In-Line Shoulder Joint for Single-Port Robotic Surgery Dexterity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic surgical systems, such as the Da Vinci Surgical System, are costly, require extensive training, and have a large footprint, making them unsuitable for smaller hospitals and minimally invasive procedures like Laparo-Endoscopic Single-Site Surgery (LESS) due to increased surgery duration and dexterity requirements.
Innovation Solution
A single-armed robotic device with a compact in-line shoulder joint design, allowing for insertion through a standard trocar port, featuring a differential yoke rotationally coupled to driveshafts and bevel gears, providing three degrees of freedom while minimizing cross-sectional diameter for easier insertion and maneuverability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a traditional robotic surgical system like Da Vinci is used, then surgical functionality is provided, but the system cost is extremely high and requires extensive training
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system is divided into modular components including a base unit, robotic arm, shoulder joint assembly, and end effector. This segmentation allows for simplified manufacturing of individual modules, reduced overall system complexity, and selective implementation based on budget constraints while maintaining core surgical functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable sterile drape assemblies and single-use end effectors that can be sterilized and discarded after a single use. This eliminates the need for expensive reusable components requiring extensive maintenance and reprocessing, significantly reducing system cost while maintaining surgical sterility standards.
2Area of stationary object
If a traditional robotic system with large base is used, then full functionality is available, but the footprint area is large making it unsuitable for smaller hospitals
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic arm integrates multiple functional components including shoulder joints, elbow joints, and end effectors into a single compact manipulator assembly. This merging eliminates the need for separate large base units and multiple independent components, reducing the overall footprint area while maintaining full surgical capabilities through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic arm employs nested articulation where the elbow joint is positioned within the shoulder joint's range of motion, and the end effector is nested within the arm structure. This nested configuration allows the robotic system to achieve complex surgical movements from a compact base position, minimizing footprint area while maximizing surgical versatility.
3Duration of action of moving object
If minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery is performed, then recovery time is reduced, but surgery duration is increased and visibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical manipulation with motorized robotic actuation. The robotic arm uses electric motors and precision gear mechanisms to control end effector movements, eliminating the need for surgeons to manually manipulate rigid laparoscopic tools. This substitution enables smoother, more precise movements that can complete surgical tasks more efficiently, reducing overall surgery duration while maintaining minimally invasive benefits.
4Length of moving object
If single-port entry is used for LESS procedures, then incision size is reduced, but the chopsticks effect is caused and dexterity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic shoulder joint employs dynamic articulation with multiple degrees of freedom including abduction/adduction, flexion/extension, and internal/external rotation. This dynamic capability allows the single robotic arm to simulate the triangulated positioning of multiple ports, providing surgeons with enhanced dexterity and instrument control through motorized adjustment of arm orientation and position, thereby eliminating the chopsticks effect while maintaining single-port entry benefits.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are various robotic surgical devices and systems that include first and second elongate bodies, first and second driveshafts disposed through the second elongate body, and an in-line shoulder joint with a robotic arm coupled thereto. In certain implementations, the in-line shoulder joint has a differential yoke and a dual shaft disposed within the yoke lumen.