SURGICAL INSTRUMENT WRIST
Granted: January 7, 2010
Application Number:
20100004663
A link is positioned to pivot at the distal end of a surgical instrument shaft. The link includes a pulley portion. A first control cable that pivots the link in one direction extends out of the surgical instrument shaft and crosses the width of the instrument in a first crossing direction. The first control cable is then routed around the pulley portion of the link in a first circumferential direction. Similarly, a second control cable that pivots the link in the opposite direction…
Spring Counterbalance with Failure Detection
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090322001
A spring counterbalance mechanism balances a load with a spring. A cable has a protrusion fixed to the cable midway between two ends of the cable. The two free ends of the cable are fixedly coupled to one of the load or the spring, and a cable attachment is coupled to the remaining member. The cable passes through the cable attachment such that the protrusion is captive in the cable attachment and is movable between two stops in the cable attachment. The cable forms two segments each of…
FRICTION COMPENSATION IN A MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL APPARATUS
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326557
Devices, systems, and methods for compensate for friction within powered automatic systems, particularly for telesurgery and other telepresence applications. Dynamic friction compensation may comprise applying a continuous load in the direction of movement of a joint, and static friction compensation may comprise applying alternating loads in positive and negative joint actuation directions whenever the joint velocity reading falls within a low velocity range.
MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM PROVIDING COMPUTER GENERATED AUXILIARY VIEWS OF A CAMERA INSTRUMENT FOR CONTROLLING THE POSITIONING AND ORIENTING OF ITS TIP
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326556
A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with surgical tools and a camera extending out of its distal end. To supplement the view provided by an image captured by the camera, an auxiliary view including articulatable arms of the surgical tools and/or camera is generated from sensed or otherwise determined information about their positions and orientations and displayed on a display screen from the perspective of a specified viewing point. Intuitive control is provided to an…
MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM PROVIDING AN AUXILIARY VIEW OF ARTICULATABLE INSTRUMENTS EXTENDING OUT OF A DISTAL END OF AN ENTRY GUIDE
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326553
A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with surgical tools and a camera extending out of its distal end. To supplement the view provided by an image captured by the camera, an auxiliary view including articulatable arms of the surgical tools and/or camera is generated from sensed or otherwise determined information about their positions and orientations and displayed on a display screen from the perspective of a specified viewing point.
MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM HAVING ENTRY GUIDE CONTROLLER WITH INSTRUMENT TIP VELOCITY LIMITING
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326552
A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with articulatable instruments extending out of its distal end, an entry guide manipulator providing controllable four degrees-of-freedom movement of the entry guide, and a controller configured to limit joint velocities in the entry guide manipulator so as to prevent movement of tips of the articulatable instruments from exceeding a maximum allowable linear velocity when the entry guide manipulator is being used to move the entry guide.
VESSEL SEALING INSTRUMENT WITH STEPPED JAW
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326530
A vessel sealer has a stepped jaw that allows the jaw to have an overall shape and a width that provides desired strength, shape, and functionality while permitting a smaller raised portion to apply the sealing pressure. The smaller area applying the sealing pressure allows an actuating mechanism to apply a clinically desired sealing pressure without exceeding the force or torque limitations of the actuating mechanism and can limit thermal spread during a sealing procedure.
MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM WITH IMAGE REFERENCED CAMERA CONTROL USING PARTITIONABLE ORIENTATIONAL AND TRANSLATIONAL MODES
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326322
A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with articulatable instruments such as surgical tools and a camera extending out of its distal end. The camera instrument is manipulatable by a camera manipulator, which has a first mechanism for pivoting a focal point of the camera instrument about a pivot of the camera instrument and a second mechanism for positioning the pivot within a three-dimensional space in response to translational commands received from one or a coupled pair of…
MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM PROVIDING AN AUXILARY VIEW INCLUDING RANGE OF MOTION LIMITATIONS FOR ARTICULATABLE INSTRUMENTS EXTENDING OUT OF A DISTAL END OF AN ENTRY GUIDE
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090326318
A medical robotic system includes an entry guide with surgical tools and a camera extending out of its distal end. To supplement the view provided by an image captured by the camera, an auxiliary view including articulatable arms of the surgical tools and/or camera is generated from sensed or otherwise determined information about their positions and orientations are displayed along with indications of range of motion limitations on a display screen from the perspective of a specified…
FIBER OPTIC SHAPE SENSOR
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090324161
A shape sensing system to determine the position and orientation of one link with respect to another link in a kinematic chain. An optical fiber is coupled to two or more links in a kinematic chain. A shape sensing segment is defined to start at a proximal link and to end at a distal link, crossing one or more joints. A reference frame is defined at the start of the shape sensing segment. As the joints move, an interrogator senses strain in the shape sensing segment. The sensed strain is…
