Robotic Pedicle Screw Insertion With Force-Guided Trajectory Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic manipulators in spinal surgery are underutilized during the drilling of pilot holes and insertion of pedicle screws, as they play little to no role in these critical steps.
Innovation Solution
A surgical robotic system with a robotic manipulator and controller that autonomously guides and controls surgical tools to place implants at precise locations, including autonomous movement for drilling and screw insertion, and provides haptic feedback for manual manipulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a robotic manipulator is used for pedicle screw placement, then positioning precision is improved, but the manipulator is underutilized during critical drilling and insertion steps
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool is divided into separate functional modules: a drill module for creating pilot holes and a screw driver module for inserting pedicle screws. Each module can be independently controlled and attached to the robotic manipulator, allowing the manipulator to perform all critical operations autonomously while maintaining positioning precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic manipulator is designed with a universal interface that accepts multiple surgical tools including drills, screw drivers, and reamers. This multi-functionality enables the manipulator to perform drilling, reaming, and screw insertion operations, eliminating the need for separate manual operations and maximizing manipulator utilization throughout the entire surgical workflow.
2Manufacturing precision
If autonomous robotic control is implemented, then trajectory accuracy is improved, but manual dexterity for final implant placement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system transitions from fully autonomous to manual control based on real-time surgical conditions. The robotic manipulator operates autonomously for precision trajectory execution, but can seamlessly switch to manual mode when the surgeon needs to adjust for anatomical variations or encounter unexpected bone density, thereby maintaining both trajectory accuracy and manual dexterity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates real-time feedback from surgical instruments and imaging systems, allowing the robotic manipulator to autonomously maintain trajectory accuracy while the surgeon retains manual control for final implant placement adjustments. The feedback loop enables dynamic switching between autonomous and manual modes based on operational requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Surgical systems and methods involve a robotic manipulator with a force sensor and a surgical tool that holds a screw. The screw has a known thread geometry. A navigation system tracks a pose of a target anatomy. Controller(s) store the known thread geometry and control the robotic manipulator to maintain the rotational axis on a planned trajectory with respect to the target anatomy based on the tracked pose of the target anatomy. The controller(s) detect, with the force sensor, a force applied by a user. The controller(s) control a rotational rate of the surgical tool to rotate the screw about a rotational axis and an advancement rate of the surgical tool to linearly advance the screw along the planned trajectory. The rotational rate and the advancement rate are based on the force applied by the user and are proportional to the known thread geometry.