CN-121987349-A - Techniques for adaptive reorientation of robotic surgical tools

Abstract

Techniques for adaptive reorientation of robotic surgical tools are disclosed. Robotic surgical systems and methods involve a tool for manipulating a surgical site and a manipulator for supporting and moving the tool. The controller controls the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along the tool path for treating the surgical site. During movement of the tool along the tool path, the controller detects the reorientation of the tool and records the location at which the reorientation occurred. The controller generates a virtual constraint that causes the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location. In some examples, a controller predictively detects a position relative to a tool path at which a tool should be reoriented, and responsive to the tool reaching the predictively detected position, the controller utilizes virtual constraints to reorient the manipulator to the tool.

Inventors

• R Rakesh Khurana

Assignees

• 马科外科公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251106

Priority Date

20241107

Claims (20)

1. 1. A robotic surgical system comprising: a tool configured to manipulate a surgical site; A manipulator configured to support and move the tool, and One or more of the controllers may be provided with a controller, the one or more controllers are configured to: controlling the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site; detecting a reorientation of the tool and recording a location at which the reorientation occurred during movement of the tool along the tool path, and One or more virtual constraints are generated that are configured to cause the manipulator to re-orient the tool in response to the tool re-accessing the recorded locations.
2. 2. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to generate at least one virtual constraint at the recorded location.
3. 3. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to generate at least one virtual constraint with respect to the tool.
4. 4. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, further comprising a navigation system configured to track an anatomical structure of a patient including the surgical site, and the one or more controllers are configured to register the one or more virtual constraints to the tracked anatomical structure.
5. 5. The robotic surgical system according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to customize features of the one or more virtual constraints based on the recorded positions relative to the tool path, wherein the customized features include one or more of a position of the one or more virtual constraints, a geometry of the one or more virtual constraints, and stiffness/damping parameters of the one or more virtual constraints.
6. 6. The robotic surgical system according to any preceding claim, further comprising a camera configured to detect an obstacle or a sensitive area at the recorded location, and wherein the one or more controllers are configured to customize features of the one or more virtual constraints based on the detected obstacle or sensitive area, wherein the customized features include one or more of a location of the one or more virtual constraints, a geometry of the one or more virtual constraints, and a stiffness/damping parameter of the one or more virtual constraints.
7. 7. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers generate the one or more virtual constraints in a manner such that the manipulator reorients the tool with a magnitude and direction that simulates the detected reorientation.
8. 8. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to automatically: detecting a condition in which the tool no longer needs to revisit the recorded location, and The one or more virtual constraints are removed or disabled in response to detecting the condition.
9. 9. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to detect a parameter of the tool during or after the reorientation occurs, wherein the detected parameter comprises one or more of a displacement of the tool, a direction of force applied to the tool, a magnitude of force applied to the tool, a speed of the tool, and an acceleration of the tool.
10. 10. The robotic surgical system of claim 9, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to customize features of the one or more virtual constraints based on the detected parameters of the tool, wherein the customized features include one or more of a location of the one or more virtual constraints, a geometry of the one or more virtual constraints, and/or stiffness/damping parameters of the one or more virtual constraints.
11. 11. The robotic surgical system of claim 9, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to: comparing the detected parameter of the tool to a threshold; Determining that the reorientation of the tool is intentional and responsive to an external force manually applied to the tool by a user in response to the detected parameter satisfying the threshold value, and The location at which the reorientation occurs is recorded only in response to determining that the reorientation of the tool is intentional.
12. 12. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein: the tool includes a user interface configured to receive input to initiate a reorientation of the tool, and In response to receiving the input from the user interface, the one or more controllers detect the reorientation and record a location at which the reorientation occurred.
13. 13. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein: the one or more virtual constraints include a virtual grid defined at the recorded location, and The one or more controllers cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to interactions between the tool and the virtual grid.
14. 14. The robotic surgical system of claim 13, wherein: the one or more virtual constraints further include at least one stereotactic interaction feature defined with respect to the tool, and The one or more controllers cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to interactions between the at least one stereotactic interaction feature and the virtual grid.
15. 15. The robotic surgical system of claim 14, wherein: the tool includes a tool shaft, and The at least one stereotactic interaction feature is defined relative to the tool axis.
16. 16. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein: the one or more virtual constraints include an attractive or repulsive force defined near the recorded location, and The one or more controllers cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool experiencing the attractive force or the repulsive force.
17. 17. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein: The tool being in a raw pose before being reoriented by the one or more virtual constraints, and After the tool passes the recorded position, the one or more controllers automatically reorient the tool back to the original pose.
18. 18. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to modify a characteristic of the one or more virtual constraints in response to detecting that a second reorientation of the tool occurs at a second location proximate to the recorded location.
19. 19. The robotic surgical system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to: controlling the manipulator to facilitate automatic movement of the tool along the tool path for treating the surgical site; Automatically generating the one or more virtual constraints, and The manipulator is automatically caused to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded position.
20. 20. A method for operating a robotic surgical system comprising a tool configured to manipulate a surgical site, a manipulator configured to support and move the tool, and one or more controllers for performing the steps of: controlling the manipulator for facilitating movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site; detecting a reorientation of the tool and recording a location at which the reorientation occurred during movement of the tool along the tool path, and One or more virtual constraints are generated that cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location.

