Eye Surgery Tool Manipulator With Incision Pivot Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eye surgery techniques, particularly cataract removal using phacoemulsification, face challenges in maintaining minimal incision size during robotic tool manipulation, which can lead to unwanted enlargement and potential eye damage.
Innovation Solution
A robotic eye surgery apparatus with a processor that analyzes real-time images to control robotic arms, ensuring movements of surgical tools are restricted to rotations and translations around the incision pivot points, preventing enlargement and maintaining stable incisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If robotic arms are used to manipulate surgical tools during eye surgery, then surgical precision and automation are improved, but the risk of incision enlargement and potential eye damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously captures real-time images of the incision and tool position, processes them through image analysis algorithms, and uses the results to dynamically adjust robotic arm movements. This closed-loop feedback ensures the tool remains properly positioned relative to the incision pivot point, preventing unintended incision enlargement while maintaining high automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated vision-guided robotic system. Instead of relying on surgeon hand-eye coordination, the system uses image processing algorithms to calculate tool positions and control robotic arm movements, substituting mechanical precision with computational accuracy to prevent incision damage.
2Stability of the object's composition
If real-time image analysis is implemented to monitor incision size, then incision stability is improved, but system complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the critical features needed for incision monitoring from the full image data - specifically the incision boundaries and tool position relative to the incision pivot point. By focusing analysis on these extracted key elements rather than processing entire images, the system maintains incision stability monitoring while reducing computational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary identification of the incision pivot point and establishes reference coordinate systems before surgical tool manipulation begins. This pre-processing of spatial references enables simpler real-time monitoring calculations, as the system only needs to track deviations from the established baseline rather than continuously analyzing absolute positions.
Data Source
AI summary
An eye surgery apparatus includes an eye surgery tool, an imaging system, a robotic arm, and a processor. The eye surgery tool has a distal end for insertion into an eye of a patient through an incision in the eye. The imaging system is configured to acquire images showing the incision and at least part of the eye surgery tool. The robotic arm is coupled with the eye surgery tool, which is configured to move the distal end of the eye surgery tool inside the eye according to one or more commands issued during an eye surgery. The processor is configured to, during the eye surgery (i) receive the images from the imaging system, (ii) monitor the commands issued to the robotic arm, (iii) detect, by analyzing the images, that a monitored command is expected to enlarge the incision, and (iv) initiate responsive action with respect to the detected command.