Surgical Robotic Cart Placement With Collision-Aware Path Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need to precisely locate and position surgical robotic cart assemblies relative to a surgical table with a high degree of accuracy, precision, and movability, especially in minimally invasive medical procedures where accuracy and speed are critical.
Innovation Solution
A method is provided for placing surgical robotic cart assemblies, involving determining their initial positions, calculating paths to safe distances from the surgical table and each other, moving autonomously to these positions, and detecting potential collisions along the way. This method utilizes sensor data from visual and floor sensors to update environmental maps and ensure safe and precise positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the surgical robotic cart assembly is made movable with casters for repositioning, then the ease of operation and movability is improved, but the positioning precision and accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical positioning with an automated guidance system that uses visual markers and camera tracking to calculate and guide the cart to precise target positions. The system substitutes human-operated mechanical movement with computer-controlled navigation, achieving both ease of movement and high positioning accuracy through automated path calculation and real-time position feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously tracks the cart's position using visual markers and camera systems, comparing actual position with target position, and provides real-time feedback to guide adjustments. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures the cart reaches the precise desired location while maintaining ease of repositioning through automated guidance.
2Measurement precision
If the surgical robotic cart assembly is made stationary for stability, then the positioning precision is improved, but the adaptability and repositioning capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static, fixed-position design to a dynamic, repositionable system with automated guidance. The cart can be moved and repositioned as needed, and the guidance system dynamically calculates optimal positions and paths based on surgical requirements, allowing the system to adapt to different surgical scenarios while maintaining precision through automated positioning control.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable cart design with automated guidance provides universal applicability across different surgical procedures and room configurations. The system can be repositioned to various locations and the guidance system adapts to different target positions, making it versatile for multiple surgical scenarios while maintaining positioning precision through the automated guidance mechanism.
3Measurement precision
If automated positioning is implemented for precision placement, then the positioning accuracy is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces visual markers as intermediaries between the cart and the guidance system. These markers serve as a simple interface that enables precise position tracking without requiring complex sensors or instrumentation on the cart itself. The camera system tracks these visual markers to calculate position, providing high accuracy while keeping the cart design relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses visual markers that create a digital representation or copy of the physical cart position. By tracking these visual copies through camera systems, the software can calculate precise positions and guide movement without requiring complex physical sensors or measurement devices on the cart, thereby achieving high accuracy with moderate system complexity.
4Reliability
If multiple safety constraints are enforced for collision prevention, then the reliability is improved, but the productivity and speed of positioning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary path calculation and collision detection before actual cart movement. By pre-calculating safe paths and identifying potential obstacles in advance, the system can move the cart more quickly without compromising safety, as the complex safety checks are performed beforehand rather than in real-time during movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses visual markers and camera tracking to rapidly determine cart position and target location, skipping time-consuming manual measurement or complex sensor processing. This allows the automated guidance system to quickly calculate paths and execute positioning while maintaining safety constraints, thereby improving positioning speed without sacrificing collision prevention.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of placing a surgical robotic cart assembly includes, determining a first position of a first surgical robotic cart assembly relative to a surgical table, calculating a path for the first surgical robotic cart assembly towards a second position of the first surgical robotic cart assembly relative to the surgical table, wherein in the second position, the first surgical robotic cart assembly is spaced-apart a first safe distance from the surgical table, moving the first surgical robotic cart assembly autonomously towards the second position thereof, and detecting a potential collision along the path of the first surgical robotic cart assembly as the first surgical robotic cart assembly moves towards the second position thereof.