System and method for audio signal placement and projection
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11997473
System and method for projecting audio signals to an operator of a teleoperational surgical system to convey spatial orientation associated with the audio signals to the operator. Characteristics of the audio signals such as direction and volume may be selected to give the impression that the remote operator is positioned locally next to the patient. Characteristics of the audio signals may also be modified to provide spatial translations between actual locations of audio sources within…
Surgical system with variable entry guide configurations
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992936
A surgical system uses a single entry port in a wide variety of surgeries. To insert multiple surgical instruments into a patient through a single entry port requires that the shaft of at least one of the surgical instruments be bent between the base of the surgical instrument and the point where the shaft contacts a channel in an entry guide. Each surgical instrument is positioned by an instrument manipulator positioning system so that when the shaft is inserted in a channel of the…
Articulable medical devices having flexible wire routing
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992287
An articulable medical device includes a link, a transfer member, a tool member, and a non-drive wire. The tool member has a base portion movably coupled to the transfer member, and a contact portion configured to engage a target tissue. The transfer member is rotatably coupled to the link to rotate with the tool member relative to the link from a first orientation to a second orientation. The non-drive wire has a first end portion coupled to an energy source, a second end portion…
Low-friction medical tools having roller-assisted tension members
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992286
A low-friction medical device is provided having roller-assisted tension members and a friction-reducing curved guide path. The device includes a first link, a second link, and a tension member. A proximal end portion of the first link is coupled to an instrument shaft. A proximal end portion of the second link is rotatably coupled to a distal end portion of first link about a first axis. The second link defines a curved guide path and a cable extends from the first link through the…
Systems and methods for controlling tool with articulatable distal portion
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992283
A system comprises a medical tool including a shaft having proximal and distal ends and an articulatable distal portion coupled to the distal end of the shaft. The system also comprises a processing unit including one or more processors. The processing unit is configured to determine a target in a medical environment. The articulatable distal portion is directed toward the target. The processing unit is also configured to determine a motion of at least a portion of the shaft, and in…
Systems and methods for bifurcated navigation control of a manipulator cart included within a computer-assisted medical system
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992281
A bifurcated navigation control system defines a path whereby a manipulator cart is to navigate from an initial location to a target location. The system directs the manipulator cart to navigate, in a first bifurcated navigation control mode associated with a primary control interface that facilitates both operator control of steering and propulsion, along at least part of a first portion of the path from the initial to an intermediate location. The system further directs the manipulator…
System and method of displaying images from imaging devices
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992273
A system and method of displaying images from an imaging device includes a display device and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to track movement of an imaging device, determine a display-device-to-imaging-window transform based on the tracked movement and a corresponding command to move the imaging device, and render an image received from the imaging device on the display device at a position and orientation on the display device based on the…
Systems and methods for detecting environmental forces on an elongate device
Granted: May 28, 2024
Patent Number:
11992188
A medical system includes a flexible elongate instrument and a control unit. The control unit is configured to determine a force exerted by the flexible elongate instrument on tissue of a patient, determine a driving state of the flexible elongate instrument, set a force threshold based on the driving state, and provide feedback to an operator in response to the determined force being higher than the force threshold. Different driving states are associated with different force…
Controller controlled instrument preload mechanism
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986262
A computer-assisted system includes an instrument manipulator assembly including a preload assembly and a motor, an insertion assembly configured to control a position of the instrument manipulator assembly, and a motor controller coupled to the preload assembly. The motor controller is configured to actuate the preload assembly to control an amount of preload applied by the preload assembly to the motor and actuate the preload assembly to apply a low preload in response to detecting…
Stent delivery under direct visualization
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986409
A system includes a deployment catheter having a lumen, a delivery sheath configured for positioning within the lumen of the deployment catheter, and a first measurement instrument configured for positioning within the delivery sheath. The first measurement instrument includes a plurality of expandable members each having a known diameter in an expanded state. The first measurement instrument is configured to determine a diameter of an anatomical lumen based on the known diameter of a…
