Robotic navigation of robotic surgical systems
Inventors
Kostrzewski, Szymon • Wismer, Jean-Marc • Gehriger, Daniel • Berthelin, Roderik • Patel, Chetan
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-11813030-B2
Publication Date
2023-11-14
Expiration Date
Abstract
In certain embodiments, the systems, apparatus, and methods disclosed herein relate to robotic surgical systems with built-in navigation capability for patient position tracking and surgical instrument guidance during a surgical procedure, without the need for a separate navigation system. Robotic based navigation of surgical instruments during surgical procedures allows for easy registration and operative volume identification and tracking. The systems, apparatus, and methods herein allow re-registration, model updates, and operative volumes to be performed intra-operatively with minimal disruption to the surgical workflow. In certain embodiments, navigational assistance can be provided to a surgeon by displaying a surgical instrument's position relative to a patient's anatomy. Additionally, by revising pre-operatively defined data such as operative volumes, patient-robot orientation relationships, and anatomical models of the patient, a higher degree of precision and lower risk of complications and serious medical error can be achieved.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a robotic surgical system that performs robot-based navigation and re-registration during a surgical procedure. An active, non-backdrivable robotic arm with at least four degrees of freedom carries an end-effector with an instrument attached, and a force sensor is coupled to the robotic arm. The system provides haptic feedback prompted by movement of the end-effector so that instrument contact with a material can be detected during surgery.
Contact points are detected as haptic feedback that corresponds to contact of the instrument with an anatomical material, and a set of spatial coordinates is generated for each contact. The spatial coordinates are expressed using a robot coordinate system and each coordinate corresponds to a point on the surface of an anatomical volume. A coordinate mapping between a robot coordinate system and a medical image data coordinate system is received and then updated based on a mapping of the surface corresponding to the set of spatial coordinates, thereby re-registering the patient’s anatomy.
The approach also includes registering by storing a coordinate mapping and re-registering by storing an updated coordinate mapping based on haptic feedback. The system may distinguish between contacted tissue types and may distinguish between an operator-delivered force and a resistive force caused by the instrument contacting, moving against, penetrating, and/or moving within tissue. In addition, the system supports generating navigation representations using terminal-point/converted coordinates relative to patient anatomy.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims cover re-registration of a patient’s anatomy during a surgical procedure using force-sensor haptic feedback to detect instrument contact and update coordinate mappings between a robot coordinate system and a medical image data coordinate system, including mapping surface contact points to an anatomical/medical model volume and storing updated mapping or model data. The independent claims present three core coverage areas.
Force-sensor haptic contact detection and contact-point coordinate extraction
Receives haptic feedback from the force sensor prompted by movement of the end-effector; determines the haptic feedback corresponds to contact of the instrument with a material; determines a set of spatial coordinates comprising a spatial coordinate for each contact expressed using the robot coordinate system, where each spatial coordinate corresponds to a point on the surface of an anatomical volume.
Coordinate mapping update based on contacted surface mapping
Receives a coordinate mapping between a robot coordinate system and a medical image data coordinate system; updates the coordinate mapping based on a mapping of the surface corresponding to the set of spatial coordinates; stores the updated coordinate mapping thereby re-registering the patient’s anatomy.
Active non-backdrivable robot system with dynamic position tracking and haptic force feedback interpretation
Provides a robotic surgical system with an active, non-backdrivable robotic arm having at least four degrees of freedom, an end-effector, a position sensor for dynamically tracking a position of the end effector, and a force feedback subsystem delivering a haptic force to a user manipulating the end effector; registers anatomy by storing a coordinate mapping; receives haptic feedback prompted by end-effector movement; determines haptic feedback corresponds to contact of the instrument with a material; and re-registers by storing an updated coordinate mapping based on haptic feedback, wherein the force feedback subsystem includes sensors detecting resistive force caused by the instrument contacting, moving against, penetrating, and/or moving within tissue, distinguishing contacted tissue types, and detecting a force delivered by the operator and distinguishing it from resistive force.
Model-volume selection and updating by mapping a model surface to instrument contact coordinates
Determines that haptic feedback corresponds to contact of the instrument with a patient’s anatomy; determines a set of spatial coordinates for each instrument contact expressed using a robot coordinate system where each coordinate corresponds to a point on the surface of a volume; receives a model volume selected by a user expressed in a robot coordinate system; maps the surface of the model volume to the set of spatial coordinates; generates an updated model volume by converting coordinates of the model volume using the mapping; and re-registers the patient’s anatomy by storing the updated model volume.
The independent claims collectively focus on using haptic feedback from a force sensor to identify instrument contact points, express those contact points as robot-coordinate surface coordinates, and update either a coordinate mapping or a user-selected model volume by mapping the model surface to the contacted surface coordinates, with additional coverage for dynamic position tracking and force/resistive-force and tissue-type differentiation.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
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