RETROGRADE INSTRUMENT
Granted: March 13, 2008
Application Number:
20080065110
A minimally invasive surgical instrument includes a U-turn mechanism that transmits actuating forces around a U-turn. The U-turn mechanism is coupled between segments of the instrument and has a bend radius that is smaller than flexible arms having a similar cross section diameter. The actuating forces transmitted by the U-turn mechanism are used to move distal components of the instrument, such as an end effector and a wrist mechanism.
PREVENTING INSTRUMENT/TISSUE COLLISIONS
Granted: March 13, 2008
Application Number:
20080065109
Collisions between a minimally invasive surgical instrument and patient tissue are prevented in various ways. In one aspect a body cavity is mapped by recording positions of a surgical instrument, and the map is used to insert another surgical instrument. In another aspect, a surgical instrument is inserted into a space vacated by a guide tube. In yet another aspect, a volume is defined in which a control system permits an instrument to move, and the volume is a sum of one volume that is…
SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACTUATOR
Granted: March 6, 2008
Application Number:
20080058861
A surgical instrument body has a proximal portion, a distal portion, and a joint between the proximal and distal instrument body portions. A drive element housing extends through the proximal and distal instrument body portions and through the joint. A force to actuate a component at the distal end of the instrument body is applied to the drive element. A second force in the opposite direction is applied to the drive element housing, and this second force is also applied to the…
MAXIMUM TORQUE DRIVING OF ROBOTIC SURGICAL TOOLS IN ROBOTIC SURGICAL SYSTEMS
Granted: February 21, 2008
Application Number:
20080046122
In one embodiment of the invention, a control system for a robotic surgical instrument is provided including a torque saturation limiter, a torque to current converter coupled to the torque saturation limiter, and a motor coupled to the torque to current converter. The torque saturation limiter receives a desired torque signal for one or more end effectors and limits the desired torque to a range between an upper torque limit and a lower torque limit generating a bounded torque signal.…
Auxiliary image display and manipulation on a computer display in a medical robotic system
Granted: February 7, 2008
Application Number:
20080033240
To assist a surgeon performing a medical procedure, auxiliary images generally indicating internal details of an anatomic structure being treated are displayed and manipulated by the surgeon on a computer display screen to supplement primary images generally of an external view of the anatomic structure. A master input device controlling a robotic arm in a first mode may be switched by the surgeon to a second mode in order to function instead as a mouse-like pointing device to facilitate…
COMPACT CAPSTAN
Granted: January 10, 2008
Application Number:
20080009838
A compact capstan includes a drum, a coupled hub, a passage extending through the drum and hub, and a shaft extending through the drum and hub. The shaft engages the passage such that the shaft can transmit a torsional force to the drum and the hub which are free to move along the length of the shaft. The drum includes a spiral groove to receive a cable loop wound around the drum. The hub has a thread with substantially the same pitch as the spiral groove to engage a threaded support…
Tool position and identification indicator displayed in a boundary area of a computer display screen
Granted: January 3, 2008
Application Number:
20080004603
An endoscope captures images of a surgical site for display in a viewing area of a monitor. When a tool is outside the viewing area, a GUI indicates the position of the tool by positioning a symbol in a boundary area around the viewing area so as to indicate the tool position. The distance of the out-of-view tool from the viewing area may be indicated by the size, color, brightness, or blinking or oscillation frequency of the symbol. A distance number may also be displayed on the symbol.…
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SURGICAL PLANNING
Granted: December 20, 2007
Application Number:
20070293734
Methods and apparatus for enhancing surgical planning provide enhanced planning of entry port placement and/or robot position for laparoscopic, robotic, and other minimally invasive surgery. Various embodiments may be used in robotic surgery systems to identify advantageous entry ports for multiple robotic surgical tools into a patient to access a surgical site. Generally, data such as imaging data is processed and used to create a model of a surgical site, which can then be used to…
EXTENDABLE SUCTION SURFACE FOR BRACING MEDIAL DEVICES DURING ROBOTICALLY ASSISTED MEDICAL PROCEDURES
Granted: December 13, 2007
Application Number:
20070287884
Medical devices robotically manipulated by a medical robotic system for performing a medical procedure on a patient are bundled together as a bundled unit and inserted into the patient through a single entry port. Bracing of the bundled unit at a surgical site is performed by extending a suction surface disposed at a distal end of the bundled unit towards a bracing surface at the surgical site and applying a suction force between the suction surface and the bracing surface. The suction…
CONTROL SYSTEM CONFIGURED TO COMPENSATE FOR NON-IDEAL ACTUATOR-TO-JOINT LINKAGE CHARACTERISTICS IN A MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM
Granted: December 13, 2007
Application Number:
20070287992
A medical robotic system having non-ideal actuator-to-joint linkage characteristics, includes a control system including a proximal control loop with actuator sensor feedback to control dynamic response of an actuator coupled to a distal joint which in turn, is coupled to an end effector to provide a degree of freedom movement of the end effector, a distal control loop with distal joint sensor feedback and feedforward to the actuator to ensure steady-state convergence of the distal joint…
