Surgical Instrument Insertion Alignment with Camera Field of View
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic medical systems lack the ability to ensure that instrument insertion axes are aligned with the surgical field of view, leading to potential unintended tissue or organ contact during medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A robotic medical system with sensors that detect the positions and orientations of robotic arms and tools, providing notifications and guidance to align the instrument insertion axis within the camera's field of view, ensuring safety by defining a safe zone for instrument insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If robotic arms are used for instrument insertion, then surgical precision and control are improved, but the risk of unintended tissue contact increases when instruments are not visible in the surgical field of view
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the position and orientation of robotic arms and instruments relative to the camera field of view, providing real-time feedback to the operator. When an instrument is not visible in the surgical field of view, the system generates a warning signal to alert the operator, enabling corrective action to prevent unintended tissue contact while maintaining precise robotic control
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary alignment verification before instrument insertion by checking whether the instrument's insertion axis will be visible in the camera field of view. This pre-check ensures that the robotic arm is properly positioned before the actual insertion occurs, preventing blind insertion and associated safety risks
2Reliability
If real-time monitoring of robotic arm positions is implemented, then patient safety is improved, but system complexity increases due to additional sensors and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages existing sensors and processing capabilities already present in robotic surgical systems for monitoring robotic arm positions and orientations. By making multi-use of these components for both control and safety monitoring functions, the system achieves real-time safety verification without proportionally increasing hardware complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the robotic arm's own motion data and the camera's existing field of view information to determine alignment status. This self-verification approach eliminates the need for separate dedicated monitoring hardware, as the system's existing components serve dual purposes: controlling the robotic arm and monitoring its safety alignment
Data Source
AI summary
Surgical robotic systems may guide a user to align an instrument's insertion axis with a camera field of view. A surgical robotic system can include a first robotic arm coupled to a camera and a second robotic arm coupled to a surgical tool. The surgical tool can have a tool insertion axis along a shaft of the surgical tool. The surgical robotic system can be configured to determine whether the tool insertion axis overlaps with a field of view of the camera and provide a notification to a user in accordance with a determination that the tool insertion axis does not overlap with the field of view of the camera.