Teleoperated Surgical Instrument Control With Skill-Based Motion Scaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgeons lack access to patient-specific anatomical and procedural information during surgeries, limiting their ability to perform complex procedures effectively, and existing systems do not adequately account for varying surgeon skill levels.
Innovation Solution
A teleoperated surgical system with a robotic surgical instrument that captures and annotates surgical site images, integrates a user input device for command control, and scales instrument movement based on surgeon skill level, utilizing a database of video recordings and pattern matching algorithms to provide relevant procedural information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a teleoperated surgical system provides full manual control to surgeons, then surgeon autonomy and flexibility are improved, but surgical precision and safety deteriorate for novice surgeons due to lack of skill-based guidance
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the level of automation and guidance based on the surgeon's skill level. Novice surgeons receive higher levels of automation with pre-planned instrument paths and motion constraints, while experienced surgeons enjoy greater autonomy with minimal constraints. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by providing the right balance of control and guidance for each user's capability level.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes key operational parameters such as motion scaling factors, velocity limits, and path deviation thresholds based on surgeon skill level. Novice surgeons operate with more conservative parameters (lower speeds, tighter constraints), while experienced surgeons benefit from relaxed parameters that allow greater freedom and speed. This parameter adaptation enables both precision and autonomy under appropriate conditions.
2Reliability
If the system implements skill-based motion scaling to improve surgical precision for novice surgeons, then surgical safety is improved, but device complexity increases due to skill level assessment and dynamic control adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs skill level assessment and surgical plan generation in advance, before the actual surgical procedure begins. By pre-planning instrument paths, pre-assessing surgeon skill levels, and pre-configuring appropriate motion scaling parameters, the system reduces the complexity of real-time decision-making during surgery. This preliminary preparation simplifies the operational complexity while maintaining high safety standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intelligent control layer that acts as an intermediary between the surgeon's input commands and the robotic instrument execution. This intermediary layer automatically adjusts motion scaling, enforces safety constraints, and adapts to surgeon skill level without requiring the surgeon to directly manage these complex parameters. This abstraction shields the surgeon from system complexity while ensuring safe and precise operation.
3Loss of information
If the system provides extensive pre-operative anatomical information and video recordings to surgeons, then surgical preparation and planning are improved, but information processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides anatomical information and video recordings with locally optimized quality and detail based on the surgeon's skill level and specific surgical needs. Rather than providing all possible information uniformly, the system selectively presents relevant anatomical structures, procedural steps, and video clips tailored to the individual case and surgeon's expertise. This selective information delivery reduces processing time while ensuring comprehensive coverage of critical details.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs comprehensive anatomical analysis, video recording retrieval, and surgical plan generation in advance of the surgical procedure. By pre-processing and organizing vast amounts of anatomical data, pre-operative images, and relevant video recordings before the surgeon needs them, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming information retrieval during surgery. This preliminary information preparation ensures all relevant data is ready and accessible instantly when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A teleoperated surgical system is provided comprising: a first robotic surgical instrument; an image capture; a user display; a user input command device coupled to receive user input commands to control movement of the first robotic surgical instrument; and a movement controller coupled to scale a rate of movement of the first robotic surgical instrument, based at least in part upon a surgical skill level at using the first robotic surgical instrument of the user providing the received user input commands, from a rate of movement indicated by the user input commands received at the user input command device.