MODULAR MAINPULATOR SUPPORT FOR ROBOTIC SURGERY

• US 20090163931A1
• Filed: 01/29/2009
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Rosa, David J., Guthart, Gary S., Cooper, Thomas G., Blumenkranz, Stephen J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,348,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/130
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/304 including a freely orientable platform, e.g. so called 'Stewart platforms'
• 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 34/37 Master-slave robots A61B34/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/71 Manipulators operated by drive cable mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/10 for stereotaxic surgery, e.g. frame-based stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/361 Image-producing devices, e.g. surgical cameras
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/09 Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/14 Arm movement, spatial
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/15 Jointed arm
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/16 Cartesian, three degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/17 Cylindrical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/18 Spherical

Abstract

A robotic surgery system comprises a mounting base, a plurality of surgical instruments, and an articulate support assembly. Each instrument is insertable into a patient through an associated minimally invasive aperture to a desired internal surgical site. The articulate support assembly movably supports the instruments relative to the base. The support generally comprises an orienting platform, a platform linkage movably supporting the orienting platform relative to the base, and a plurality of manipulators mounted to the orienting platform, wherein each manipulator movably supports an associated instrument.

Claims

1-30. -30. (canceled)

31. A robotic surgery system comprising:

a mounting base;

an articulate support assembly comprising;

an orienting platform;

a platform linkage movably supporting the orienting platform relative to the base, the platform linkage mounted on the mounting base; and

a plurality of manipulators mounted to the orienting platform, each manipulator movably supporting an associated surgical instrument insertable into a patient;

wherein the platform linkage comprises a linear rail, a slidable carriage coupleable to the rail, and

at least one arm rotationally coupleable to the carriage on a proximal end and to the orienting platform on a distal end.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the mounting base comprises a ceiling supported structure so as to permit the articulate support assembly to extend generally downward from the base.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the platform linkage accommodates translation of the orienting platform in three dimensions.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the platform linkage accommodates rotation of the orienting platform about one axis.

35. The system of claim 31, further comprising a plurality of arms coupleable to the orienting platform, each arm movably supporting an associated manipulator and defining releasably fixable links and joints that are pre-configurable.

36. A robotic surgery system comprising:

a mounting base; and

an articulate support assembly comprising;

an orienting platform;

a platform linkage movably supporting the orienting platform relative to the base, the platform linkage mounted on the mounting base; and

a plurality of manipulators mounted to the orienting platform, each manipulator movably supporting an associated surgical instrument insertable into a patient, the system further comprising a plurality of arms coupleable to the orienting platform, each arm movably supporting an associated manipulator and defining releasably fixable links and joints that are pre-configurable, wherein the orienting platform comprises four hubs rotationally coupleable to the plurality of arms and a fifth hub coupleable to the platform linkage, wherein the fifth hub is aligned with a pivot point and accommodates rotation of the orienting platform about the pivot point.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein each arm accommodates translation of the fixable links and joints in one dimension.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein each arm accommodates rotation of the fixable links and joints about two or three axes.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein each arm has no more than four degrees of freedom.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein the system comprises three arms for movably supporting instrument manipulators and one arm for movably supporting an image capture device manipulator.

41. The system of claim 36, wherein at least one arm includes at least one balanced, fixable, jointed parallelogram linkage structure extending between a pair of adjacent fixable rotational joints, the jointed parallelogram structure accommodating motion in a generally vertical direction, and the adjacent rotational joints accommodating pivotal motion about vertical axes.

42. The system of claim 36, further comprising a brake system coupled to the articulate support assembly, the brake system releasably inhibiting articulation of the fixable links and joints previously configured in at least substantially fixed configuration, wherein the brake system is biased toward the fixed configuration, the brake system including a brake release actuator for releasing the fixable links and joints to a repositionable configuration in which the fixable links and joints can be articulated.

43. The robotic surgery system of claim 36, further comprising a joint sensor system coupling a plurality of the fixable links and joints to a servomechanism, the sensor system generating joint configuration signals, wherein the

servomechanism includes a computer and wherein the joint sensor system transmits the joint configuration signals to the computer.

44. The robotic surgery system of claim 43, wherein the computer calculates a coordinate system transformation between a reference coordinate system affixed relative to the mounting base and the instruments using the joint configuration signals.

45. The system of claim 36, wherein at least one manipulator is mechanically constrained so that a manipulator base 66 is at a fixed angle relative to horizontal.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the at least one manipulator is angularly offset relative to horizontal in a range from about 45 degrees to about 50 degrees.

