Robotic Patient Introducer With Curved Tool Alignment Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical robotic systems face challenges in efficiently aligning and positioning surgical tools within a patient's luminal network, particularly when the entry and exit points of the patient introducer are not aligned along a straight line, leading to practical constraints and potential misalignment issues during procedures.
Innovation Solution
A patient introducer is mounted to a robotic arm, allowing for flexible alignment and positioning of the introducer with respect to the patient and the surgical tool, utilizing an alignment member and virtual rail to enhance accuracy and ease of setup, and enabling dynamic adjustments during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the robotic arm is required to align directly with the port axis, then the surgical tool can be properly introduced into the patient's luminal network, but the setup time increases and the placement of the robotic system becomes impractical in certain scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The patient introducer acts as an intermediary component between the robotic arm and the port. It includes a receiving portion that couples to the surgical tool and a guiding portion that extends toward the port, with a curved surface that redirects the surgical tool's path. This mediator allows the robotic arm to be positioned away from direct alignment with the port while still achieving proper tool insertion, thereby reducing setup time and improving system placement flexibility without compromising alignment accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If the robotic arm is required to align directly with the port, then proper surgical tool introduction is achieved, but the robotic arm cannot be used for other purposes when not in use
Solution Approach 1:
The patient introducer serves as a mediator that decouples the robotic arm's positioning requirements from the port alignment requirements. The curved surface with its specific geometry redirects the surgical tool's trajectory, allowing the robotic arm to operate from positions that do not require direct alignment with the port. This enables the robotic arm to be repurposed for other tasks while maintaining precise surgical tool introduction capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved surface of the patient introducer introduces a dimensional transformation by redirecting the surgical tool's path in three-dimensional space. This geometric transformation allows the robotic arm to approach from different spatial dimensions and angles, increasing positioning flexibility and enabling alternative robotic arm configurations that can be used for multiple purposes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a curved design is implemented in the patient introducer, then dynamic positioning and flexible placement are enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patient introducer incorporates a curved surface with a specific radius of curvature that is optimized to redirect the surgical tool's path while maintaining structural simplicity. This curvature is designed to achieve the necessary angular redirection without requiring complex multi-segmented structures or adjustable mechanisms, thereby providing positioning flexibility while controlling device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods relating to medical technology are disclosed. For example, a medical robotic system can include first and second robotic arms. An introducer can be coupled to the first robotic arm. The introducer can include a first opening, a second opening, and a channel connecting the first opening and the second opening. A flexible elongate medical tool can be coupled to the second robotic arm. The second robotic arm can be configured to drive the flexible elongate medical tool through the introducer coupled to the first robotic arm and into a patient.