Medical Robot Arm Collision Control With Selective Inclusion Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical robot systems face interference issues between multiple manipulators within a body cavity, limiting their freedom of movement and operational efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A medical robot system with multiple robot arms and a controller that sets inclusion areas for each arm and attached medical instruments, preventing interference by monitoring these areas for potential collisions while ensuring freedom of movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inclusion areas are set for the shaft portion and distal end side of medical instruments, then collision prevention is improved, but freedom of movement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the medical instrument into two distinct zones: the shaft portion (proximal to the insertion point) and the distal end portion (within the body cavity). Inclusion areas are selectively applied only to the shaft portion, leaving the distal end portion free from spatial constraints. This segmentation allows collision prevention in the robot arm operational space while maintaining full freedom of movement for the medical instrument tip within the body cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different spatial constraint qualities to different parts of the system. The shaft portion is subject to inclusion area constraints to prevent robot arm collisions, while the distal end portion is explicitly excluded from such constraints to ensure operational freedom within the body cavity. This local differentiation of quality resolves the contradiction between safety and operational flexibility.
2Reliability
If inclusion areas are set for all robot arms and medical instruments, then interference prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the shaft portion from the overall medical instrument structure and applies inclusion area constraints specifically to this segment. By isolating and treating only the necessary portion (the shaft) rather than the entire instrument, the system reduces computational complexity while maintaining effective collision prevention where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical robot system includes a plurality of robot arms, a surgeon operation portion, and a controller. When an instruction to operate one of the robot arms and a medical instrument attached thereto is received, for each of the robot arms and each of medical instruments attached thereto, the controller is configured to set an inclusion area encompassing the robot arm and a portion on a side closer to the robot arm with respect to a shaft portion, and does not set an inclusion area encompassing the shaft portion and a portion on a distal end side with respect to the shaft portion, and the controller is configured to determine whether the inclusion area after moving the inclusion area corresponding to the one of the robot arms and the medical instrument attached thereto interferes with the inclusion areas corresponding to the remaining robot arms and the medical instruments attached thereto.