Positionable Camera Tracking for Robotic Surgical Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing minimally invasive surgical technologies, including robotic systems, face limitations due to mobility restrictions from rigid tools and limited visual feedback, which hinder the scope and complexity of surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
The development of robotic surgical systems equipped with a camera lumen and a positionable camera that can track the arms or end effectors of the robotic device, allowing for improved visual feedback and enhanced mobility within the body cavity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If rigid tools are used for minimally invasive surgery, then structural stability is improved, but mobility is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible robotic arms with articulated joints that can navigate through small incisions while maintaining structural integrity. The flexible segments allow the arms to bend and adapt to the contours of the body cavity, resolving the contradiction between rigidity for stability and flexibility for mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system incorporates dynamically adjustable joints and segments that can change their stiffness and configuration during surgery. This allows the arms to be rigid when precision is needed and flexible when navigation is required, dynamically adapting to surgical requirements.
2Loss of information
If traditional laparoscopic cameras are used, then visual feedback is provided, but the scope and complexity of procedures are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system integrates multiple functional modules including cameras, lights, and surgical tools on a single articulated arm. This multi-functional design allows the system to perform various surgical tasks through one access port, expanding the scope of minimally invasive procedures beyond what traditional separate laparoscopic instruments can achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent describes nested modular components where cameras, lights, and tools can be combined in various configurations within the robotic arms. This nesting allows flexible arrangement of instruments to accommodate different surgical needs while maintaining a compact profile for minimally invasive access.
3Adaptability or versatility
If robotic systems are made larger to improve capabilities, then functionality is enhanced, but availability and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system is divided into modular segments that can be independently controlled and configured. Each robotic arm is composed of multiple articulated segments that can be independently actuated, allowing complex functionality to be achieved through coordinated simple components rather than a single large complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a control system that acts as an intermediary between the surgeon's commands and the robotic arms' movements. This intermediary control layer enables sophisticated surgical capabilities through software algorithms that translate simple surgeon inputs into complex coordinated movements of multiple robotic components.
Data Source
AI summary
The various inventions relate to robotic surgical devices, consoles for operating such surgical devices, operating theaters in which the various devices can be used, insertion systems for inserting and using the surgical devices, and related methods. A positionable camera is disposed therein, and the system is configured to execute a tracking and positioning algorithm to re-position and re-orient the camera tip.