Surgical User Interface With Footswitch State Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical system control methods, such as footswitches with multiple control modalities and head gestures, require users to remember complex layouts and focus on the surgical field, leading to unintentional control and reduced efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A user interface combining a foot-operated function switch and a head tracker to simplify control, allowing users to select system functions through discrete foot states and head motions, eliminating the need for memorizing layouts and enabling hands-free operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple control modalities (buttons, pedals, joysticks) are provided on the footswitch to enable different functions, then the system functionality is enhanced, but the device complexity and difficulty of operation increase as users must remember complex layouts
Solution Approach 1:
The footswitch is designed with multiple control modalities (buttons, pedals, joysticks) where each component can serve different functions depending on the system mode. For example, buttons can enable head gestures for focus control in one mode and zoom control in another mode, allowing a single physical component to perform multiple functions across different operational contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically reconfigures the function mapping of footswitch components based on the current system mode. The processor changes the association between control modalities and system functions according to the active mode, allowing the same physical button or pedal to control different functions at different times, thereby reducing the need for users to remember all possible control mappings.
2Ease of operation
If users operate barefoot to facilitate groping the footswitch to identify control modalities, then the ease of operation improves, but this is not always practical or hygienic in surgical environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides visual feedback through the HMD display showing the current footswitch layout and which control modality is being pressed. This allows users to identify and select control modalities visually without needing to physically grope the footswitch with bare feet, maintaining hygiene while preserving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The HMD display acts as an intermediary between the footswitch and the user's perception. Instead of direct tactile interaction requiring bare feet, the visual representation on the HMD provides information about control modality positions and states, allowing users to operate the footswitch with shoes on while still identifying control elements.
3Ease of operation
If the HMD displays the footswitch layout and currently pressed button to help users identify control modalities, then the ease of operation improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The HMD serves multiple functions: it provides the primary surgical view through the head-mounted display and simultaneously displays footswitch layout information and control state feedback. This multi-functionality allows the same device to deliver both surgical visualization and control feedback without adding separate display hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The footswitch feedback display functionality is merged with the existing HMD system. The same display hardware and processing resources used for surgical visualization are also utilized to present footswitch layout and control state information, consolidating multiple functions into a single integrated system rather than adding separate display components.
Data Source
AI summary
A user interface for enabling and controlling functions of a surgical system, comprising: a foot-operated function switch configured to be switched to any one of multiple discrete states by the user's foot; a head tracker configured to track the user's head motions; and a processor coupled to the function switch and head tracker, and configured to: obtain an association between a plurality of sequences comprising at least one of the multiple discrete states, and a plurality of corresponding system functions of the surgical system, receive an indication of at least one of the discrete states from the function switch, identify a system function based on the indication and the association, receive a head motion from the head tracker, and apply the head motion to control the identified system function of the surgical system.