Surgical Table Motion Control With Floating Robotic Arm Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical systems require the disconnection of manipulator arms from patients and loss of visualization during table repositioning, leading to inefficiency and potential safety issues due to inaccurate repositioning and loss of instrument control.
Innovation Solution
A control unit configures joints in articulated arms to a floating mode, detecting table movement and driving secondary joints to maintain end effector position and orientation relative to the table, allowing instrument control during table repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manipulator arms are disconnected from patients during table repositioning, then patient repositioning can be performed, but instrument control is lost and procedure time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically transitions joint sets between locked and floating modes based on operational requirements. During table repositioning, the first joint set is unlocked (floating mode) to allow table movement while the second joint set remains locked to maintain instrument position, enabling dynamic adaptation without disconnection
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator arm is divided into two independent joint sets (first and second joint sets) that can be controlled separately. This segmentation allows the proximal joints to accommodate table motion while distal joints maintain precise instrument control, resolving the contradiction between table repositioning and instrument control
2Ease of operation
If manipulator arms are disconnected during table repositioning, then table can be repositioned, but visualization is lost requiring repeated repositioning attempts
Solution Approach 1:
The floating mode configuration allows the manipulator arms to move dynamically with the table during repositioning while maintaining connection to the patient. This continuous connection preserves visualization throughout the repositioning process, eliminating the need to disconnect and reconnect instruments
3Adaptability or versatility
If redundant degrees of freedom are used in articulated arms, then flexibility in instrument pose control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The articulated arm is segmented into two independent joint sets with distinct functions. The first joint set (with redundant degrees of freedom) handles coarse positioning and accommodation of table motion, while the second joint set handles fine precision control. This segmentation manages complexity by distributing functions across independent subsystems
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-assisted device includes an articulated arm having a plurality of joints including a first joint and a second joint, the articulated arm configured to be coupled to an imaging device and a control unit including one or more hardware processors. The control unit is configured to, when coupled to the articulated arm and a table determine a virtual coordinate frame based on a pose of the imaging device before the first joint is set to a floating mode, configure the first joint to the floating mode, detect movement of the first joint, determine movement of the table based on motion data received from the table, transform the determined movement of the table to the virtual coordinate frame, and drive the second joint based on the movement of the first joint and the determined movement of the table in the virtual coordinate frame.