Surgical Table Base With Force-Feedback Supports for Uneven Floors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical tables face instability due to floor irregularities and vibration issues, which can compromise surgical precision and safety, as traditional designs struggle to balance stability with mobility and positional accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A surgical table base with adjustable support members and force feedback, along with a robotic surgical system that includes a pivotable table and adapter with varying stiffness sections to reduce vibration and enhance positional accuracy, addresses these challenges by stabilizing the table on uneven surfaces and decoupling vibrational frequencies between robotic arms and the table.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the base is made large to achieve stability and prevent tipping, then stability is improved, but the footprint becomes larger than the table top which limits clinical access
Solution Approach 1:
The base is divided into four separate support members instead of a solid rectangular base. This segmentation allows each support member to independently contact the floor at four points, providing stability without requiring a large continuous footprint that would block clinical access.
Solution Approach 2:
The support members use composite construction with rigid components for structural integrity and compliant elements (such as springs or dampers) to accommodate floor irregularities. This composite approach maintains stability while keeping the footprint compact.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid base with four points of contact is used to enhance stability, then stability is improved, but on irregular floors only three points contact the floor causing the table to rock
Solution Approach 1:
The support members incorporate dynamic elements such as springs or dampers that allow the base to adapt to irregular floor surfaces. These compliant elements enable all four support members to maintain contact with the floor even when the surface is uneven, preventing rocking while preserving mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffness parameter of the support members is optimized to balance between rigidity for stability and compliance for adapting to floor irregularities. This parameter adjustment allows the base to remain stable on various surfaces while maintaining ease of movement.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the table structure is made rigid to reduce vibration, then vibration is reduced, but the table becomes less adaptable to floor irregularities
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the table structure have different stiffness characteristics. The main table top and support structures are rigid to minimize vibration, while the support members incorporate compliant elements that locally adapt to floor irregularities. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between vibration reduction and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The support members act as intermediaries between the rigid table structure and the irregular floor surface. These intermediate elements absorb the mismatch between the rigid table and uneven floor, preventing vibration transmission while maintaining adaptability to surface variations.
4Device complexity
If robotic arms are coupled directly to the surgical table, then the system is simpler, but vibration from one arm propagates to other arms reducing positional accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
An adapter is introduced as an intermediary component between the robotic arms and the surgical table. This adapter includes damping elements that prevent vibration propagation from one robotic arm to another, thereby maintaining positional accuracy while adding minimal complexity to the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates vibration sensing and active damping control that detects vibrations from robotic arm movements and applies counteracting forces. This feedback mechanism reduces vibration propagation to maintain positional accuracy without requiring complete structural decoupling of the robotic arms.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods for providing a surgical table base with sufficient stiffness and adjustable support members with force feedback are described herein. In some embodiments, a base for a surgical table includes a base body to which other components of a surgical table can be coupled. A surgical table, and optionally a patient supportable by the surgical table, and any equipment to be carried by the surgical table, collectively representing a table load to be carried by the base body to support the surgical table on a surface. The base further includes a support assembly coupled to the base body to support the base body on the surface. The support assembly includes at least four support members. Each support member has a surface-engaging end and can transmit a portion of a total load represented by the weight of the base and the table load through the surface-engaging end to the surface. The surface-engaging ends of any three of the four support members define a plane. One of the support members is adjustable to move the one support member relative to a plane defined by the three of the other support members and thereby to change the portion of the total load carried by one of the support members. The base further includes a load sensor operably coupled to the support assembly and disposed to detect the portion of the total load carried by one of the support members.