Robotic Tool Control for Heart Surgery via Motion Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mechanical motion compensation in heart surgery struggles to accurately track tissue movement in multiple degrees of freedom, particularly during procedures that do not require continuous manipulation of moving tissue, such as mitral valve repair and patent foramen ovale closure, leading to increased complexity and cognitive load for medical professionals.
Innovation Solution
A robotic tool control system that monitors sequential tissue motion in a three-dimensional space, projects future locations and times of the tissue, and sets a trajectory to meet the tissue at identified locations, reducing the need for continuous motion compensation by accommodating heartbeat motion for only a single interval, thereby simplifying the operation and reducing cognitive load on medical professionals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional mechanical motion compensation is used to track tissue movement in multiple degrees of freedom, then the system attempts to follow tissue motion, but the tracking accuracy deteriorates and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by predicting future tissue locations based on monitored motion patterns before the tool needs to interact with the tissue. The control computer calculates where the tissue will be at future time points and plans tool trajectories in advance, rather than attempting to continuously track and react to tissue motion in real-time. This eliminates the need for complex real-time motion compensation mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical motion compensation system with a computational prediction system. Instead of using mechanical mechanisms to physically compensate for tissue motion, the system uses a control computer to monitor tissue motion, predict future positions, and calculate appropriate tool trajectories. This substitution of mechanical systems with computational algorithms simplifies the overall device complexity while maintaining or improving tracking accuracy.
2Reliability
If continuous motion compensation is implemented to handle heartbeat motion, then the system can accommodate tissue movement, but the cognitive load on medical professionals increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by autonomously monitoring tissue motion, predicting future locations, and calculating tool trajectories without requiring continuous manual intervention. The control computer automatically adjusts the tool path based on predicted tissue positions, freeing the medical professional from the cognitive burden of manually compensating for heartbeat motion while maintaining procedure reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring actual tissue motion and using this information to update predictions of future tissue locations. The control computer compares predicted positions with actual monitored positions and adjusts the tool trajectory accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains reliability while reducing operational complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If the robotic tool trajectory is set to meet tissue at projected locations and times, then precision is enhanced, but the requirement for accurate motion prediction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by calculating tool trajectories in advance based on predicted tissue locations. The control computer determines the optimal path and timing for tool deployment before the actual surgical intervention, allowing precise positioning at the predicted future location of the tissue. This advance planning enables high precision tool deployment while distributing the computational burden over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback to continuously monitor actual tissue motion and refine predictions of future tissue locations. By comparing monitored tissue positions with predicted positions, the control computer can adjust the motion projection model to improve accuracy, thereby enhancing tool deployment precision while managing the requirements for accurate motion prediction through iterative refinement.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system for controlling a robotic tool includes a memory that stores instructions and a processor that executes the instructions. When executed by the processor, the instructions cause the system to perform a process that includes monitoring sequential motion of tissue in a three-dimensional space. The process also includes projecting locations and corresponding times when the tissue will be at projected locations in the three-dimensional space. An identified location of the tissue in the three-dimensional space is identified based on the projected locations. A trajectory of the robotic tool is set to meet the tissue at the identified location at a projected time corresponding to the identified location.