Description

Techniques for adaptive reorientation of robotic surgical tools Cross Reference to Related Applications The present application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/717,640 filed on 7, 11, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Background Recently, medical practitioners have found benefits in using robotic systems to perform surgical procedures. Such systems provide robotic control of surgical tools that move along a tool path to manipulate a surgical site. Quite often, the surgeon may need to manually reorient the surgical tool as it moves along the tool path. For example, the surgeon may manually reorient the surgical tool to avoid an obstruction or sensitive area at the surgical site. Once the reoriented tool passes over an obstacle or sensitive area, the surgeon must typically reorient the tool back to its original pose. To make matters more challenging, in some cases, the surgeon may need to repeatedly pass the surgical tool near an obstacle or sensitive area, for example, in an attempt to remove all material from the target area. In such cases, the surgeon may need to perform a reorientation or reorientation back and forth of the surgical tool each time the tool approaches the obstruction. Moreover, tool reorientation may be for ergonomic needs of the surgeon, not necessarily for avoiding obstructions. For example, a surgeon may wish to hold a tool during its movement, but may need to repeatedly reorient the tool as it passes through the curved portion of the path to maintain comfortable wrist positioning. Regardless of the source, such repeated reorientation can be cumbersome for the surgeon, fatiguing the hands or arms, and cause delays in the surgical procedure. Moreover, such conventional techniques force the surgeon to perform the reorientation under time pressure (e.g., because the tool is moving). These time stresses can cause anxiety to the surgeon and potentially human error. Disclosure of Invention In a first aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided that includes a manipulator configured to support and move a tool along a tool path to manipulate a surgical site, and one or more controllers configured to automatically reorient the tool at a location along the tool path, the location being identified based on user input defining the location. In a second aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided that includes a manipulator configured to support and move a tool along a tool path to manipulate a surgical site, and one or more controllers configured to automatically reorient the tool at a location along the tool path that is predictably identified by the one or more controllers. In a third aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided that includes a tool configured to manipulate a surgical site, a manipulator configured to support and move the tool, and one or more controllers configured to control the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site, detect a reorientation of the tool during movement of the tool along the tool path and record a location at which the reorientation occurs, and generate one or more virtual constraints configured to cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location. In a fourth aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided that includes a tool configured to manipulate a surgical site, a manipulator configured to support and move the tool, and one or more controllers configured to obtain a tool path defined relative to the surgical site, predictively detect a position relative to the tool path at which the tool should be reoriented, generate one or more virtual constraints configured to cause the manipulator to reorient the tool at the predictively detected position, and control the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along the tool path for treating the surgical site and to reorient the tool with the one or more virtual constraints in response to the work reaching the predictively detected position. In a fifth aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided that includes a tool configured to manipulate a surgical site, a manipulator configured to support and move the tool, and one or more controllers configured to control the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site, detect a reorientation of the tool during movement of the tool along the tool path and record a location at which the reorientation occurs, and generate feedback conveying that the reorientation is required, wherein the feedback is configured to be delivered in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location. In a sixth aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided that includes a tool configured to manipulate a surgical site, a manipulator configured to support and move the tool, and one or more controllers configured to obtain a tool path defined relative to the