Reducing energy buildup in servo-controlled mechanisms
Granted: September 24, 2024
Patent Number:
12096998
A computer-assisted medical system includes a manipulator arm and a controller. The controller includes a computer processor. The controller is configured to servo at least one joint associated with at least one manipulator arm segment of the manipulator arm, the servoing including executing a servo loop. Executing the servo loop includes obtaining an actual state of the manipulator arm, computing a difference between a commanded state and the actual state, where the commanded state is…
Systems and methods of registration for image-guided procedures
Granted: September 24, 2024
Patent Number:
12096996
A device comprises an instrument usable to collect location data for one or more passageways. The device further comprises one or more processors coupled to the instrument. The one or more processors are configured to organize a plurality of points within the location data by clustering the plurality of points based on distances between points of the plurality of points. The processor(s) are further configured to create a passageway tree based on the organized points and to identify at…
Medical systems that implement a common-mode choke to reduce voltage transients
Granted: September 24, 2024
Patent Number:
12096970
A medical system includes a first electrical circuit, a second electrical circuit electrically isolated from the first electrical circuit, an optical isolator circuit coupled between the first and second electrical circuits, and a common-mode choke comprising a plurality of wires wound around a core and configured to reduce a voltage transient at an input of the optical isolator circuit to a level within a tolerance of the optical isolator circuit. A first end of the wires is…
Tension control in actuation of jointed instruments
Granted: September 17, 2024
Patent Number:
12089909
A medical instrument system includes actuators, a medical instrument, and a control system operably connected to the actuators. The medical instrument includes an end portion and transmission systems, each of which couples the end portion to an actuator of the actuators such that the actuators are operable to drive the transmission systems to move the end portion. The control system is configured to execute operations including determining a difference between a current configuration of…
System and method for breakaway clutching in an articulated arm
Granted: September 17, 2024
Patent Number:
12089904
A system and method of breakaway clutching in a device includes an arm having a first joint and a control unit coupled to the arm. The control unit includes one or more processors. The control unit switches the first joint from a first state of the first joint to a second state of the first joint in response to an external stimulus applied to the arm exceeding a first threshold. Movement of the first joint is more restricted in the first state than in the second state. The control unit…
Systems and methods for inserting an elongate flexible instrument into an environment
Granted: September 17, 2024
Patent Number:
12089903
Illustrative systems and methods for inserting an elongate flexible instrument into a target environment are described. An illustrative system includes a guide device positioned near an opening to the target environment and having a rotary mechanism and a motor configured to drive the rotary mechanism. The system further includes a sensor system associated with insertion of the elongate flexible instrument along an insertion axis and a processor communicatively coupled to the motor and…
Minimally invasive surgical system
Granted: September 17, 2024
Patent Number:
12089809
A surgical instrument manipulator comprises a manipulator arm and an instrument mounting structure rotatably mounted to the manipulator arm. The instrument mounting structure comprises: an attachment interface configured to removably couple to a surgical instrument; and a passage within the instrument mounting structure. When the surgical instrument is coupled to the attachment interface, the surgical instrument is fixed to the instrument mounting structure. An elongate body of the…
Systems and methods for deformation compensation using shape sensing
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082920
A method and medical system for estimating the deformation of an anatomic structure that comprises generating a first model of at least one anatomical passageway from anatomical data describing a patient anatomy and determining a shape of a device positioned within the branched anatomical passageways. The method and medical system also comprise generating a second model of the plurality of branched anatomical passageways by adjusting the first model relative to the determined shape of…
Apparatuses, systems, and methods for managing auto-exposure of image frames depicting signal content against a darkened background
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12087014
An illustrative apparatus may identify, within an image frame captured by an image capture system, a signal region of the image frame and a background region of the image frame. The apparatus may determine one or more of a signal auto-exposure value of the signal region or a background auto-exposure value of the background region. Based on one or more of the signal auto-exposure value or the background auto-exposure value, the apparatus may determine a frame auto-exposure value.…
Systems and methods for censoring confidential information
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12086284
A method and apparatus for censoring selected information. A mobile device is registered with a medical system. The medical system includes a display device. A trigger is received from the mobile device at the medical system. A display on the display device is modified in response to the received trigger. Selected information in the display is censored in the modified display. Alternatively, an image of a display on the display device is generated with selected information censored in…
