User interface methods for alternate tool modes for robotic surgical tools

• US 9,339,343 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2012
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Swarup, Nitish, Manzo, Scott E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): King, Rodney P
• Application Number:
  US13/533,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20130006268A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 606/1, 606/130
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1445 at the distal end of a shaft, e.g. forceps or scissors at the end of a rigid rod
• 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 2034/715 Cable tensioning mechanisms for removing slack
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/37 Master-slave robots A61B34/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/71 Manipulators operated by drive cable mechanisms
• 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 implementation, a method is disclosed in which a lock sensing mode is entered for a robotic surgical instrument. In the lock sensing mode, the degrees of freedom of movement in the robotic surgical instrument are switchably reduced. Further in the lock sensing mode, one or more end effectors of the robotic surgical instrument are switchably clamped together in the robotic surgical instrument. An increased level of torque may also be applied to the end effectors to increase a gripping force applied by the one or more end effectors in response to the reduced degrees of freedom of movement in the robotic surgical instrument.

Claims

1. A method for a robotic surgical system including a master control console and one or more robotic surgical tools, the method comprising:

sensing for a first mode selection signal of the master control console to enter a lock sensing mode;

in the lock sensing mode, sensing for a first hard stop in a first squeezing together of a pair of master grips of a touch sensitive handle, to enter a lock mode for a robotic surgical tool;

in the lock mode, sensing for a second hard stop in a second squeezing together of the pair of master grips of the touch sensitive handle, to exit the lock mode for the robotic surgical tool; and

in the lock sensing mode, sensing for a second mode selection signal of the master control console to exit the lock sensing mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a control input mechanism controls entry into and exit from the lock sensing mode.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein

the control input mechanism is a mode selection switch,

the sensing for the first mode selection signal is a sensing for a first activation of the mode selection switch, and

the sensing for the second mode selection signal is a sensing for a second activation of the mode selection switch.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

locking a wrist of the robotic surgical tool in response to the lock mode.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

ratcheting end effectors of the robotic surgical tool in response to the lock mode.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

clamping end effectors of the robotic surgical tool together and increasing the torque applied to the end effectors in response to the lock mode.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

releasing end effectors of the robotic surgical tool in response to sensing the second hard stop.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

unlocking the wrist of the robotic surgical tool in response to sensing the second hard stop.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein

at least one or more elements of the method are controlled by instructions stored on a computer readable medium and performed by a processor.

10. A method for a robotic surgical system including a master control console and one or more robotic surgical tools, the method comprising:

sensing for a first alternate user input signal from a user controlled input mechanism of the master control console to enter an alternate sensing mode;

in the alternate sensing mode, sensing for a second alternate user input signal from a first squeezing together of a pair of master grips of a touch sensitive handle to enter an alternate tool mode differing from a normal tool mode;

alternatively controlling a robotic surgical tool in response to the alternative tool mode being sensed for the first time; and

in the alternate tool mode, further sensing for the second alternate user input signal from a second squeezing together of the pair of master grips of the touch sensitive handle to exit the alternate tool mode.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising

in response to exiting the alternative tool mode, sensing for the first alternate user input signal from the user controlled input mechanism to exit the alternate sensing mode.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein

the user controlled input mechanism is a mode selection switch.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein

the user controlled input mechanism is near the pair of master grips of the touch sensitive handle.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein

at least one sensing is controlled by instructions stored on a computer readable medium and performed by a processor.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the alternate tool mode is a lock mode for a robotic surgical tool and the method further comprises:

locking a wrist of the robotic surgical tool.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

ratcheting end effectors of the robotic surgical tool in response to the lock mode.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

clamping end effectors of the robotic surgical tool together and increasing the torque applied to the end effectors in response to the lock mode.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the second alternate user input signal was sensed a second time and the method further comprises:

releasing end effectors of the robotic surgical tool.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

unlocking the wrist of the robotic surgical tool in response to sensing the second alternate user input signal for the second time.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein

the alternate controlling is performed by a processor in response to execution of instructions stored in a computer readable medium.