Multi-Mode Camera Control for Medical Robots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical robotic systems face challenges such as camera-tool collisions due to invisible proximal articulations and limited hand-manipulatable input devices, which can disrupt intuitive control and pose risks during minimally invasive procedures.
Innovation Solution
A medical robotic system with a camera instrument having separate translational and orientational joints, controlled by an input device with corresponding modes, to prevent collisions and maintain intuitive control by constraining camera movement along a concave virtual surface and allowing precise positioning and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the camera instrument has proximal articulations that are not visible from the endoscopic camera view, then the camera can be positioned and oriented more flexibly, but the surgeon can inadvertently drive them to crash into surgical tools
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides visual feedback by displaying the configuration of proximal joints on the monitor screen, allowing the surgeon to see the camera's articulation state and adjust control accordingly to avoid collisions with surgical tools
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically switches between translational mode and orientational mode based on the camera's position and orientation, adjusting the degrees of freedom available to the surgeon in real-time to prevent collisions while maintaining positioning flexibility
2Ease of operation
If the operator switches association of an input device from its currently associated surgical tool to the camera, then the operator can control camera positioning, but the intuitive mapping between the motions of the input device and its associated surgical tool is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between translational mode (for camera positioning) and orientational mode (for surgical tool control), allowing the surgeon to temporarily control camera articulations without permanently disassociating the input device from the surgical tool, thus maintaining intuitive mapping while enabling camera control
Solution Approach 2:
The control system segments camera control into two independent modes: translational movement (controlled by one input device) and orientational movement (controlled by the other input device), allowing simultaneous control of both camera and surgical tool without disruption
3Device complexity
If only a limited number of hand-manipulatable input devices are available, then the system is simpler to operate, but it requires temporary switching of associations which disrupts intuitive control
Solution Approach 1:
Each input device is designed to be multi-functional, capable of controlling both translational and orientational movements of the camera instrument depending on the selected mode, eliminating the need for additional dedicated input devices while maintaining full control capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically assigns different functions to the same input devices based on the operational mode (translational or orientational), allowing limited input devices to control multiple degrees of freedom without requiring permanent reassociation or additional hardware
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for multi-mode imaging device control include determining, by a controller, if an orientational mode command or a translational mode command is entered; in response to determining that the orientational mode command is entered, constraining, by the controller, movement of an imaging device so that a focal point of the imaging device moves along a concave virtual surface in response to translational movement of one or more input devices; and in response to determining that the translational mode command is entered, causing, by the controller, translational movement of the imaging device in a three-dimensional space in response to the translational movement of the one or more input devices.