47. The system of claim 45, wherein the at least one manipulator is angularly offset relative to horizontal by about 15 degrees.

48. The system of claim 45, wherein the at least one manipulator is angularly offset relative to horizontal in a range from about 65 degrees to about 75 degrees.

49. The system of claim 45, wherein the at least one manipulator comprises an offset remote center linkage 32, 34 for constraining spherical pivoting of the instrument about a pivot point in space.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the offset remote center manipulator comprises an articulate linkage assembly having a manipulator base rotationally coupled to a parallelogram linkage base for rotation about a first axis, the parallelogram linkage base coupled to an instrument holder by a plurality of driven links and joints, the driven links and joints defining a parallelogram so as to constrain an elongate shaft of the instrument relative to a pivot point when the instrument is mounted to the instrument holder and the shaft is moved in at least one degree of freedom, wherein the first axis and a first side of the parallelogram adjacent the parallelogram linkage base intersect the shaft at the pivot point, and the first side of the parallelogram is angularly offset from the first axis.

51. The system of claim 36, further comprising a display coupleable to the orienting platform.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the display comprises an interactive monitor.

53. A method for preparing a robotic surgery system having a mounting base, a plurality of surgical instruments, and an articulate support assembly movably supporting the instruments relative to the base, the method comprising:

moving an orienting platform to pre-position a plurality of manipulators mounted to the orienting platform by articulating a platform linkage movably supporting the orienting platform relative to the base so that the surgical instruments supported by the manipulators are orientated towards associated minimally invasive apertures;

wherein the platform linkage comprises a linear rail, a slidable carriage coupleable to the rail, and at least one arm rotationally coupleable to the carriage on a proximal end and to the orienting platform on a distal end.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein moving comprises translating the orienting platform in three dimensions.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein moving comprises rotating the orienting platform about one axis.

56. The method of claim 53, further comprising moving the plurality of manipulators by articulating a plurality of arms coupleable to the orienting platform.

57. The method of claim 53, further comprising restraining the platform linkage, orienting platform, or arms with a brake system so as to prevent further articulation.

58. An articulate support assembly comprising:

an orienting platform;

a plurality of set-up joint arms, each of the arms coupleable to the orienting platform through a rotatable hub, at least one of the plurality of arms comprising a plurality of configurable linkages and joints comprising;

at least one parallelogram linkage structure for moving a distal end of the arm in a vertical direction.

59. The assembly of claim 58, further comprising a platform linkage rotationally coupled to the orienting platform.

60. The assembly of claim 59, the orienting platform comprising a plurality of hubs coupleabled to the plurality of arms and a hub coupleable to the platform linkage at a pivot point, the orienting platform rotatable about the pivot point.

61. The assembly of claim 59, the plurality of hubs comprising four hubs.

62. The assembly of claim 59, the platform linkage comprising a linear rail, a slidable carriage coupleable to the rail, and at least one arm rotationally coupleable to the carriage on a proximal end and to the orienting platform on a distal end.

63. The assembly of claim 59, the platform linkage coupled to a mounting base, the mounting base coupled to a ceiling-height support structure.

64. The assembly of claim 58, the distal end of each arm coupleable to a manipulator.

65. The assembly of claim 64, each manipulator comprising an offset remote center linkage for constraining spherical pivoting of an instrument about a pivot point, the instrument being insertable into the body of a patient through an aperture.

66. The assembly of claim 64, the manipulator coupled to the distal end of each arm by a manipulator base support, the manipulator comprising a manipulator base coupled to the manipulator base support.

67. The assembly of claim 58, each of the plurality of arms comprising at least one parallelogram linkage structure for moving a distal end of the arm in a vertical direction.

68. The assembly of claim 58, each parallelogram linkage structure comprising:

a proximal bracket;

a distal bracket; and

a linkage pivotally jointed to the proximal and distal brackets.

69. The assembly of claim 58, the plurality of links and joints further comprising:

at least one linkage coupled to a rotational joint.

70. The assembly of claim 69, the at least one linkage coupled to a rotational joint comprising an auxiliary linkage rotationally coupled to the rest of the plurality of links and joints by an auxiliary pivot.

71. The assembly of claim 69, at least one joint being motorized.

72. The assembly of claim 58, the at least one joint comprising a brake to lock the corresponding joint into place.

73. The assembly of claim 58, further comprising a display coupled to the orienting platform.