Medical Robotic Console Overlays for Ergonomic Arm Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical robotic systems lack efficient user interfaces and controls for performing multiple medical procedures, particularly in minimally invasive and non-invasive procedures, which can lead to awkward arm motions and reduced ease of use for physicians.
Innovation Solution
A robotic medical system with a set of robotic arms, an imaging device, a master controller, and a viewer that allows for interactive menus and graphical overlays, providing enhanced imaging, collision detection, and ergonomic operation through modes of user input and graphical rendering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a robotic medical system uses traditional control interfaces for multiple medical procedures, then the system can perform various procedures, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to awkward arm motions and reduced ease of use for physicians
Solution Approach 1:
The master controller is designed with a unified touchscreen interface that serves multiple functions: displaying real-time imaging data, presenting interactive menus for different medical procedures, providing graphical overlays for navigation and collision detection, and accepting user inputs for controlling robotic arms. This single multi-functional interface replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate control devices, thereby improving ease of operation while managing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The touchscreen display acts as an intermediary between the physician and the complex robotic system. It translates complex system states (robotic arm positions, imaging data, procedure parameters) into intuitive visual representations and accepts high-level user commands, mediating the interaction to make the complex system easier to operate without requiring the physician to directly manage low-level robotic control parameters.
2Loss of information
If the system displays comprehensive procedural information and interactive menus, then the information availability improves, but the ease of operation worsens due to potential distraction from the surgical site visualization
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the surgical site visualization with procedural information and interactive menus into a single integrated touchscreen display. The graphical overlay technology combines real-time imaging data with navigational aids, procedure parameters, and control interfaces in one unified view, eliminating the need for separate displays and allowing physicians to access all information without shifting attention to multiple devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The touchscreen interface implements local quality by providing context-sensitive information display. Different regions of the display can show different types of information (surgical site imaging, procedural parameters, navigation data) with varying levels of detail, allowing physicians to focus on the surgical site while having procedural information readily available in peripheral or overlay regions that can be accessed on-demand.
3Reliability
If the system provides real-time visual rendering of robotic arms and collision detection, then the safety improves, but the use of energy increases due to advanced imaging and graphical processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates virtual copies (graphical renderings) of the robotic arms and their instruments within the touchscreen display. These visual copies provide real-time feedback on arm positions and potential collisions without requiring additional physical sensors or imaging devices. The graphical rendering process consumes computational energy but avoids the higher energy consumption that would result from deploying additional physical detection systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces potential mechanical collision detection systems (such as additional physical sensors, cameras, or imaging devices) with software-based graphical rendering and virtual reality technology. The collision detection is achieved through computational analysis of the virtual model rather than physical sensing, substituting mechanical/electrical detection systems with information-processing systems that consume less energy.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are systems and techniques for a medical procedure. For example, the system may include one or more robotic arms, an imaging device, a master controller, a viewer configured to render one or more digital images based on image data from the imaging device, at least one computer-readable memory having stored thereon executable instructions, and one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to execute the instructions to cause the system to: in a first mode of operation, cause movement of at least one of the robotic arms; and in a second mode of operation, cause the viewer to display an interactive menu and a graphical overlay on the one or more digital images.