Roll-pitch-roll surgical tool

• US 6,902,560 B1
• Filed: 01/06/2004
• Issued: 06/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Wallace, Daniel T., Morley, Tracey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): FOX, JOHN C
• Application Number:
  US10/752,934
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 606/1, 909/29, 909/130
• US Class Current: 606/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00234 for minimally invasive surgery A61B17/0218, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/062 Needle manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/068 Surgical staplers , e.g. containing multiple staples or clampsstaplers containing only one staple A61B17/10; magazines or containers for staples A61B17/105; for performing anastomosis A61B17/115; staplers in general B25C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/305 Details of wrist mechanisms at distal ends of robotic arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/506 using a parallelogram linkage, e.g. panthograph
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/71 Manipulators operated by drive cable mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20305 Robotic arm
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20335 Wrist
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2036 Pair of power elements

Abstract

A method of performing minimally invasive endoscopic surgery in a body cavity of a patient includes introducing an elongate shaft having a working end into the cavity. The elongate shaft has a proximal end and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end. A wrist member pivotally coupled with the working end is rotated relative to the working end. The wrist member has a wrist axis. The method further includes rotating at least one of the elongate shaft around the shaft axis and an end effector pivotally mounted on the wrist member around the wrist axis to position the end effector at a desired location inside the cavity.

Claims

1. A method of performing minimally invasive endoscopic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

introducing an elongate shaft having a working end into the cavity, the elongate shaft having a proximal end and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end;

rotating a wrist member pivotally coupled with the working end relative to the working end, the wrist member having a wrist axis;

rotating at least one of the elongate shaft around the shaft axis and an end effector pivotally mounted on the wrist member around the wrist axis to position the end effector at a desired location inside the cavity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the wrist member is rotated around a pitch axis which is perpendicular to at least one of the shaft axis and the wrist axis to change an angle between the wrist axis and the shaft axis.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the wrist member is rotated relative to the working end until the wrist axis is approximately perpendicular to the shaft axis.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the wrist member is rotated relative to the working end from a forward position in which the wrist axis is oriented with the end effector pointing generally away from the proximal end of the elongate shaft, to a backward position in which the wrist axis is oriented with the end effector pointing generally toward the proximal end of the elongate shaft.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the end effector includes an end effector support pivotally mounted on the wrist member to rotate around the wrist axis, the method further comprising rotating at least one end effector link pivotally mounted on the end effector support around a pivot axis which is nonparallel to the wrist axis.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the pivot axis is perpendicular to the wrist axis.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein a pair of end effector links are rotated around the pivot axis to move toward and away from one another.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein a pair of end effector links are rotated around the pivot axis to move together in the same direction.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein one end effector link is fixed relative to the end effector support and another end effector link is rotated around the pivot axis.