Robotic navigation of robotic surgical systems

Inventors

Kostrzewski, Szymon • Wismer, Jean-Marc • Gehriger, Daniel • Berthelin, Roderik

Assignees

KB Medical SA • Globus Medical Inc

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 is directed to a robot-based navigation system for real-time, dynamic re-registration of a patient anatomy during a procedure. The system includes a robotic arm with an end effector and an instrument attached thereto, a position sensor, a tracking system, a display, and a processor coupled to the display, robotic arm, and tracking system. The processor continuously detects contact of the instrument with tissue of the patient anatomy as a user manipulates the end effector and the instrument over the patient anatomy.

Upon detection of contact, the processor determines a position corresponding to a point on the surface of the patient anatomy in a robot coordinate system based on the position sensor tracked by the tracking system. The processor determines a corresponding point in medical image data in an imaging coordinate system and generates a coordinate mapping between the robot coordinate system and the imaging coordinate system based on the correspondence between the determined positions. This coordinate mapping thereby dynamically updates the registration of the patient anatomy.

After determining the corresponding point in medical image data in an imaging coordinate system, the processor further modifies a set of medical image data coordinates that define a surface of the patient anatomy with a set of interior medical image data coordinates. The modified interior medical image coordinates cause a first volume defined by the set of medical image data coordinates to be larger than a second volume defined by the modified set of medical image data coordinates.

Claims Coverage

The document provides two independent claims, both focused on robot-based navigation with dynamic, contact-based re-registration and subsequent modification of medical image data coordinates defining a surface and interior to change defined volumes. Each independent claim includes the same overall coordinate-mapping and dynamic re-registration structure, with the key difference being the contact detection mechanism.

Across both independent claims, the core claim coverage is a robot-based system that continuously detects instrument-tissue contact, uses tracked position sensing to determine corresponding surface points in robot and imaging coordinate systems, generates a coordinate mapping to dynamically update registration, and then modifies medical image data coordinates defining the surface with interior coordinates so that a defined first volume is larger than a defined second volume. The second independent claim recasts the contact detection as resistive force detection by a force feedback subsystem.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications