Surgical Robotic Systems Using External Actuators and Head Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic surgical devices face limitations in degrees of freedom, increased separation between surgeon and surgical end-effectors, difficulty in visualization due to semi-fixed cameras, and large incision sizes resulting in increased patient injury and morbidity, with human-like robotic arms being complex and non-intuitive to operate.
Innovation Solution
A surgical robotic system with a central body, head-mounted display, and robotic devices featuring multiple actuators and sensors for human-like motion, allowing for intuitive control and enhanced visualization, and a camera system with adjustable field of view, enabling precise surgical operations through a small incision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If robotic devices include motors and gearboxes within the in vivo robot, then the robot can achieve desired motion, but the robot becomes large requiring large incision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the motors and gearboxes from the in vivo robotic device and relocates them to an external position. Only the flexible robotic arm and end effector remain inside the patient's body, while the actuators are positioned outside, connected via flexible cables or magnetic fields. This extraction resolves the contradiction by enabling robotic motion capability without requiring the robot to be large enough to accommodate heavy motors and gearboxes within the body.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where the robotic arm and end effector are inserted through a relatively small incision, and the motors and gearboxes are nested within an external housing or console. The flexible robotic arm passes through the incision like a doll through a container, allowing the large actuator components to remain outside while the functional robotic elements operate inside the body.
2Manufacturing precision
If robotic devices have many degrees of freedom, then surgical precision is improved, but the device becomes complex and non-intuitive to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the control approach by making the robotic device conform to natural human arm movements rather than requiring the surgeon to adapt to complex robotic kinematics. The robotic arm is designed with flexibility and degrees of freedom that mirror human anatomy, and the control system maps surgeon's natural movements directly to robotic actions. This inversion resolves the contradiction by achieving surgical precision through human-like motion patterns that are intuitive to operate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the robotic arm to match human physiological parameters, such as arm length, joint angles, and degrees of freedom. By aligning the robotic system's kinematic parameters with human anatomy, the device provides surgical precision while maintaining intuitiveness, as the surgeon's natural movements are directly translated to robotic actions without requiring extensive retraining.
3Device complexity
If cameras are positioned in a semi-fixed location, then the robot structure is simplified, but visualization of the operating field becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the camera system from a static, semi-fixed position to a dynamic, movable position. The cameras are mounted on the robotic arm or end effector, allowing them to move freely with the robotic components and adjust their positioning in real-time. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction by providing excellent visualization of the operating field while maintaining relatively simple system structure through integration with the existing robotic arm.
4Productivity
If a single large incision is used to insert robotic devices, then the number of incisions is reduced, but patient injury and morbidity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the robotic system into multiple components that can be inserted separately through smaller incisions. Rather than requiring one large incision for the entire robotic device, the system is divided into the robotic arm, end effector, and camera components that can pass through separate, smaller trocar sites. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by reducing patient injury through smaller incisions while maintaining surgical efficiency through coordinated robotic operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for use in surgery includes a central body, a visualization system operably connected to the central body, a video rendering system, a head-mounted display for displaying images from the video rendering system, a sensor system, and a robotic device operably connected to the central body. The visualization system includes at least one camera and a pan system and/or a tilt system. The sensor system tracks the position and/or orientation in space of the head-mounted display relative to a reference point. The pan system and/or the tilt system are configured to adjust the field of view of the camera in response to information from the sensor system about changes in at least one of position and orientation in space of the head-mounted display relative to the reference point.