Semi-rigid Bone Attachment for Robotic Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robotic surgery systems face challenges in maintaining the positional relationship between surgical tools and patient body parts during patient movement, such as breathing, especially when the robot is mounted in a fixed position, leading to potential detachment of the connection link from the patient's bone and loss of spatial reference.
Innovation Solution
A semi-rigid bone connection system incorporating a switchable bone connection unit with force and position sensors that allows the connection link to release and reattach to maintain the spatial relationship, enabling the robot to adjust its position accordingly and accommodate patient movement without compromising surgical accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid connection link is used between the robot arm and the patient's body part, then the spatial position of the surgical tool relative to the patient's bone is maintained, but the patient's breathing motion causes the connection link to become detached from the patient's bone
Solution Approach 1:
The connection link transitions from a static rigid connection to a dynamic system with two states: locked state for spatial reference maintenance and released state for patient movement accommodation. The system automatically switches between these states based on motion detection, allowing it to adapt to different operational requirements during surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
A motion sensor provides feedback about the relative motion between the connection link and the patient's body part. This feedback triggers the control system to switch the connection link between locked and released states, enabling automatic adaptation to patient movement while maintaining surgical precision.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the connection link is allowed to move freely with patient breathing, then patient comfort is improved, but the spatial relationship between the surgical tool and the patient's body part is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The connection link dynamically switches between released state (allowing free movement with patient breathing) and locked state (maintaining spatial reference). This dynamic behavior allows the system to prioritize patient comfort when movement is detected while ensuring surgical precision when stable.
Solution Approach 2:
The motion sensor continuously monitors the connection link's movement and provides feedback to the control system. When motion exceeds a threshold, the system transitions to released state for patient comfort; when motion subsides, it returns to locked state for spatial reference maintenance.
3Device complexity
If a fixed position robot is used, then the robot structure is simplified, but the patient's breathing causes the body part to move relative to the robot, requiring complex navigation or feedback systems
Solution Approach 1:
The connection link acts as an intermediary between the fixed robot and the moving patient's body part. It transfers the patient's motion to the robot's coordinate system, allowing the fixed robot to maintain surgical accuracy without requiring complex real-time navigation or feedback systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection link creates a physical copy of the patient's body part motion at the robot's base coordinate system. This copying approach simplifies the overall system by eliminating the need for complex optical navigation or active feedback control, while maintaining surgical precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A bone connection system for attaching a surgical robot having its base mounted in the vicinity of a patient, to a bone of the patient. The system incorporates a switchable bone connection unit attached between the bone and a support element of the robot. This unit has a locked state in which the bone is attached essentially rigidly to the support element, and a released state in which the bone can move relative to the support element. The unit comprises a force sensor for determining the force exerted between the bone and the support element of the robot, and a position sensor for measuring the position of the bone relative to the support element of said robot. The unit switches from its locked state to its released state when the force exceeds a predetermined level, selected to ensure that the bone can move without detaching any bone connection elements.