Controller assisted reconfiguration of an articulated instrument during movement into and out of an entry guide

• US 9,084,623 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2009
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Gomez, Daniel, Diolaiti, Nicola, Larkin, David Q., Lilagan, Paul E., Mitra, Probal, Mustafa, Tabish
• Primary Examiner(s): Dowe, Katherine
• Assistant Examiner(s): OBU, KENDRA NNEAMAKA
• Application Number:
  US12/613,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,084 Days
• Field of Search: 606/130, 606/205
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0055 Constructional details of insertion parts, e.g. vertebral elements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/018 for receiving instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/252 indicating steps of a surgical procedure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/258 providing specific settings for specific users
• 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 34/35 for telesurgery
• 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 34/76 Manipulators having means for providing feel, e.g. force or tactile feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15196 semi-automatically retracted, i.e. in which the retraction of the piercing unit requires a deliberate action by the user such as manual release of spring-biased retraction means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/10 characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1005 comprising adjusting means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/16 Programme controls programme controls in general G05B19/00, e.g. numerical pogramme controls G05B19/18; recording or playback systems G05B19/42
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/161 Hardware, e.g. neural networks, fuzzy logic, interfaces, processor
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1656 characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1658 characterised by programming language
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1661 characterised by task planning, object-oriented languages
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1679 : characterised by the tasks executed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 : Arm motion controller
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/41 : Tool
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/47 : Optical

Abstract

To perform a tool exchange in a medical robotic system, tool is retracted back into an entry guide from a deployed position and pose so that an assistant in the operating room may replace it with a different tool. While the tool is being retracted back towards the entry guide by user action, its configuration is changed to an entry pose while avoiding collisions with other objects so that it may fit in the entry guide. After the tool exchange is completed, a new tool is inserted in the entry guide and extended out of the guide by user action to the original position of the old tool prior to its retraction into the entry guide while the tool'"'"'s controller assists the user by reconfiguring the new tool so as to resemble the original deployed pose of the old tool prior to its retraction into the entry guide.

Claims

1. A medical robotic system comprising:

an entry guide;

an articulated instrument having a distal tip extending out of the entry guide; and

a processor;

the medical robotic system being programmed such that;

when the medical robotic system is operating in a retraction mode and in response to a user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in a retraction direction into the entry guide, the processor automatically commands one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument to be rotated from a deployed state, in which the articulated instrument is not fully retractable into the entry guide, to an entry state of the one or more rotational joints, in which the articulated instrument is fully retractable into the entry guide; and

when the medical robotic system is operating in a surgical mode and in response to a user-commanded input to surgically manipulate the articulated instrument, the processor commands one or more of the rotational joints of the articulated instrument to position the distal tip of the articulated instrument to perform a surgical operation.

2. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein, when the medical robotic system is operating in the retraction mode and in response to the user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide, the processor commands all movement of the articulated instrument to be inhibited except for the retraction of the articulated instrument into the entry guide and the rotation of the one or more rotational joints from the deployed state to the entry state.

3. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein, when the medical robotic system is operating in the retraction mode and in response to the user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide, the processor commands movement of the distal tip in an insertion direction to be inhibited while automatically commanding the one or more rotational joints to be rotated from the deployed state to the entry state.

4. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein, when the medical robotic system is operating in the retraction mode and in response to the user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide, the processor commands retraction of the articulated instrument into the entry guide to be inhibited when a most proximal joint of the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument is within a threshold distance to a distal end of the entry guide unless the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument are in the entry state.

5. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input device that is manipulatable by the user to teleoperate the articulated instrument,

wherein the processor commands haptic feedback to be provided to the input device wherein the haptic feedback indicates that retraction of the articulated instrument into the entry guide is being inhibited.

6. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein the medical robotic system is programmed such that a collision between the articulated instrument and another object is avoided during rotation of the one or more rotational joints from the deployed state to the entry state.

7. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein the entry guide is flexible and wherein the processor commands rotation of any of the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument that is inside the entry guide until a shape of the articulated instrument conforms to bending of the entry guide in response to the user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide.

8. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a switch; and

a manipulator for manipulating the articulated instrument, wherein the processor commands the manipulator to be manually movable by a user in response to activation of the switch, and wherein manual movement of the manipulator by the user generates the user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide.

9. The medical robotic system according to claim 8, further comprising:

a button depressible by the user to indicate to the processor that the medical robotic system is operating in the retraction mode.

10. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input device manipulatable by the user to teleoperate the articulated instrument, wherein the user commands translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide by moving the input device in a corresponding manner, wherein the processor commands haptic feedback to be provided to the input device, and wherein the haptic feedback indicates a difference between a current state of the one or more rotational joints and the entry state of the one or more rotational joints.

11. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein the articulated instrument has an end effector including a pair of jaws, and wherein the processor automatically commands movement of the pair of jaws into a closed position in coordination with commanding the rotation of the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument toward the entry state of the one or more rotational joints.

12. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein the articulated instrument has an end effector including a pair of jaws, and wherein the processor commands movement of the pair of jaws into a closed position, independently of commanding the rotation of the one or more rotational joints to the entry state, by only starting to command closing the pair of jaws after the pair of jaws is retracted to a threshold distance from a distal end of the entry guide.

13. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein, when the medical robotic system is operating in a surgical mode and in response to a user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument back to a position of the articulated instrument at which the medical robotic system entered the retraction mode, the processor automatically commands the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument to be rotated back to the deployed state of the one or more rotational joints.

14. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein, after a tool exchange operation has been performed in which the articulated instrument has been retracted into the entry guide and replaced with a new articulated instrument and in response to a user-commanded translational movement of the new articulated instrument toward a position of the articulated instrument at which the medical robotic system entered the retraction mode, the processor automatically commands one or more rotational joints of the new articulated instrument to be rotated to a state corresponding to the deployed state of the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument.

15. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, wherein, when the medical robotic system is operating in a retraction mode, the processor commands a sensory indication to be provided to the user, wherein the sensory indication indicates at least one of:

a distance of a most proximal of the one or more rotational joints from a distal end of the entry guide, and a difference between a current deployed state of the one or more rotational joints and the entry state of the one or more rotational joints.

16. The medical robotic system according to claim 15, wherein the sensory indication comprises a computer generated auxiliary view that is displayed on a monitor viewable by the user, and wherein the computer generated auxiliary view includes a graphic representation of the current deployed state of the one or more rotational joints.

17. The medical robotic system according to claim 16, wherein the computer generated auxiliary view includes a graphic representation of a barrier point located along a line of retraction of the articulated instrument and distal to the distal end of the entry guide, and wherein the computer generated auxiliary view includes an indication of a distance between the barrier point and a most proximal of the one or more rotational joints.

18. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second articulated instrument having a second distal tip extending out of the entry guide,

wherein the medical robotic system is further programmed such that;

when the medical robotic system is operating in the retraction mode and in response to a user-commanded translational movement of the second articulated instrument in a retraction direction into the entry guide, the processor automatically commands one or more rotational joints of the second articulated instrument to be rotated from a deployed state, in which the second articulated instrument is not fully retractable into the entry guide, to an entry state, in which the second articulated instrument is fully retractable into the entry guide; and

when the medical robotic system is operating in the surgical mode and in response to user-commanded input to surgically manipulate the second articulated instrument, the processor commands one or more of the rotational joints of the second articulated instrument to position the second distal tip of the second articulated instrument to perform the surgical operation.

19. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, further comprising a second articulated instrument having a second distal tip extending out of the entry guide, wherein the medical robotic system is further programmed such that the second articulated instrument is placed in a locked operational state while the processor is automatically commanding the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument from the deployed state to the entry state.

20. The medical robotic system according to claim 1, further comprising a second articulated instrument having a second distal tip extending out of the entry guide, wherein the medical robotic system is further programmed such that the processor commands actuation of the second articulated instrument in response to user-commanded input to surgically manipulate the second articulated instrument while the processor is commanding rotation the one or more rotational joints of the articulated instrument from the deployed state to the entry state in response to the user-commanded translational movement of the articulated instrument in the retraction direction into the entry guide.