Tissue Control Point for Minimally Invasive Instrument Manipulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive medical procedures face challenges in simplifying tissue manipulation for clinicians, who need to consider multiple parameters such as direction, magnitude of motion, instrument orientation, collision avoidance, and multi-instrument interference, which can complicate the manipulation of tissue during medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that display a tissue control point in a user interface, allowing clinicians to manipulate tissue by moving the control point, which in turn operates an instrument to manipulate the tissue, with haptic feedback providing tactile sensations to enhance the manipulation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional direct instrument control is used, then the instrument can be operated directly, but the clinician must consider multiple parameters (direction, magnitude, orientation, collision avoidance) which complicates the manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual tissue control point as an intermediary between the clinician's input and the physical instrument. The control point acts as a mediator that translates simple positional movements into complex instrument manipulations, automatically handling direction, magnitude, orientation, and collision avoidance without requiring the clinician to manually manage each parameter.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical control of the instrument with a virtual control system. Instead of manually adjusting multiple mechanical parameters of the instrument, the clinician simply moves a virtual control point in the display, and the system automatically computes and executes the appropriate instrument movements, substituting complex mechanical control with intuitive graphical interaction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the instrument is positioned out of field of view to access target tissue, then deeper or harder-to-reach tissue can be manipulated, but the clinician loses visual feedback and control precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the tissue control point in the display that maintains the spatial relationship with the tissue even when the physical instrument is out of the field of view. This virtual representation allows the clinician to precisely control the instrument's position and movements without needing direct visual contact with the physical instrument, preserving control precision through the virtual model.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous visual feedback through the display showing the position of the virtual tissue control point relative to the tissue and field of view. This feedback loop allows the clinician to maintain precise control and awareness of instrument position even when the physical instrument cannot be directly seen, enabling accurate manipulation of tissue in difficult-to-reach locations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for manipulating tissue. A tissue control point is displayed over an image of the tissue in a user interface. An input is received that moves the tissue control point within the user interface. A first instrument that is physically associated with the tissue is operated based on the received input to thereby manipulate the tissue.