Wearable Surgical Controller With Pivoted Support for Natural Dexterity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hand controllers for surgical robotic systems are complex, prone to singularities, and limit dexterity and precision, causing user fatigue and control errors due to their linkage systems that do not allow natural finger manipulation.
Innovation Solution
A wearable user interface device with a trackable device body mounted on a pivoted support, maintaining the center of rotation within the hand's motion range, providing three orthogonal axes of movement and incorporating tracking sensors to control surgical instruments with high dexterity and natural feel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a linkage system with four degrees of freedom is used in hand controllers, then singularities are avoided in grip movement, but the device complexity increases and dexterity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex four-degree-of-freedom linkage system from the hand controller and replaces it with a simplified wearable device that maintains singularity avoidance through a different architectural approach. The wearable device uses a direct mounting structure without complex linkages, eliminating the source of complexity while preserving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical linkage system with a wearable device that uses tracking sensors and computational methods to achieve the same control objectives. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical degrees of freedom while maintaining singularity avoidance through software-based control.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a linkage system with four degrees of freedom is used in hand controllers, then grip movement stability is improved, but the ease of operation decreases due to unnatural feel
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a complex linkage system to achieve stability, the patent inverts the approach by using a simple wearable structure combined with tracking sensors and computational control. The stability is achieved through software-based control algorithms rather than mechanical complexity, providing a more natural feel to the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical linkage system with a wearable device that uses tracking sensors and computational methods to achieve the same control objectives. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical degrees of freedom while maintaining singularity avoidance through software-based control.
3Productivity
If existing hand controllers are used, then control commands can be generated, but precision and dexterity are limited causing user fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical hand controller with a wearable device that uses tracking sensors and computational methods to achieve the same control objectives. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical degrees of freedom while maintaining singularity avoidance through software-based control.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device captures the natural movements of the user's hand and fingers, creating a digital copy of the intended surgical instrument movements. This allows for high-precision control by directly mapping natural human motion to surgical tool operation, eliminating the precision limitations of mechanical controllers.
Data Source
AI summary
Wearable user interface devices are described. A wearable user interface device can include a wearable base connected to a trackable device component by a linkage. The linkage can connect to a pivoted support that the trackable device is mounted on, and which maintains poses when the user interface device is not manipulated by a user's hand. The pivoted support has several orthogonal axes intersecting at a center of rotation located inside a device body of the trackable device. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.