Motorized Wrist Support for Surgical Tool Constraint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robot-assisted tool use systems lack precision and control, especially in small-scale operations, and often fail to effectively constrain tool movements to avoid damaging surrounding tissues during surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method utilizing motors, a wrist support, and a shaft to couple with tools, which receives position and constraint data to control the tool's movement, allowing for precise finger movements while maintaining the tool within a safe working region, using either active or mechanical constraints to prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If robot-assisted tool use is implemented for precision work, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A wrist support device acts as an intermediary between the user's hand and the tool, providing motorized control and constraint enforcement without requiring complex robotic arms. The wrist support serves as a mediator that translates user intent into precise tool movements while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the user's own hand and wrist as part of the control interface, leveraging natural human dexterity while adding motorized assistance. The back-driveable motors allow the user to directly manipulate the tool with finger movements while the system provides precision control and constraint enforcement automatically.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If active constraints are applied to limit tool region, then object-affected harmful factors are reduced, but ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The constraint system is dynamic rather than static, allowing the tool to move freely within the defined safe region and only applying forces when the tool attempts to enter restricted areas. The back-driveable motors provide adaptive resistance that engages only when needed, maintaining ease of operation during normal use while preventing harmful movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors tool position and actively adjusts motor forces to enforce constraints. Position data from encoders feeds back to the control system, which calculates appropriate constraint forces and applies them through the motors, creating a closed-loop system that prevents tissue damage while maintaining natural operation.
3Ease of operation
If back-driveable motors are used for user control, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical force control mechanisms with electronic control of back-driveable motors. Instead of using intricate mechanical brakes or clutches to control motor behavior, the system uses electronic torque control to achieve reliable force application while maintaining back-driveability for natural user interaction.
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
Enables precise and safe robotically assisted tool use at a small scale, allowing for fine control and preventing tool interaction with restricted areas, thereby reducing tissue damage during operations.
Implementation Method 1
The robot can then guide the surgeon, for example by applying active constraints (a 'virtual wall') that limit the region where a tool attached to the robot can be used
Implementation Method 2
Fine and precise finger movements are further facilitated by resting the wrist in a fixed position
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and related methods for assisting tool use includes one or more motors, a wrist support and a shaft coupled to the one or more motors. The shaft includes a coupling to couple to a tool to enable a user resting a hand with the wrist on the wrist support to hold and manipulate the tool with one or more fingers. The apparatus can include a controller configured to: receive position data indicative of a position of an active end of the tool; receive constraint data indicative of one or more regions of space in which the active end should not be positioned; and process the position and constraint data to control the one or more motors to bias the active end out of a region indicated by the constraint data when a position indicated by the position data is within the region indicated by the constraint data.