Flexible wrist for surgical tool

• US 20040138700A1
• Filed: 12/02/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Anderson, S. Christopher, Cooper, Thomas G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,320,700 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/205
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00142 with means for preventing contamination, e.g. by using a sanitary sheath
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00149 using articulated arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0058 using shape-memory elements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/008 Articulations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/018 for receiving instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00 Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets A61B18/00 takes precedence; contraceptive devices, pessaries, or applicators therefor A61F6/00; eye surgery A61F9/007; ear surgery A61F11/00
• 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 17/1285 for minimally invasive surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/29 Forceps for use in minimally invasive surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1442 Probes having pivoting end effectors, e.g. forceps
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/003 Steerable
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00309 Cut-outs or slits
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2901 Details of shaft
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/305 Details of wrist mechanisms at distal ends of robotic arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/306 Wrists with multiple vertebrae
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/71 Manipulators operated by drive cable mechanisms

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a tool having a wrist mechanism that provides pitch and yaw rotation in such a way that the tool has no singularity in roll, pitch, and yaw. In one embodiment, a minimally invasive surgical instrument comprises an elongate shaft having a working end, a proximal end, and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end; and an end effector. A wrist member has a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall. The wall of the flexible tube includes a plurality of lumens oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube. The wrist member has a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector. A plurality of actuation cables have distal portions connected to the end effector and extend from the distal portion through the lumens of the wall of the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation.

Claims

1. A minimally invasive surgical instrument comprising:

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

an end effector;

a wrist member having a flexible tube and an inner spring which include proximal portions connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and distal portions connected to the end effector, the inner spring being disposed inside an interior cavity of the flexible tube, the inner spring having an axis which is parallel to an axis of the flexible tube; and

a plurality of actuation cables having distal portions connected to the end effector and extending from the distal portion through the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation.

2. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the actuation cables are disposed inside a hollow interior of the inner spring.

3. The instrument of claim 1 wherein at least three actuation cables are connected to the end effector.

4. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the proximal portions of the actuation cables are connected to a gimbal plate configured to actuate the actuation cables, the gimbal plate being disposed proximal of the proximal end of the elongate shaft.

5. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the actuation cables are disposed between the inner spring and the flexible tube.

6. The instrument of claim 5 wherein the flexible tube includes interior axial slots bounded by an external surface of the inner spring to form lumens for receiving the actuation cables.

7. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the flexible tube includes a plurality of transverse cut-outs which are generally transverse to the axis of the flexible tube.

8. A minimally invasive surgical instrument comprising:

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

an end effector;

a wrist member having a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall, the wall of the flexible tube including a plurality of lumens oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube, the wrist member having a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector; and

a plurality of actuation cables having distal portions connected to the end effector and extending from the distal portion through the lumens of the wall of the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation.

9. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the wall of the flexible tube includes twelve lumens.

10. The instrument of claim 8 wherein each actuation cable is looped around a distal portion of the wall of the flexible tube to extend through two adjacent lumens.

11. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the flexible tube includes a plurality of transverse cut-outs which are generally transverse to the axis of the flexible tube.

12. The instrument of claim 11 further comprising an outer cover wrapped around an external surface of the flexible tube.

13. The instrument of claim 11 wherein the transverse cut-outs comprise alternating layers of cut-outs each having a pair of cut-outs which are disposed opposite to one another, the cut-outs of each layer being oriented in a direction which is spaced by about 90 degrees from the cut-outs of an adjacent layer.

14. The instrument of claim 13 wherein the transverse cut-outs leave ribs connected between disk portions above and below the ribs, and wherein slits extending generally along the axis of the flexible tube into the disk portions are provided on both sides of the ribs.

15. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the flexible tube comprises an inner tube having a plurality of slots oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube and an outer cover wrapped around the inner tube to form the lumens at the slots.

16. The instrument of claim 15 wherein the outer cover comprises an exterior spring.

17. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the flexible tube comprises a plurality of springs each disposed around one of the plurality of slots.

18. The instrument of claim 8 further comprising an inner spring disposed around the interior of the flexible tube.

19. The instrument of claim 8 further comprising a braided cover on an exterior surface of the flexible tube, the braided cover having a first set of wires wound in a clockwise direction between a proximal end and a distal end of the flexible tube and a second set of wires wound in a counter-clockwise direction between the proximal end and the distal end of the flexible tube and interwoven with the first set of wires.

20. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the wall of the flexible tube comprises a plurality of axial sliding members which are slidably connected with each other by an axial connection generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube.

21. The instrument of claim 20 wherein the axial connection comprises a tongue and groove connection.

22. The instrument of claim 20 wherein each axial sliding member includes a lumen for receiving one of the actuation cables.

23. The instrument of claim 20 wherein each axial sliding member is integrally formed with one of the actuation cables as an integrated sliding element.

24. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the flexible tube comprises a plurality of axial springs coupled with each other and disposed around a circumference of the flexible tube, each axial spring having coils which overlap with coils of an adjacent axial spring to provide one of the lumens for receiving one of the actuation cables.

25. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the flexible tube comprises a wave spring having a plurality of wave spring segments which include high points and low points connected in series along the axis of the flexible tube, the high points of one wave spring segment being connected to the low points of an adjacent wave spring segment.

26. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the wrist includes a distal termination disk connected to a distal end of the flexible tube, the distal termination disk being substantially more rigid than the flexible tube.

27. A minimally invasive surgical instrument comprising:

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

an end effector;

a wrist member having an inner spring which includes a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector, the wrist member having a plurality of annular disks distributed along an axis of the inner spring, the annular disks each having an inside edge connected with the inner spring; and

a plurality of actuation cables having distal portions connected to the end effector and extending from the distal portion through the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation.

28. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the disks include a plurality of holes through which the actuation cables extend.

29. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the disks each include a pair of inner tabs disposed opposite from one another and extending from the inside edge into a gap between coils of the inner spring.

30. The instrument of claim 28 wherein adjacent disks are oriented with the inner tabs of one disk disposed about 90 degrees apart from the inner tabs of the adjacent disk.

31. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the disks each include an outer mating surface and an inner mating surface for mating between adjacent disks, the outer mating surface of one disk mating with the inner mating surface of the adjacent disk.

32. The instrument of claim 31 wherein the outer mating surface and the inner mating surface are generally spherical in shape.

33. The instrument of claim 27 further comprising a plurality of elastomer members each disposed between and connected with adjacent disks.

34. The instrument of claim 27 further comprising a wrist cover disposed outside of the inner spring and the annular disks.

35. The instrument of claim 34 wherein the wrist cover comprises a flat spiral of non-conductive material.

36. The instrument of claim 35 wherein the flat spiral includes curled edges which overlap between adjacent layers of the spiral.

37. The instrument of claim 35 wherein the flat spiral includes grooves oriented generally parallel to the axis of the inner spring.