Robotic Surgical Context Haptics for Boundary-Constrained Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotically-assisted surgical systems lack effective guidance and control mechanisms to ensure precise and efficient execution of surgical plans, particularly in joint replacement procedures, leading to potential inaccuracies in creating planar surfaces and pilot holes for implant placement.
Innovation Solution
A surgical system that utilizes a robotic device with haptic feedback and tracking systems to monitor and control surgical instruments, providing combined force feedback based on interactions with predefined boundaries, ensuring accurate and efficient creation of planar surfaces and pilot holes for implant placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional surgical guidance systems are used, then the surgical procedure can be performed, but the precision and accuracy of surgical instrument placement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements haptic feedback by applying forces to the surgical instrument when it approaches or violates boundaries defined in the surgical plan. This real-time force feedback mechanism provides tactile guidance to the surgeon, ensuring precise instrument placement while maintaining reliability of surgical plan execution through continuous monitoring and correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a computational model and haptic interface as intermediaries between the surgical plan and the physical surgical instrument. The computational model translates surgical plan boundaries into haptic forces, serving as a mediator that guides the surgeon's actions while ensuring adherence to the planned procedure, thereby improving both precision and reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If robotic control is added to improve precision, then surgical accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs self-service principles by allowing the haptic feedback mechanism to automatically guide the surgical instrument without requiring complex external control systems. The haptic forces are generated based on pre-defined surgical plan boundaries, enabling the system to self-regulate and guide the surgeon's actions, thereby improving surgical cut accuracy while minimizing the addition of complex control mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If haptic feedback is implemented, then surgical guidance improves, but computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary action by pre-defining all surgical boundaries, constraints, and haptic force parameters before the surgical procedure begins. The surgical plan includes pre-calculated boundary surfaces and force characteristics, allowing the haptic feedback system to operate in real-time without requiring complex computational processing during surgery, thus improving guidance quality while minimizing processing time delays.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the precision and efficiency of surgical procedures by constraining surgical instrument movements within predefined boundaries, improving the alignment and biomechanical integration of implants, and reducing the risk of surgical errors.
Implementation Method 1
A robotic device provides haptic feedback to constrain a surgical instrument within a boundary. The haptic feedback is determined by an interaction between a first interaction point at a first location relative to the surgical instrument and a boundary, and an interaction between a second interaction point at a second location relative to the surgical instrument and the boundary.
Implementation Method 2
controlling the robot to provide a combined force feedback based on the first force feedback and the second force feedback
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling a robot of a surgical system includes monitoring positions of a first interaction point defined relative to a surgical instrument and as second interaction point defined relative to the surgical instrument, determining a first force feedback based on a first interaction between the first interaction and a boundary based on a first stiffness, determining a second force feedback based on a second interaction between the second interaction point and the boundary based on a second stiffness, and controlling the robot to provide a combined force feedback based on the first force feedback and the second force feedback.