Head movement control of a viewing system
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082902
A computer-assisted medical system includes a display unit configured to provide images to an operator of the display unit, a headrest configured to receive a mechanical input provided by a head of the operator in mechanical contact with the headrest, a headrest sensor interfacing with the headrest and configured to provide sensor signals based on the mechanical input, and a controller. The controller includes a computer processor, and is configured to process the sensor signals to…
Low-friction, small profile medical tools having easy-to-assemble components
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082900
Systems and methods of assembling a wrist assembly are provided. The wrist assembly includes a tension member, a first link, and a second link. The second link includes an assembly path, a guide path, and a retention pocket. A first end portion of the tension member is inserted through the assembly path within the second link. The tension member is configured to be rotated to transition the first tension member portion from the assembly path to be within the guide path. The retention…
Systems and methods for constraining a field of view in a virtual reality surgical system
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082897
A method of operating a surgical control system comprises generating an image of a surgical environment from a viewpoint of an imaging tool. The image includes a field of view. The method further comprises displaying the image on a display system configured to be mounted to a head of a user. The method further comprises detecting a movement of the head of the user and determining if the movement of the user's head is within a boundary corresponding to the field of view. The method…
Motor interface for parallel drive shafts within an independently rotating member
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082894
Minimally invasive surgical methods employ an offset drive shaft to actuate an end effector. A minimally invasive surgical method includes introducing an end effector to an internal surgical site. The end effector includes an end effector base that is coupled to the instrument shaft via a wrist. An end effector articulation mechanism is operated to reorient the end effector base relative to the instrument shaft. A surgical task is performed by operating a motor to rotate an offset drive…
System and method for inter-arm registration
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082887
Systems and methods for inter-arm registration include a computer-assisted system having a control unit coupled to a repositionable arm of a computer-assisted device. The control unit is configured to: receive, from an imaging device, successive images of an instrument mounted to the repositionable arm; determine an observed velocity of a feature of the instrument; determine an expected velocity of the feature of the instrument based on kinematics of the repositionable arm; transform the…
Systems and methods of steerable elongate device
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082793
A method comprises deploying a tool to a passageway exit site through a lumen of a flexible elongate device. The flexible elongate device comprises a proximal end, a distal end, and the lumen therebetween, and the tool comprises a needle. The method further comprises puncturing a passageway wall at the passageway exit site with the needle. The method further comprises deploying the needle through the passageway wall and through target tissue at a target location beyond the passageway…
Method for positioning an endoscope with flexible shaft
Granted: September 10, 2024
Patent Number:
12082780
Systems and methods for endoscopic operations are described. For example, the disclosure provides mechanisms for sensing and controlling a field of view of an endoscope by determining a pose of the field of view using a first location and a second location, and controlling the pose of the field of view by moving at least one of: the first portion and the second portion. The first location is of a first portion of the endoscope and the second location is of a second portion of the…
Telescoping biopsy needle
Granted: September 3, 2024
Patent Number:
12075988
A medical device comprises an elongate sheath comprising a distal portion and a proximal portion and defining a first lumen. The medical device further comprises an elongate instrument slidably disposed at least partially within the first lumen. The elongate instrument comprises a rigid distal section defining a second lumen. The medical device further comprises a first extension member coupled to a proximal end of the elongate instrument and a second extension member coupled to a…
Connector device for a controllable instrument
Granted: September 3, 2024
Patent Number:
12076102
A medical instrument may comprise a first articulatable segment having a first diameter, and a second articulatable segment having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, wherein the second articulatable segment is coupled to the first articulatable segment and extends in a distal direction past the first articulatable segment. The instrument may also comprise a first force transmission element coupled to the first articulatable segment and extending in a proximal direction…
Rotary input for lever actuation
Granted: September 3, 2024
Patent Number:
12076038
A medical device includes a lever with an applied force position, a load position, and a fulcrum position. A first cable extends from the applied force position of the lever to a first capstan, the first cable wrapping around the first capstan. A second cable extends from the applied force position of the lever to a second capstan, the second cable wrapping around the second capstan. A rod couples the load position of the lever and a surgical end effector. The first and second capstans…
