MEDICAL SUPPORT ARM APPARATUS

• US 20190328475A1
• Filed: 10/24/2017
• Published: 10/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: ARAI, Jun, KAMIKAWA, Yasuhisa, KOKUBO, Wataru, MATSUDA, Yasuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 11,602,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2055 Optical tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/301 for introducing or steering flexible instruments inserted into the body, e.g. catheters or endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/70 Manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery

Abstract

There is provided a medical support system including a support arm having one or more active joints and one or more passive coupling mechanisms and processing circuitry configured to obtain information indicating a change due to movement of the one or more passive coupling mechanisms and control the one or more active joints based on the obtained information indicating the change.

Claims

1. A medical support system, comprising:

a support arm including

one or more active joints, and

one or more passive coupling mechanisms; and

processing circuitry configured to

obtain information indicating a change due to movement of the one or more passive coupling mechanisms, and

control the one or more active joints based on the obtained information indicating the change.

2. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the change is a shift in a center of gravity of the support arm.

3. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms include at least one passive joint and a passive slide mechanism.

4. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms have no actuator.

5. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one active joint includes an actuator connected to the processing circuitry.

6. The medical support system according to claim 5, wherein the actuator includes a torque sensor.

7. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the movement of the at least one passive coupling mechanisms is due to user operation.

8. The medical support system according to claim 3, wherein the at least one passive joint is a non-actuated rotary joint.

9. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the support arm is deformable by the movement of the one or more passive coupling mechanisms to assist a surgical procedure requiring a particular configuration of the support arm.

10. The medical support system according to claim 3, wherein the passive slide mechanism of the support arm is positioned between an active joint and a passive joint.

11. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the support arm includes two or more active joints.

12. The medical support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a medical imaging device,

wherein the medical imaging device is coupled to the support arm.

13. The medical support system according to claim 12, wherein the medical imaging device is an endoscope or a surgical microscope.

14. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms are positioned between two active joints.

15. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms is disposed further towards a proximal end of the support arm than at least three active joints disposed on a distal end of the support arm when the support arm has at least six degrees of freedom.

16. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms includes a detachable mechanism dividing the support arm into a distal end and a proximal end.

17. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms includes a passive mechanism that is displaceable in multiple stages.

18. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more passive coupling mechanisms includes a passive slide mechanism and a sensor that detects a displacement amount of the passive slide mechanism.

19. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the support arm includes a plurality of active joints and the processing circuitry is further configured to control the plurality of active joints using whole body cooperative control in which the plurality of active joints are cooperatively controlled.

20. The medical support system according to claim 3, wherein the information indicating a change is obtained on the basis of a displacement amount of passive slide mechanism or based on a detected change of at least one passive joint.

21. The medical support system according to claim 1, further comprising an attitude sensor.

22. The medical support system according to claim 1, further comprising a spring or an elastic body producing a restoring force.

23. A medical device, comprising:

processing circuitry configured to

obtain information indicating a change due to movement of one or more passive coupling mechanisms, and

control one or more active joints based on the obtained information indicating the change.

24. A medical image processing method, comprising:

obtaining information indicating a change due to movement of one or more passive coupling mechanisms; and

controlling one or more active joints based on the obtained information indicating the change.