Association processes and related systems for manipulators
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986259
A computer-assisted medical system includes manipulators, a user input system, a user output system comprising a display device, and a controller configured to execute instructions to perform operations. The operations include, in a pairing mode and in response to a first set of signals generated by the user input system, causing a virtual selector shown on the display device to move relative to an imagery shown on the display device. The operations further include, in the pairing mode,…
Electrically conductive reducer device, related systems, and related methods
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986211
A reducer device for insertion into a surgical cannula includes a tubular member having a proximal opening and a distal opening and an electrically conductive component configured and positioned to provide an electrically conductive path from an interior of the tubular member to an exterior of the tubular member. The electrically conductive path is localized along an axial length of the tubular member. A method of configuring a surgical device includes positioning a surgical cannula…
Entry guide for multiple instruments in a single port surgical system
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986208
A surgical access port comprises an instrument guide. The instrument guide comprises a proximal end, a distal end, a plurality of instrument guide channels between the proximal and distal ends, and an outside surface that fits closely to an inner wall surface of a cannula into which the instrument guide is inserted. The instrument guide also comprises a first guide channel opening defined along a length of a first guide channel of the plurality of instrument guide channels. The…
Surgical instrument with lockout mechanism
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986184
Surgical clamping and cutting instruments are disclosed. In one aspect, a surgical instrument comprises an elongate shaft with an end effector having first and second jaws, a release member movably coupled to the end effector and a drive member configured to translate relative to the end effector. The instrument further includes a locking member movable from a first position permitting distal translation of the drive member, to a second position preventing distal translation of the drive…
Devices and methods for minimally invasive suturing
Granted: May 21, 2024
Patent Number:
11986179
Devices and methods for minimally invasive suturing are disclosed. One suturing device for minimally invasive suturing includes a proximal section a distal end, and an intermediate region therebetween. The device includes a suture head assembly having a suturing needle with a pointed end and a second end. The suturing needle is capable of rotating about an axis approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the device, wherein the pointed end of the suturing needle is positioned…
Fiber Bragg grating end effector force sensor
Granted: May 14, 2024
Patent Number:
11980504
A force sensing device is provided for use with a surgical instrument shaft having a two degree-of-freedom wrist mounted end effector portion having a working surface; a housing defines an annular collar sized to snugly fit about the two degree-of-freedom wrist and defines a cap sized to snugly fit about the end effector portion; an optical fiber including a segment is embedded within the annular collar and including a segment embedded within the cap; a first fiber Bragg grating (FBG)…
Systems and methods for control of end effectors
Granted: May 14, 2024
Patent Number:
11980434
A system and method of controlling an end effector includes a drive unit having a first actuator and a second actuator, a moveable platform drivably coupled to the first actuator, first and second engagement members drivably coupled to the second actuator; and a control unit. The control unit is configured to actuate the first actuator to drive the platform, detect engagement of the first engagement member with a third engagement member of an instrument, detect engagement of the second…
Combining near-infrared information with colored images in image-guided surgery
Granted: May 14, 2024
Patent Number:
11980347
The technology described herein can be embodied in a method that includes receiving data representing information captured using a first sensor and a second sensor of a multi-sensor camera. The sensors are configured to capture a surgical scene illuminated by a light source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the first and second sensors, respectively. The method also includes receiving data representing information captured…
Systems and methods for instrument buckling detection
Granted: May 14, 2024
Patent Number:
11980344
A method comprises measuring, with a sensor, a shape of a section of an elongated flexible instrument and comparing the measured shape of the section of the elongated flexible instrument to an expected shape. The method also comprises determining whether the measured shape of the section of the elongated flexible instrument differs from the expected shape by a predefined threshold.
Computer-assisted teleoperated surgery systems and methods
Granted: May 7, 2024
Patent Number:
11974826
A computer-assisted teleoperated surgical system includes one or more manipulator devices and other components. A manipulator device includes a first link, a second link coupled to a distal end of the first link, a third link coupled to the second link, and an instrument actuator coupled to the third link. A joint that couples the second link to the first link defines a yaw axis. A joint that couples the third link to the second link defines a pitch axis. The instrument actuator defines…
