Robotic apparatus
First Claim
1. A servomechanical system comprising:
- a master unit having a movable master;
a slave unit having a surgical end effector, the slave moving the end effector in response to movement of the master;
a controller coupling the master unit to the slave unit so that an operator manipulating the master can direct the surgical end effector in performing a surgical procedure on a beating heart; and
means for stabilizing an image of a portion of the beating heart, wherein the stabilizing means comprises a sensor, in direct contact with said portion of the heart, for measuring beating movement of said portion of the heart, and wherein the controller calculates a frame of reference of the heart using the measured heart movement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A robotic apparatus has eight actuators (M0-M7) and a linkage (LINK 0-LINK 5) that actuates an end effector. Three serial macro freedoms have large ranges of motion and inertias. Four serial micro freedoms have small ranges of motion and inertias. Translation of the end effector in an y direction is actuated by at least one micro joint and at least one macro joint. The apparatus can be part of a master and slave combination, providing force feedback without any explicit force sensors. The slave is controlled with an Inverse Jacobian controller, and the mater with a Jacobian Transpose controller. A slave having more degrees of freedom (DOFs) than the master can be controlled. A removable effector unit actuates its DOFs with cables. Beating heart surgery can be accomplished by commanding the slave to move with a beating heart and cancelling out any such motion in the motions perceived by the master.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A servomechanical system comprising:
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a master unit having a movable master;
a slave unit having a surgical end effector, the slave moving the end effector in response to movement of the master;
a controller coupling the master unit to the slave unit so that an operator manipulating the master can direct the surgical end effector in performing a surgical procedure on a beating heart; and
means for stabilizing an image of a portion of the beating heart, wherein the stabilizing means comprises a sensor, in direct contact with said portion of the heart, for measuring beating movement of said portion of the heart, and wherein the controller calculates a frame of reference of the heart using the measured heart movement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A robotic surgical system, comprising:
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a slave articulate arm having a plurality of linkages and joints and a distal portion; and
a surgical instrument releasably coupleable to said distal portion of said articulate arm, said instrument comprising a wrist portion, at least a first end effector element, and a proximal portion coupled to an elongate shaft, said elongate shaft having a longitudinal axis and a distal end, said wrist portion of said instrument comprising a first distal joint coupled to said distal end of said elongate shaft, said first distal joint having a first joint axis substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, a first distal link movably coupled to said first distal joint, a second distal joint coupled to said first distal joint via said first distal link, said second distal joint having a second joint axis substantially parallel to said first joint axis, a second distal link movably coupled to said second distal joint, and a third distal joint coupled to said second distal joint via said second distal link, said third distal joint movably coupled to said at least one end effector element; and
a master controller having an input linkage, wherein input commands from an operator to said input linkage cause the controller to control movement of said instrument according to said input commands. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A robotic surgical system, comprising:
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a slave articulate arm having a plurality of linkages and joints and a distal portion; and
a surgical instrument releasably coupleable to said distal portion of said articulate arm, said instrument comprising at least a first end effector element coupled to a wrist portion, and a proximal portion coupled to an elongate shaft, said elongate shaft having a longitudinal axis and a distal end coupled to said wrist portion, said wrist portion of said instrument comprising;
at least three distal axes of rotation relative to said distal end of said shaft, each of said axes offset from one another, at least two of said axes of rotation being substantially parallel to one another, said end effector element movable about the most distal of said three distal axes. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A robotic surgical system comprising:
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an articulate robotic arm; and
a robotic surgical instrument releasably coupleable to a distal portion of said articulate arm, said instrument comprising;
at least a first end effector element movably coupled to a wrist portion, and a proximal portion coupled to an elongate shaft, said proximal portion coupleable to said articulate arm, said elongate shaft having a longitudinal axis and a distal end coupled to said wrist portion, said wrist portion having at least two segments, each of said segments having a segment axis, said segments movably coupled together in such a way that at least one of said segment axes can be positioned substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said elongate shaft. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. An apparatus for performing robotic surgery, comprising:
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an articulate robotic arm;
a robotic surgical instrument releasably coupleable to a distal portion of said articulate arm, said instrument comprising;
at least a first end effector element movably coupled to a wrist portion, and a proximal portion coupled to an elongate shaft, said proximal portion coupleable to said articulate arm, said elongate shaft having a longitudinal axis and a distal end coupled to said wrist portion, said wrist portion having at least two segments, each of said segments having a segment axis, said segments movably coupled together in such a way that at least one of said segment axes can be positioned substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said elongate shaft;
a master input device operatively coupled to a controller, said controller operatively coupled to said robotic surgical instrument;
a sensor for sensing the motion of a portion of a beating heart by directly contacting said portion with a motion sensor, said sensor operatively coupled to said controller;
wherein said controller controls movement of the instrument based on information provided by the sensor to the controller such that the distance between the end effector and said portion of the beating heart remains substantially constant. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification