CONTROLLING A ROBOTIC SURGICAL TOOL WITH A DISPLAY MONITOR

• US 20090248036A1
• Filed: 03/28/2008
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Nowlin, William C., Hoffman, Brian D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,808,164 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/130
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00042 for mechanical operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00149 using articulated arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00188 with focusing or zooming features
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/045 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00199 with a console, e.g. a control panel with a display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00216 with eye tracking or head position tracking control
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/372 Details of monitor hardware
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/32 operating autonomously
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/37 Master-slave robots A61B34/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/74 Manipulators with manual electric input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/361 Image-producing devices, e.g. surgical cameras

Abstract

In one embodiment of the invention, a method for controlling a robotic surgical tool is disclosed. The method for controlling a robotic surgical tool includes moving a monitor displaying an image of a robotic surgical tool; sensing motion of the monitor; and translating the sensed motion of the monitor into motion of the robotic surgical tool.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a robotic surgical tool, the method comprising:

moving a monitor displaying an image of a robotic surgical tool;

sensing motion of the monitor; and

translating the sensed motion of the monitor into motion of the robotic surgical tool.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the motion of the monitor is sensed by an inertia sensor coupled thereto.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein

the motion of the monitor is sensed by one or more rotary encoders at one or more joints of set-up arms supporting the monitor.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to moving the monitor, grasping sides of the monitor with a pair of hands.

5. A monitor comprising:

a housing with a window opening;

a display panel coupled to the housing in the window opening, the display panel to display images in the window opening; and

one or more motion sensing devices coupled to the housing, the one or more motion sensing devices to generate one or more control signals in response to motion of the monitor.

6. The monitor of claim 5, further comprising:

a setup arm with one end coupled to the housing and an opposite end coupled to mechanical ground, the setup arm including one or more serial links between the housing and the mechanical ground; and

wherein the one or more motion sensing devices are one or more encoders at one or more joints of the one or more serial links.

7. The monitor of claim 5, wherein

the one or more motion sensing devices is an inertia sensor.

8. The monitor of claim 5, wherein

the display panel is a touch sensitive display panel to receive user input.

9. The monitor of claim 5, wherein

the one or more control signals control movement of a robotic surgical tool or an endoscopic camera.

10. The monitor of claim 5, wherein

the one or more control signals control movement of an endoscopic camera and the images displayed in the window opening.

11. A method for controlling an endoscopic camera in a robotic surgical system, the method comprising:

displaying on a monitor a first set of images of a surgical site in a target window corresponding to a first plurality of source pixels selected by a source window;

moving the monitor;

sensing motion of the monitor;

in response to the sensed motion, digitally panning the source window to select a second plurality of source pixels for display in the target window; and

displaying on the monitor a second set of images of the surgical site in the target window corresponding to the second plurality of source pixels selected by the source window.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

if the sensed motion digitally pans the source window to an edge of a video frame captured by an endoscopic camera, mechanically panning the endoscopic camera to move the source window of selected pixels towards a center of the video frame.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein

the motion of the monitor is sensed by an inertia sensor coupled thereto.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein

the motion of the monitor is sensed by one or more rotary encoders at one or more joints of set-up arms supporting the monitor.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

prior to moving the monitor, grasping sides of the monitor with a pair of hands.