Intuitive Surgical Patent Grants

Systems and methods of registration for image guided surgery

Granted: October 22, 2024
Patent Number: 12121204
A method performed by a computing system comprises receiving a collected set of spatial information for a distal portion of an instrument at a plurality of locations within a set of anatomic passageways and receiving a set of position information for a reference portion of the instrument when the distal portion of the instrument is at each of the plurality of locations. The method also comprises determining a reference set of spatial information for the distal portion of the instrument…

Shape sensor systems with redundant sensing

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114936
A method of operating a shape sensing apparatus comprises receiving shape data from a first shape sensor. The first shape sensor includes a first plurality of optical cores extending between a first section and a second section of an elongated optical fiber. The method further comprises receiving shape data from a second shape sensor. The second shape sensor includes a second plurality of optical cores extending between the first and second sections of the elongated optical fiber. The…

Image viewing systems and methods using a black glass mirror

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12117627
An exemplary image viewing system includes a display device configured to emit visible light representative of an image provided for display by the image viewing system, an infrared light source configured to emit infrared light, a viewing lens, and a black glass mirror provided between the infrared light source and the viewing lens. The black glass mirror comprises black glass and a coating on an outer surface of the black glass. The coating is configured to reflect a first portion of…

Coupler to transfer motion to surgical instrument from teleoperated actuator

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114956
A sterile adapter for coupling a surgical instrument and a surgical instrument manipulator includes a bottom component and a coupling component. The bottom component includes a bottom component opening with a bottom lip having a locking mechanism. The coupling component is rotatably coupled to the bottom component. The coupling component includes an engagement feature that engages the surgical instrument manipulator. The coupling component further includes a locking mechanism opening…

Uniform scaling of haptic actuators

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114954
A surgical system is provided comprising: an input device; a first actuator and a second actuator; a controller for controlling the first actuator and the second actuator, the controller configured to apply a first scale factor to a first commanded output and a second commanded output for the first actuator the second actuator, respectively, when the first commanded output would fall outside a first predetermined working range of the first actuator, wherein the first scale factor adjusts…

Systems and methods for coupling medical components

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114952
A system may comprise a connection member configured to be connected to an anatomic orifice device. The anatomic orifice device may be configured for insertion into a patient. The system may also comprise a mounting bracket coupled to a robot-assisted medical system. The mounting bracket may also include a movable mounting component coupled to a fixed mounting component. The movable mounting component may have a first configuration for mounting to the connection member in a first…

Surgical system with training or assist functions

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114949
Systems, methods, and tangibly-implemented software instructions for supporting a teleoperated surgical system (TSS). A surgical input that includes monitored events of the TSS, is received. A current stage of the surgical procedure is autonomously determined based on the surgical input. A call for surgeon assistance may be detected, in response to which context-relevant assistance may be provided to a surgeon console of the TSS, the context-relevant assistance being stage-synchronized…

Detecting uncontrolled movement

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114948
A system includes a manually manipulatable component configured to generate signals when movements of the component are detected and a control module. The control module is configured to determine that there is uncontrolled movement of the component by determining that a distance of a movement of the component relative to a previous position of the component is greater than a threshold distance or determining that a first mechanical degree of freedom (DOF) of the component has moved and…

Systems and methods for controlling a surgical instrument

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114947
A teleoperational system receives a movement command in response to movement of an input device, in response to determining an instrument is being controlled based on the movement of the input device, maps the movement command to a first movement of the instrument in an instrument frame using a first mapping, and in response to determining a tissue probe is being controlled based on the movement of the input device, maps the movement command to a second movement of the tissue probe in a…

Wrist articulation by linked tension members

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114941
Methods of articulating and actuating an end effector of a surgical tool include equal rate rotation of an input shaft of the end effector via a drive shaft. A method includes supporting an end effector base of the end effector by an elongate shaft of the surgical tool via a wrist assembly of the surgical tool. Orientation of the end effector base relative to the elongate shaft is controlled via four tension members. An input shaft of a shaft driven mechanism of the end effector is…

Electrically weldable suture material, and apparatus and method for forming welded suture loops and other welded structures