RETRACTION OF TISSUE FOR SINGLE PORT ENTRY, ROBOTICALLY ASSISTED MEDICAL PROCEDURES
Granted: December 13, 2007
Application Number:
20070287889
A single port entry surgical instrument has an elongated structure with lumens through which surgical tools and an image capturing device may be inserted and controllably extended out of its distal end for performing a medical procedure, a tubular-shaped balloon disposed around the elongated structure, and an expandable retractor disposed around the balloon so that when the balloon is inflated, the retractor expands and locks in an expanded configuration to retract extraneous tissue. The…
STEREO IMAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE IN TELEROBOTIC SYSTEMS
Granted: December 13, 2007
Application Number:
20070285508
This invention relates to a stereo imaging system for use in telerobotic systems. A method of imaging a target site in a stereo imaging system is provided. The method typically includes capturing a right and a left optical image of the target site and transforming the right and the left optical images preferably into digital information. The method further includes converting the digital information into opposed images of the target site displayed on a stereo display of the stereo…
BRACING OF BUNDLED MEDICAL DEVICES FOR SINGLE PORT ENTRY, ROBOTICALLY ASSISTED MEDICAL PROCEDURES
Granted: December 13, 2007
Application Number:
20070283970
Medical devices robotically manipulated by a medical robotic system for performing a medical procedure on a patient are bundled together as a bundled unit and inserted into the patient through a single entry port. Bracing of the bundled unit at the surgical site so as to be constrained in one or more degrees of freedom of movement may be performed using an anchor secured to an anatomic structure at the surgical site and physically coupled to the bundled unit, or using a tool extending…
FLEXIBLE WRIST FOR SURGICAL TOOL
Granted: October 11, 2007
Application Number:
20070239203
The present invention is directed to a tool having a wrist mechanism that provides pitch and yaw rotation in such a way that the tool has no singularity in roll, pitch, and yaw. In one embodiment, a minimally invasive surgical instrument comprises an elongate shaft having a working end, a proximal end, and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end; and an end effector. A wrist member has a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall.…
ENDOSCOPIC BEATING-HEART STABILIZER AND VESSEL OCCLUSION FASTENER
Granted: September 6, 2007
Application Number:
20070208223
Devices, systems and methods related to endoscopic surgery, particularly related to robotic surgical operations, provide a tissue stabilizer for endoscopically stabilizing a target tissue within a patent's body. For stabilizing a beating heart during a closed-chest coronary artery bypass grafting procedure, a stabilizer is inserted through an endoscopic cannula and provides sufficient surface area to contact the heart and effectively stabilize the target tissue area. The stabilizer can…
Medical robotic system providing three-dimensional telestration
Granted: July 19, 2007
Application Number:
20070167702
A medical robotic system provides 3D telestration over a 3D view of an anatomical structure by receiving a 2D telestration graphic input associated with one of a pair of stereoscopic images of the anatomical structure from a mentor surgeon, determining a corresponding 2D telestration graphic input in the other of the pair of stereoscopic images using a disparity map, blending the telestration graphic inputs into respective ones of the pair of stereoscopic images, and providing the…
Stereo telestration for robotic surgery
Granted: July 5, 2007
Application Number:
20070156017
In one embodiment of the invention, a robotic surgical system includes a master control console having a stereo viewer to view stereo images; a surgical manipulator having a stereo endoscopic camera coupled to a robotic arm to generate the stereo images of a surgical site; a stereo telestration device coupled between the stereo endoscopic camera and the stereo viewer to mix telestration graphics and the stereo images of the surgical site together for viewing by the stereo viewer; and a…
Platform link wrist mechanism
Granted: July 5, 2007
Application Number:
20070156119
The present invention provides a robotic surgical tool for use in a robotic surgical system to perform a surgical operation. The robotic surgical tool includes a wrist mechanism disposed near the distal end of a shaft which connects with an end effector. The wrist mechanism includes a distal member configured to support the end effector, and a plurality of rods extending generally along an axial direction within the shaft and movable generally along this axial direction to adjust the…
Robotic surgical systems with fluid flow control for irrigation, aspiration, and blowing
Granted: July 5, 2007
Application Number:
20070156121
In one embodiment of the invention, a robotic surgical system is provided including a master control console and a surgical manipulator. The master control console generates control signals to cause one or more fluids to flow into or out of a surgical site. The surgical manipulator is coupled to the console to receive the control signals and includes at least one robotic arm and a surgical instrument coupled thereto. The surgical manipulator controls the surgical instrument in response…
METHOD FOR TRACKING AND REPORTING USAGE EVENTS TO DETERMINE WHEN PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE IS DUE FOR A MEDICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM
Granted: July 5, 2007
Application Number:
20070156285
A medical robotic system comprises a number of components that may be monitored to determine their preventive maintenance needs by recording usage-related information for the monitored components into associated non-volatile memories. When usage of the component exceeds a specified usage threshold, the system displays a warning message on its display screen to have preventive maintenance performed for the component. If the usage continues without such maintenance and exceeds a higher…
