Remote Robotic Surgery Imaging for Low-Latency Control Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
The lack of high-quality physicians, particularly in rural areas, and the inefficiency in utilizing surgeons' time due to travel and wait times, coupled with challenges in remotely controlling robotic surgery systems, including transmission delay, availability, and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A scalable and flexible network system that enables remote control of robotic-assisted medical procedures, utilizing a surgeon input console connected via a network to a robotic surgery system, with integrated switching circuitry and interfaces to ensure low-latency, reliable communication of control signals and image data, and haptic feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a robotic surgery system is controlled locally by a surgeon, then the control response is immediate and reliable, but the surgeon cannot access patients in remote locations and must travel between facilities
Solution Approach 1:
A network communication system acts as an intermediary between the surgeon console and the robotic surgery system, enabling remote control while maintaining system functionality. The network transmits control signals and feedback data between geographically separated components, allowing surgeons to operate on patients at different locations without physical travel.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the surgeon console is connected remotely via network, then the surgeon can access more patients without travel, but transmission delay and reliability issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the robotic surgery system continuously transmits status information, imaging data, and operational feedback to the surgeon console. This closed-loop feedback ensures the surgeon receives real-time information about instrument position, tissue interaction, and system state, maintaining control reliability despite remote connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The network communication system incorporates error correction, data buffering, and connection redundancy to cushion against potential transmission failures. These preventive measures ensure that control signals and feedback data are reliably transmitted even in the presence of network variability or interference.
3Productivity
If control signals are transmitted over a network, then remote procedures are enabled, but network availability and latency affect procedure safety
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-loading imaging data, pre-establishing network connections, and pre-synchronizing coordinate systems between the surgeon console and robotic system. These preparatory steps reduce latency during the actual procedure by ensuring data and communication channels are already optimized and ready for immediate use.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods enable remotely controlling robotic-assisted medical systems, such as robotic-assisted surgery systems. Disclosed approaches facilitate deployment and improve the safety of robotic-assisted procedures.