Autonomous Robotic Spine Surgery System for Pedicle Screw Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic systems for placing pedicle screws in spinal surgery underutilize the robotic manipulator, as they primarily rely on manual drilling and screw insertion, lacking autonomous control and precise trajectory maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A surgical robotic system with a robotic manipulator and controller that autonomously positions and maintains the surgical tool along a desired trajectory, using a navigation system and haptic feedback to ensure precise placement of pedicle screws, and integrates a drill with a reamer for simultaneous pilot hole and seat creation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual drilling and screw insertion are used with robotic positioning, then the system can be simpler and more flexible, but the robotic manipulator is underutilized and precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the robotic manipulator's positioning capability with autonomous drilling and screw insertion functions. The robotic arm is integrated with a drill/screwdriver tool that can autonomously perform drilling and screw insertion while maintaining precise trajectory control, combining previously separate functions into a unified autonomous system.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system performs self-service by autonomously controlling the drilling and screw insertion processes without requiring manual intervention. The system uses its own positioning data and pre-planned trajectories to automatically execute the surgical procedure, reducing reliance on manual operation and maximizing the utility of the robotic manipulator.
2Productivity
If autonomous control is implemented for the robotic manipulator, then precision and efficiency are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-planning the surgical trajectory and parameters before the actual procedure. The robotic manipulator is programmed with the desired path and parameters in advance, allowing it to autonomously execute the procedure without real-time complex decision-making, thus improving efficiency while managing complexity through pre-computation.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous control system incorporates feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor the robotic manipulator's position and trajectory. The system compares actual position with planned trajectory and makes real-time adjustments to maintain precision, enabling autonomous operation with controlled complexity through closed-loop control.
3Measurement precision
If the robotic manipulator maintains strict autonomous control, then placement accuracy is improved, but the surgeon's manual intervention capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic control modes that allow transition between autonomous and manual control. The robotic manipulator can operate in autonomous mode for high-precision trajectory following, and switch to manual mode when surgeon intervention is needed, providing both accuracy and flexibility through adaptable control characteristics.
Data Source
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AI summary
A robotic system and methods for performing spine surgery are disclosed. The system comprises a robotic manipulator with a tool to hold a screw and to rotate the screw about a rotational axis. The screw is self-tapping and has a known thread geometry that is stored by a controller. A navigation system tracks a position of a target site. Movement of the robotic manipulator is controlled to maintain the rotational axis of the surgical tool along a planned trajectory with respect to the target site based on the tracked position of the target site. In autonomous or manual modes of operation, the rotational rate of the screw about the rotational axis and/or an advancement rate of the screw linearly along the planned trajectory is controlled to be proportional to the known thread geometry stored in the memory.