Granted: October 15, 2024
Patent Number: 12114853
A device for positioning in the body of an animal, the device comprising a first portion and a second portion that may be positioned in contact with one other, the first portion and the second portion each comprising a biocompatible conductive thermoplastic material, such that when the device is positioned in the body of an animal and electric current flows from the first portion to the second portion, heat is generated by electrical resistance at the point of contact between the first…

Laparoscopic ultrasound robotic surgical system

Granted: October 8, 2024
Patent Number: 12108998
A LUS robotic surgical system is trainable by a surgeon to automatically move a LUS probe in a desired fashion upon command so that the surgeon does not have to do so manually during a minimally invasive surgical procedure. A sequence of 2D ultrasound image slices captured by the LUS probe according to stored instructions are processable into a 3D ultrasound computer model of an anatomic structure, which may be displayed as a 3D or 2D overlay to a camera view or in a PIP as selected by…

System with guides and tools of different flexibility

Granted: October 8, 2024
Patent Number: 12108997
A system includes an actuator couplable to a flexible guide tube, a processor, and memory. The actuator is configured to move the flexible guide tube. The memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to: identify at least one factor associated with insertion or removal of a tool configured to be inserted through or removed from the flexible guide tube; identify, in a first configuration of the flexible guide tube and based on the at least one factor,…

Systems and methods for tracking a position of a robotically-manipulated surgical instrument

Granted: October 8, 2024
Patent Number: 12108992
An exemplary surgical instrument tracking system includes at least one physical computing device that determines, based on endoscopic imagery of a surgical area and using a trained neural network, an observation for an object of interest depicted in the endoscopic imagery, associates, based on a probabilistic framework and kinematics of a robotically-manipulated surgical instrument located at the surgical area, the observation for the object of interest to the robotically-manipulated…

System and method for registration and coordinated manipulation of augmented reality image components

Granted: October 1, 2024
Patent Number: 12102391
A system and method for registration and coordinated manipulation of augmented reality image components includes registering a model of patient anatomy to a first image of the patient anatomy captured using an imaging device to determine a baseline relationship between the model and the first image, tracking movement of a computer-assisted device used to manipulate the imaging device, updating the baseline relationship based on the tracked movement, and generating a composite image by…

Multiple band pass Bayer pattern filter

Granted: October 1, 2024
Patent Number: 12108170
An image sensing apparatus including a pixel array comprising two or more photo-sensor elements, a first optical filter disposed on a first photo-sensor element of the pixel array and a second optical filter disposed on a second photo-sensor element of the pixel array. The first optical filter is configured such that a spectral response of the first optical filter includes a first passband in a first wavelength range and a second passband in a second wavelength range, where the first…

Alignment and engagement for teleoperated actuated surgical instrument

Granted: October 1, 2024
Patent Number: 12102409
An instrument sterile adapter for coupling a surgical instrument and an instrument carriage includes an adapter control surface that extends control features of a control surface of the instrument carriage and receives an instrument control surface of the surgical instrument. A shaft receiving slot is positioned in the adapter control surface to receive an elongate tube of the surgical instrument when the adapter control surface receives the instrument control surface of the surgical…

Stapler beam architecture

Granted: October 1, 2024
Patent Number: 12102401
An end effector that can have an upper jaw and a lower jaw. A wrist can connect the end effector to an elongated shaft. A beam member can be arranged to translate within the upper and lower jaw. An actuation assembly can have a pushing assembly configured to transfer compressive force to the beam member and a pulling assembly configured to transfer tensile force to the beam member.

Techniques for controlling a moveable component

Granted: October 1, 2024
Patent Number: 12102400
Techniques for controlling a moveable component include a moveable component and a controller. The controller is configured to control motion of the moveable component according to a state machine comprising a first and second state. In the first state, the controller holds the moveable component at a current position. The controller transitions the state machine from the first state to the second state in response to detecting a displacement of the moveable component, due to a…

Automated instrument preload engage/disengage mechanism

Granted: October 1, 2024
Patent Number: 12102398
Techniques for automated engagement and disengagement of a preload include a computer-assisted apparatus. The computer-assisted apparatus includes an instrument manipulator assembly including a preload assembly and a controller coupled to the instrument manipulator assembly. The controller is configured to move the instrument manipulator assembly to a fully withdrawn position and command the preload assembly to engage a preload. In some embodiments, engaging the preload causes the…