatial information. This dimensional transformation allows concealed structures and depth relationships to be visualized by combining multiple 2D views into a comprehensive 3D representation of the surgical site.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces image processing circuits as intermediaries between the imaging devices and the surgeon. These circuits receive raw images from multiple cameras, perform computational processing to reconstruct three-dimensional geometry and identify concealed structures, and present processed visual information that reveals spatial relationships and hidden anatomical features not visible to the naked eye.
3Reliability
If surgical instruments are operated independently without coordination, then operational simplicity is maintained, but successful surgical outcome cannot be achieved when coordinated operation is required
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor the positions, orientations, and operational states of multiple surgical instruments. This real-time feedback information is fed back to the control circuit, which automatically adjusts instrument movements and coordination to maintain precise spatial relationships and achieve desired surgical outcomes, enabling reliable coordinated operation without increasing manual control difficulty.
Data Source
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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.