FIXTURE FOR SHAPE-SENSING OPTICAL FIBER IN A KINEMATIC CHAIN
Granted: December 31, 2009
Application Number:
20090324160
Localized strain is effectively eliminated in a shape sensing optical fiber where the fiber exits a link in a kinematic chain. In one aspect, the fiber is positioned in a channel within a fiber fixture portion of the link, and a surface of a lip of the channel is curved. The curved surface of the lip begins tangent to a wall of the channel and has a maximum radius of curvature that is less than the minimum bend radius that the fiber will experience during shape sensing. In another aspect…
Spring Counterbalance for Rotating Load
Granted: December 24, 2009
Application Number:
20090314131
A counterbalance mechanism counterbalances an eccentric mass on a rotating shaft supported by a frame. A first pulley is coupled to and concentric with the shaft. An arm is coupled to the shaft to rotatably support a second at a first distance from the first pulley. A third pulley is fixedly coupled to the frame at a second distance from the first pulley. A fourth pulley is rotatably coupled to and concentric with the third pulley. A spring is fixed at a first end to the frame and has a…
STIFFENING ASSEMBLY
Granted: December 3, 2009
Application Number:
20090299343
A stiffenable structure is made of longitudinal beams that are positioned around a longitudinal axis. In one state, the longitudinal beams are bendable so that the structure is bendable. As the structure bends, the longitudinal beams slide longitudinally with reference to one another. In a second state, the beams are clamped in a fixed position relative to one another so that the structure is stiffened. In some aspects the longitudinal beams are made of two or more longitudinal laminar…
OFFSET REMOTE CENTER MANIPULATOR FOR ROBOTIC SURGERY
Granted: November 26, 2009
Application Number:
20090292299
Medical, surgical, and/or robotic devices and systems often including offset remote center parallelogram manipulator linkage assemblies which constrains a position of a surgical instrument during minimally invasive robotic surgery are disclosed. The improved remote center manipulator linkage assembly advantageously enhances the range of instrument motion while at the same time reduces the overall complexity, size, and physical weight of the robotic surgical system.
AUGMENTED STEREOSCOPIC VISUALIZATION FOR A SURGICAL ROBOT USING A CAPTURED FLUORESCENCE IMAGE AND CAPTURED STEREOSCOPIC VISIBLE IMAGES
Granted: October 29, 2009
Application Number:
20090268010
An illumination channel, a stereoscopic optical channel and another optical channel are held and positioned by a robotic surgical system. A first capture unit captures a stereoscopic visible image from the first light from the stereoscopic optical channel while a second capture unit captures a fluorescence image from the second light from the other optical channel. An intelligent image processing system receives the captured stereoscopic visible image and the captured fluorescence image…
AUGMENTED STEREOSCOPIC VISUALIZATION FOR A SURGICAL ROBOT USING A CAMERA UNIT WITH A MODIFIED PRISM
Granted: October 29, 2009
Application Number:
20090268011
An endoscope with a stereoscopic optical channel is held and positioned by a robotic surgical system. A first capture unit captures: a visible first color component of a visible left image combined with a fluorescence left image from first light from one channel in the endoscope; a visible second color component of the visible left image from the first light; and a visible third color component of the visible left image from the first light. A second capture unit captures: a visible…
AUGMENTED STEREOSCOPIC VISUALIZATION FOR A SURGICAL ROBOT USING A CAPTURED VISIBLE IMAGE COMBINED WITH A FLUORESCENCE IMAGE AND A CAPTURED VISIBLE IMAGE
Granted: October 29, 2009
Application Number:
20090268012
An endoscope with a stereoscopic optical channel is held and positioned by a robotic surgical system. A capture unit captures (1) a visible first image and (2) a visible second image combined with a fluorescence second image from the light. An intelligent image processing system receives (1) the visible first image and (2) the visible second image combined with the fluorescence second image and generates at least one fluorescence image of a stereoscopic pair of fluorescence images and a…
AUGMENTED STEREOSCOPIC VISUALIZATION FOR A SURGICAL ROBOT
Granted: October 29, 2009
Application Number:
20090268015
A robotic surgical system positions and holds an endoscope. A visible imaging system is coupled to the endoscope. The visible imaging system captures a visible image of tissue. An alternate imaging system is also coupled to the endoscope. The alternate imaging system captures a fluorescence image of at least a portion of the tissue. A stereoscopic video display system is coupled to the visible imaging system and to the alternate imaging system. The stereoscopic video display system…
AUGMENTED STEREOSCOPIC VISUALIZATION FOR A SURGICAL ROBOT USING TIME DUPLEXING
Granted: October 29, 2009
Application Number:
20090270678
An endoscope with a stereoscopic optical channel is again held and positioned by a robotic surgical system. A capture unit captures (1) at a first time, a first image from light from the channel; and (2) at a second time different from the first time, a second image from the light. Only one of the first image and the second image includes a combination of a fluorescence image and a visible image. The other of the first image and the second image is a visible image. An intelligent image…
ENDOSCOPE
Granted: October 29, 2009
Application Number:
20090270683
Improved optical devices and methods transmit optical images along elongate optical paths with relatively limited cross-sectional dimensions using an improved objective, relay, and ocular systems. In a first aspect, at least one intermediate image formed within an optical component, rather than being formed in a gap between optical components. In a preferred embodiment, a first intermediate image is formed within glass of the most proximal objective lens, with the first intermediate…
