Robotic surgery system including position sensors using fiber bragg gratings

• US 9,883,914 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2015
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Larkin, David Q., Shafer, David C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIM, KYUNG J
• Application Number:
  US14/813,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20150374453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/009 with bending or curvature detection of the insertion part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00057 Light
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0477 with pre-tied sutures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2906 Multiple forceps
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2048 using an accelerometer or inertia sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2059 Mechanical position encoders
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2061 using shape-sensors, e.g. fiber shape sensors with Bragg gratings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2065 Tracking using image or pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/305 Details of wrist mechanisms at distal ends of robotic arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3614 using optical fibre
• 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 34/37 Master-slave robots A61B34/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/71 Manipulators operated by drive cable mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/30 Devices for illuminating a surgical field, the devices having an interrelation with other surgical devices or with a surgical procedure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/361 Image-producing devices, e.g. surgical cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 18/06 flexible
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/025 including optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1635 flexible-arm control
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/09 : Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/28 : Joint
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/46 : Sensing device
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/47 : Optical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 : Assembling or joining
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/20305 : Robotic arm

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a robotic manipulator and a surgical instrument mounted to the robotic manipulator. The surgical instrument comprises an elongate arm including an actively controlled bendable region including at least one joint region and an end effector and a passively bendable region including a distal end coupled to the actively controlled bendable region. An actuation mechanism extends through the passively bendable region and is coupled to the at least one joint region to control the actively controlled bendable region. A channel extends through the elongate arm, and an optical fiber is positioned in the channel. The optical fiber includes an optical fiber bend sensor in at least one of the passively bendable region or the actively controlled bendable region.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a robotic manipulator; and

a surgical instrument mounted to the robotic manipulator, the surgical instrument comprising;

an elongate arm comprising;

an actively controlled bendable region including at least one joint region and an end effector,

a passively bendable region including a distal end coupled to the actively controlled bendable region,

an actuation mechanism extending through the passively bendable region and coupled to the at least one joint region to control the actively controlled bendable region, and

a channel extending through the elongate arm; and

an optical fiber positioned in the channel, wherein the optical fiber includes an optical fiber bend sensor in at least one of the passively bendable region or the actively controlled bendable region.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber bend sensor comprises a plurality of optical fiber cores in the optical fiber.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber bend sensor comprises a plurality of optical fiber cores in the optical fiber, and each of the plurality of optical fiber cores comprises a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) region.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a detection system, coupled to the optical fiber bend sensor, comprising;

a light source, wherein the light source is configured to provide light to the optical fiber bend sensor; and

a light detector, wherein the light detector is configured to receive a reflectance spectrum from the optical fiber bend sensor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

a control system comprising a servo controller,

wherein the control system is configured to command a bend in the at least one joint region, and

wherein the control system is configured to receive sensed information from the detection system.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the control system is configured to use the sensed information to compensate elongate arm position information for bending of the passively bendable region.

7. The apparatus of claim 5:

wherein the control system further comprises a display system, and

wherein the control system is configured to combine image data relative to a fixed external coordinate system with position information from the detection system to display the image data relative to a coordinate system associated with the elongate arm.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

an imaging device positioned on the elongate arm,

wherein the control system is configured to display a first image including a second image from the imaging device and the image data, and

wherein the first image is displayed relative to a coordinate system associated with the second image from the imaging device.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

an imaging device positioned on the elongate arm,

wherein the control system comprises a display system configured to display an image from the imaging device and to display a position of the imaging device based on detected light reflected by or transmitted through the optical fiber bend sensor.

10. The apparatus of claim 9:

wherein the control system comprises a control input device configured to receive control input from a user,

wherein the control input device is coupled to the surgical instrument to command movement of the surgical instrument in at least one-degree of freedom in response to the control input from the user,

wherein the control input device is configured to provide feedback to the user regarding at least one of a position of the elongate arm or an applied force of the elongate arm, and

wherein the feedback is based on sensed information received by the control system from the detection system.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber bend sensor comprises a single optical fiber including a plurality of optical fiber cores.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a longitudinal axis of the channel is a substantially neutral bending axis of the elongate arm.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber comprises a plurality of optical fiber cores axially attached to the channel at least at two points along the channel.

14. The apparatus of claim 1:

wherein the optical fiber bend sensor comprises at least one Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) region; and

wherein the apparatus further comprises a detection system configured to determine an applied force of the at least one joint region of the elongate arm based on detected light reflected by or transmitted through the at least one FBG region.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an actuator sensor, wherein the actuator sensor is configured to detect movement of the actuation mechanism,

wherein a control system is configured to receive and to use sensed information from a detection system coupled to the optical fiber and sensed information from the actuator sensor as feedback sources.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a robotic manipulator; and

a surgical instrument mounted to the robotic manipulator, the surgical instrument comprising;

an elongate arm comprising;

an actively controlled bendable region including at least one joint region and an end effector,

a passively bendable region including a distal end coupled to the actively controlled bendable region,

an actuation mechanism extending through the passively bendable region and coupled to the at least one joint region to control the actively controlled bendable region, and

a channel extending through the elongate arm; and

an optical fiber positioned in the channel, wherein the optical fiber includes an optical fiber bend sensor in at least one of the passively bendable region or the actively controlled bendable region, wherein the optical fiber comprises a plurality of optical fiber cores, and each of the plurality of optical fiber cores comprises a plurality of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) regions, and wherein the optical fiber bend sensor includes;

a first bend sensor region including at least one of the plurality of FBG regions in the passively bendable region; and

a second bend sensor region including at least one of the plurality of FBG regions in the actively controlled bendable region.

17. The apparatus of claim 16:

wherein the actively controlled bendable region includes a plurality of joint regions,

wherein the plurality of joint regions includes the at least one joint region,

wherein the optical fiber comprises a plurality of optical fiber cores, and each of the plurality of optical fiber cores comprises a plurality of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) regions,

wherein the optical fiber bend sensor comprises a plurality of bend sensor regions, and

wherein each of the plurality of bend sensor regions comprises one of the plurality of FBG regions positioned to correspond to one of the plurality of joint regions.

18. The apparatus of claim 17:

wherein the plurality of optical fiber cores are anchored to an anchor point fixed relative to the elongate arm; and

wherein each of the plurality of FBG regions has a length longer than a length of the corresponding one of the plurality of joint regions such that the apparatus is configured to allow the FBG regions to detect bending of the corresponding one of the plurality of joint regions, despite axial movement of the optical fiber cores relative to the elongate arm caused by bending of one or more of the plurality of joint regions.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

a detection system coupled to the optical fiber,

wherein the detection system is configured to measure a shape of a spectrum of detected light from each of the plurality of FBG regions.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

a detection system coupled to the optical fiber,

wherein the detection system is configured to measure a shift in wavelength of detected light from each of the plurality of FBG regions.