Device and method for assisting laparoscopic surgery—rule based approach
Inventors
FRIMER, Motti • Sholev, Mordehai • PFEFFER, Yehuda
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-11957301-B2
Publication Date
2024-04-16
Expiration Date
Abstract
Methods of assisting an operator to perform a surgical procedure include inserting at least one surgical tool into a surgical environment of a human body. The 3D spatial position of the surgical tool within the surgical environment is estimated in real time, and movement of the surgical tool is detected. The spatial position of the surgical tool within the surgical environment is controlled using a controller, including by determining using image processing whether each of the detected movements is an ALLOWED movement or a RESTRICTED movement based on a predetermined rule stored in a database in communication with the controller.
Core Innovation
A method assists an operator to perform a surgical procedure in a surgical environment of a human body by inserting at least one surgical tool and real-time estimating a 3D spatial position of the tool within the surgical environment. Movement is detected by determining whether the 3D spatial position at time t_f is different than the 3D spatial position at time t_0, and a controller controls the spatial position of the tool based on classifying each detected movement as ALLOWED movement or RESTRICTED movement.
The controller determines whether each movement is ALLOWED or RESTRICTED based on predetermined rules stored in a database in communication with the controller. The classification is tied to real-time sensing through receiving at least one real-time image of the surgical environment and performing real-time image processing to determine the 3D spatial position of hazards or obstacles selected from tissue, a surgical tool, an organ, an endoscope, and any combination thereof.
In the environmental-rule implementation, the method determines a movement is a RESTRICTED movement if the tool is located substantially in at least one of the 3D spatial positions, and determines the movement is an ALLOWED movement if the location of the tool is substantially different from those 3D spatial positions. The rule-based controlling is used to maintain permissible tool spatial behavior relative to hazards or obstacles identified by the image-processing hazard positions.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims cover a surgical-assistance method that repeatedly estimates a real-time 3D spatial position of a surgical tool, detects movement by comparing positions at time t0 and tf, and classifies each detected movement as ALLOWED or RESTRICTED using a predetermined rule stored in a database. Across the independent claims shown, the environmental-rule logic is specialized to proximity distance, proximity angle, and collision prevention distance relative to anatomical elements, each configured using image processing.
Real-time 3D tool position based movement detection with ALLOWED/RESTRICTED control from an environmental rule
A method in which the controller detects movement by determining whether the 3D spatial position at time t_f is different than the 3D spatial position at time t_0, and controls the spatial position by determining for each detected movement whether it is an ALLOWED movement or a RESTRICTED movement based on a predetermined environmental rule stored in a database, where determining includes receiving at least one real-time image and performing real-time image processing to determine the 3D spatial position of hazards or obstacles selected from tissue, a surgical tool, an organ, an endoscope, and any combination thereof.
Proximity distance ALLOWED/RESTRICTED classification using an image-processed predetermined distance between surgical tools
A method in which the controller determines for each detected movement whether it is an ALLOWED movement or a RESTRICTED movement based on a proximity rule stored in a database, the proximity rule defining using image processing a predetermined distance between the first surgical tool and a second surgical tool, with ALLOWED movements within the range or out of the range of the predetermined distance and RESTRICTED movements out of the range or within the range of the predetermined distance.
Proximity angle ALLOWED/RESTRICTED classification using an image-processed predetermined angle between surgical tools
A method in which the controller determines for each detected movement whether it is an ALLOWED movement or a RESTRICTED movement based on a proximity rule stored in a database, the proximity rule defining using image processing a predetermined angle between the first surgical tool and a second surgical tool, where ALLOWED movements are movements within the range or out of the range of the predetermined angle and RESTRICTED movements are movements out of the range or within the range of the predetermined distance.
Collision prevention ALLOWED/RESTRICTED classification using an image-processed predetermined distance between surgical tool and anatomical element
A method in which the controller determines whether each detected movement is an ALLOWED movement or a RESTRICTED movement based on a predetermined collision prevention rule stored in a database, the collision prevention rule configured to define using image processing a predetermined distance between the at least one surgical tool and an anatomical element within the surgical environment, where the anatomical element is selected from a group consisting of tissue, organ, another surgical tool, and any combination thereof, with ALLOWED movements in a range larger than the predetermined distance and RESTRICTED movements in a range smaller than the predetermined distance.
Across the independent claims, the common inventive structure is real-time estimation of tool 3D spatial position, movement detection by comparing positions at time t0 and tf, and controller-based classification of detected movements as ALLOWED or RESTRICTED using database-stored rules implemented with real-time image processing. The independent claims differ in the rule basis: hazards/obstacles via environmental rule, tool-to-tool proximity via predetermined distance, tool-to-tool proximity via predetermined angle, and tool-to-anatomical-element collision prevention via predetermined distance.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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