Robotic Surgical Assembly With Top- and Side-Loading Drive Unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic surgical systems lack a handle assembly to actuate surgical instruments, making the exchange of instruments cumbersome due to the need for the entire elongate shaft to pass through the robot arm, complicating removal and replacement.
Innovation Solution
A surgical robotic assembly with a carriage and instrument drive unit featuring a gear non-rotationally fixed to the carriage, a housing with drive motors and a rotation motor, allowing for top-loading and side-loading of surgical instruments, and a sterile interface module for easy attachment and detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire elongate shaft of the surgical instrument passes through the robot arm holder, then the surgical instrument can be held and actuated by the robotic arm, but the removal or exchange of the surgical instrument becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument is divided into two functional parts: the elongate shaft that passes through the holder for stable positioning, and the handle assembly that can be independently attached or detached. This segmentation allows the shaft to remain securely held while the handle can be easily exchanged without removing the entire instrument through the robot arm.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle assembly is extracted as a separate component from the elongate shaft. The holder is configured to retain only the shaft portion, allowing the handle to be removed and replaced independently. This extraction enables quick instrument exchange without requiring the entire instrument to pass through the robot arm holder.
2Device complexity
If no handle assembly is present to actuate the surgical instrument, then the robotic system maintains simplicity, but the exchange and actuation of surgical instruments becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The handle assembly serves as an intermediary component between the surgeon's manual operation and the robotic system. It provides manual actuation capability while the elongate shaft interfaces with the robotic arm for positioning. This intermediary structure enables both manual control and robotic integration without requiring the entire system to be complex.
3Device complexity
If the instrument drive unit housing is fixed to the carriage, then the structure is simple, but top-loading and side-loading of surgical instruments cannot be enabled
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument drive unit housing is made rotatable relative to the carriage through a rotation motor mechanism. This dynamic capability allows the housing to be oriented in different directions, enabling both top-loading (vertical insertion) and side-loading (horizontal insertion) of surgical instruments. The rotatable design provides loading versatility without requiring multiple fixed structures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easy and efficient exchange of surgical instruments by enabling top-loading and side-loading, reducing the complexity and difficulty of instrument replacement in robotic surgical systems.
Implementation Method 1
each has a rotatable drive coupler extending proximally from the respective drive motor. The drive couplers are configured to interface with a corresponding driven member of the surgical instrument.
Implementation Method 2
The rotation motor has a rotatable coupler configured to be operably coupled to the gear of the carriage such that rotation of the rotatable coupler of the rotation motor rotates the instrument drive unit, including the housing, the drive motors, and the rotation motor thereof, about a longitudinal axis of the instrument drive unit relative to the carriage.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical robotic assembly includes an instrument drive unit including a housing defining a longitudinal channel, a plurality of motors for performing functions of a surgical instrument, and a designated motor for rotating the instrument drive unit and the surgical instrument when the surgical instrument is attached to the instrument drive unit. The instrument drive unit allows for a top-loading or a side-loading of the surgical instrument thereto.