US-20260124006-A1 - Techniques For Adaptive Reorientation Of A Robotic Surgical Tool

US20260124006A1US 20260124006 A1US20260124006 A1US 20260124006A1US-20260124006-A1

Abstract

Robotic surgical systems and methods involve a tool to manipulate a surgical site and a manipulator to support and move the tool. Controller(s) control the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site. During movement of the tool along the tool path, the controller(s) detect a reorientation of the tool and record a location at which the reorientation occurred. The controller(s) generate virtual constraint(s) which cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location. In some instances, the controller(s) predictively detect, relative to the tool path, the location at which the tool should be re-orientated, and in response to the tool reaching the predictively detected location, the controller(s) utilize the virtual constraint(s) to cause the manipulator to re-orient the tool.

Inventors

Rishabh KHURANA

Assignees

MAKO SURGICAL CORP.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251030

Claims (20)

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 controllers configured to: control the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site; during movement of the tool along the tool path, detect a reorientation of the tool and record a location at which the reorientation occurred; and generate one or more virtual constraints that are configured to cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location.
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 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to generate at least one virtual constraint relative to the tool.
4 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , further comprising a navigation system configured to track an anatomy of a patient that includes the surgical site, and the one or more controllers are configured to register the one or more virtual constraints to the tracked anatomy.
5 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to customize a feature of the one or more virtual constraints based on the recorded location relative to the tool path, wherein the customized feature includes 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.
6 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , further comprising a camera that is configured to detect an obstacle or a sensitive area at the recorded location; and wherein the one or more controllers are configured to customize a feature of the one or more virtual constraints based on the detected obstacle or sensitive area, wherein the customized feature includes 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 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers generate the one or more virtual constraints in a manner that causes the manipulator to reorient the tool with a magnitude and direction that emulates the detected reorientation.
8 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to automatically: detect a condition wherein the tool no longer needs to revisit the recorded location; and remove or deactivate the one or more virtual constraints in response to detection of the condition.
9 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to detect a parameter of the tool during, or after, occurrence of the reorientation, wherein the detected parameter includes 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 velocity of the tool, and an acceleration of the tool.
10 . The robotic surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to customize a feature of the one or more virtual constraints based on the detected parameter of the tool, wherein the customized feature includes one or more of: a location of the one or more virtual constraints, a geometry of the one or more virtual constraints, and/or a stiffness/damping parameter of the one or more virtual constraints.
11 . The robotic surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to: compare the detected parameter of the tool to a threshold value; in response to the detected parameter satisfying the threshold value, determine that the reorientation of the tool is intentional and responsive to an external force manually applied to the tool by a user; and record the location at which the reorientation occurred only in response to determining that the reorientation of the tool is intentional.
12 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein: the tool includes a user interface configured to receive an input to initiate re-orientation of the tool; and in response to receipt of the input from the user interface, the one or more controllers detect the reorientation and record the location at which the reorientation occurred.
13 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein: the one or more virtual constraints comprise a virtual mesh defined at the recorded location; and the one or more controllers cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to interaction between the tool and the virtual mesh.
14 . The robotic surgical system of claim 13 , wherein: the one or more virtual constraints further comprise at least one stereotactic interaction feature defined relative to the tool; and the one or more controllers cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to interaction between the at least one stereotactic interaction feature and the virtual mesh.
15 . The robotic surgical system of claim 14 , wherein: the tool comprises a tool shaft; and the at least one stereotactic interaction feature is defined relative to the tool shaft.
16 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein: the one or more virtual constraints comprise an attractive force or a repulsive force defined in proximity to 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 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein: the tool is in an original pose prior to being reoriented by the one or more virtual constraints; and the one or more controllers automatically reorient the tool back to the original pose after the tool passes the recorded location.
18 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers are configured to modify a feature of the one or more virtual constraints in response to detection of a second reorientation of the tool that occurs at a second location proximate to the recorded location.
19 . The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controllers configured to: control the manipulator to facilitate automatic movement of the tool along the tool path for treating the surgical site; automatically generate the one or more virtual constraints; and automatically cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location.
20 . A method for operating a robotic surgical system, the robotic surgical system including 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 following steps: controlling the manipulator for facilitating movement of the tool along a tool path for treating the surgical site; during movement of the tool along the tool path, detecting a reorientation of the tool and recording a location at which the reorientation occurred; and generating one or more virtual constraints that cause the manipulator to reorient the tool in response to the tool revisiting the recorded location.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The subject application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 63/717,640, filed Nov. 7, 2024, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND Recently, medical practitioners have found benefit in using robotic systems to perform surgical procedures. Such systems provide robotic control of a surgical tool that moves along a tool path to manipulate a surgical site. Quite commonly, a surgeon may need to manually re-orient the surgical tool as the tool moves along the tool path. For example, the surgeon may manually re-orient the surgical tool to avoid an obstacle or sensitive area at the surgical site. Once the re-oriented tool passes the obstacle or sensitive area, the surgeon commonly must re-orient 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 the obstacle or sensitive area, e.g., in attempt to remove all material from a target region. In such cases, the surgeon may need to execute re-orientations or back-and-forth re-orientations of the surgical tool each time the tool approaches the obstruction. Moreover, tool re-orientations may be needed for surgeon ergonomics, not necessarily for avoiding obstructions. For instance, the surgeon may wish to hold the tool during tool movement but may need to repeatedly re-orient the tool when the tool traverses curved portions of the path to maintain comfortable wrist positioning. Regardless of the source, such repeated re-orientations can be cumbersome on the surgeon, cause hand or arm fatigue, and create delays in the surgical procedure. Moreover, such conventional techniques force the surgeon to execute the re-orientations under time-pressure e.g., because the tool is moving. These time-pressures can cause surgeon anxiety and potentially result in human error. SUMMARY In a first aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided, comprising: 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 re-orient 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, comprising: 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 re-orient the tool at a location along the tool path, the location being predictively identified by the one or more controllers. In a third aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided, comprising: 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; during movement of the tool along the tool path, detect a reorientation of the tool and record a location at which the reorientation occurred; and generate one or more virtual constraints that are 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, comprising: 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, relative to the tool path, a location at which the tool should be re-orientated; generate one or more virtual constraints that are configured to cause the manipulator to reorient the tool at the predictively detected location; and control the manipulator to facilitate movement of the tool along the tool path for treating the surgical site, and in response to the tool reaching the predictively detected location, utilize the one or more virtual constraints to cause the manipulator to re-orient the tool. In a fifth aspect, a robotic surgical system is provided, comprising: 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; during movement of the tool along the tool path, detect a reorientation of the tool and record a location at which the reorientation occurred; and generate feedback that conveys that a re-orientation is needed, 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, comprising: 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 surg