Robotic Endoscope Pose Control for Surgical Instrument Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
In minimally invasive surgery, maintaining the visibility of surgical instruments within an endoscopic image is challenging due to difficulties in communicating the exact desired location of the endoscope, especially with hand-eye coordination issues and the need for precise positioning of instruments within the field of view, which can lead to instruments being moved outside the view or the robotic system rotating, causing spatial arrangement changes on the screen.
Innovation Solution
A robotic guiding system comprising a robot unit with an endoscope and a control unit, including an endoscopic image controller and a robot controller, that generates endoscope pose commands to maintain the visibility of two or more interventional instruments within the endoscopic image, utilizing a robot controller to move the endoscope and adjust its pose to keep instruments centered, with features like pivot, zoom, and rotation modes to ensure continuous visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the surgeon manually controls two surgical instruments with both hands, then the surgeon can manipulate the instruments, but the surgeon cannot simultaneously control the endoscope to maintain instrument visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system automatically tracks and positions instruments within the endoscopic field of view without requiring manual intervention. The system uses image processing to detect instrument locations and autonomously adjusts the endoscope position to maintain visibility, allowing the surgeon to focus solely on instrument manipulation.
Solution Approach 2:
A robotic endoscope positioning system acts as an intermediary between the surgeon's instrument manipulation and the endoscopic visualization. The robot receives input from the endoscopic camera and automatically adjusts endoscope position, serving as a mediator that eliminates the need for the surgeon to manually control both instruments and the endoscope simultaneously.
2Ease of operation
If the robotic endoscope is used to automatically position the endoscope, then the surgeon can focus on instrument control, but the system may rotate around its own axis changing the spatial arrangement of instruments
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the endoscopic image and instrument positions, using feedback control to adjust the endoscope position. The robotic system processes real-time image data, detects instrument locations, and makes precise positioning adjustments while maintaining a stable spatial arrangement, preventing unwanted rotation around the endoscope axis.
3Measurement precision
If optical targets are placed on surgical instruments to guide the robotic endoscope, then the endoscope can be positioned with markers in the center, but the surgeon must continuously keep instruments in the field-of-view which is challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic endoscope system automatically detects optical targets on instruments and positions the endoscope itself to center the markers, eliminating the need for the surgeon to manually maintain instrument visibility. The system performs the field-of-view maintenance task autonomously through image processing and automated positioning.
4Measurement precision
If the endoscope is calibrated to perform motion control, then precise positioning can be achieved, but calibration is technically challenging for medical staff and should be avoided
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system performs self-calibration using the optical targets already present on the surgical instruments. The system automatically detects the targets, calculates the necessary calibration parameters, and adjusts the endoscope positioning without requiring manual calibration procedures, making the process independent of medical staff expertise.
Data Source
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Figure 5A~5B
AI summary
A robot guiding system employing a robot unit (10) including an endoscope (12) and a robot (11), and a control unit (20) including an endoscopic image controller (22) and a robot controller (21). In operation, the endoscope (12) generate an endoscopic image of an anatomical region as the robot (11) move the endoscope (12) within the anatomical region in response to robot actuator commands. The endoscopic image controller (22) controls a display of the endoscopic image(14) of the anatomical region and generates endoscope pose commands to maintain a visibility of two or more interventional instruments within the display of the endoscopic image(14) relative to a center of the endoscopic image (14). The robot controller (21) generates the robotic actuator commands responsive to the endoscope pose commands.