Robotic Arm Boundary Indication for Surgical Setup Reach

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current robotic systems for medical procedures, such as bronchoscopy, face challenges in determining the optimal initial pose of robotic arms to ensure the medical instrument can reach the target region within the patient's anatomy, leading to potential failures in procedure execution due to insufficient stroke length or collisions during setup.

Innovation Solution

A system comprising a processor and memory that maps the patient's anatomy, calculates the minimum stroke length required to reach a target region, and provides an indication of the boundary for the initial pose of the robotic arm during setup, ensuring the arm's position does not interfere with the procedure and maintains an adequate stroke length.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Length of moving object

If the robotic arm is positioned to maximize stroke length, then the medical instrument can reach the target region, but the robotic arm may collide with other system components during movement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestroke lengthVSAvoidcollisions

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of moving objectVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary calculation of the boundary for the initial pose of the robotic arm before the procedure begins. The processor calculates the minimum stroke length required to reach the target region and determines the boundary position that prevents collisions while maintaining adequate stroke length. This preliminary action allows the robotic arm to be positioned optimally before any movement occurs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a boundary indication as an intermediary element between the robotic arm and the target region. The boundary represents a virtual constraint that mediates the position of the robotic arm, ensuring that the arm remains in a safe zone where it can achieve the required stroke length without colliding with other system components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the robotic arm is positioned to avoid collisions, then safety is improved, but the stroke length may be insufficient to reach the target region

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollision avoidanceVSAvoidstroke length

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system calculates the boundary for the initial pose of the robotic arm in advance, before the procedure begins. This preliminary calculation determines the optimal position that simultaneously satisfies both collision avoidance and sufficient stroke length requirements. The boundary is computed based on the minimum stroke length needed to reach the target region and the collision-free zones identified through anatomical mapping.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the positional parameters of the robotic arm by providing a boundary indication that defines the optimal initial pose. The processor adjusts the boundary parameters based on the calculated minimum stroke length and anatomical constraints, allowing the robotic arm to be positioned at the boundary where both safety and reachability are optimized.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Measurement precision

If the boundary indication is provided during arm setup phase, then optimal positioning is achieved, but the setup time increases due to calculation and indication processes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepositioning accuracyVSAvoidsetup time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces manual positioning methods with an automated computational approach. The processor automatically calculates the boundary for the initial pose of the robotic arm based on pre-stored anatomical mappings and target region data. This substitution of mechanical positioning with computational calculation reduces setup time while maintaining high positioning accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary calculations of the boundary and stores anatomical mappings before the procedure begins. The boundary indication is provided during the arm setup phase based on pre-computed data, reducing the time required for real-time calculations while maintaining positioning accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11472030B2Robotic system with indication of boundary for robotic arm

Publication Date: 2022.10.18 AURIS HEALTH INC

AI summary

Certain aspects relate to systems and techniques for surgical robotic arm setup. In one aspect, there is provided a system including a first robotic arm configured to manipulate a medical instrument, a processor, and a memory. The processor may be configured to: determine a minimum stroke length of the first robotic arm that allows advancing of the medical instrument by the first robotic arm to reach a target region from an access point via a path, determine a boundary for an initial pose of the first robotic arm based on the minimum stroke length and a mapping stored in the memory, and during an arm setup phase prior to performing a procedure, provide an indication of the boundary during movement of the first robotic arm.