Robotic surgery system including position sensors using fiber Bragg gratings

• US 9,101,380 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• 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): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIM, KYUNG J
• Application Number:
  US13/048,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20110224684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 606/130, 294/28
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

A surgical instrument is provided, including: at least one articulatable arm having a distal end, a proximal end, and at least one joint region disposed between the distal and proximal ends; an optical fiber bend sensor provided in the at least one joint region of the at least one articulatable arm; a detection system coupled to the optical fiber bend sensor, said detection system comprising a light source and a light detector for detecting light reflected by or transmitted through the optical fiber bend sensor to determine a position of at least one joint region of the at least one articulatable arm based on the detected light reflected by or transmitted through the optical fiber bend sensor; and a control system comprising a servo controller for effectuating movement of the arm.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a robotic manipulator; and

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

an elongate arm comprising;

a first body segment comprising a distal end,

a second body segment comprising a proximal end,

a joint region coupled to the distal end of the first body segment and coupled to the proximal end of the second body segment, wherein the joint region extends between the distal end of the first body segment and the proximal end of the second body segment, and

a channel through the elongate arm, wherein the channel includes an axis; and

an optical fiber positioned in the channel and including an optical fiber bend sensor at the joint region of the elongate arm, wherein the optical fiber bend sensor translates, in the channel, along the axis of the channel relative to the joint region in response to bending of the joint 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 optical fiber core comprises a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) region.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured such that following the axial translation of the optical fiber bend sensor,

a first portion of a length of the optical fiber bend sensor is strained by the bending of the joint region;

and

a second portion of the length of the optical fiber bend sensor translates axially outside of the joint region and is unstrained by the bending of the joint region.

5. The apparatus of claim 1:

wherein a length of the joint region along the axis of the channel is a length between the first body segment and the second body segment,

wherein a length of the optical fiber bend sensor along the axis of the channel is longer than the length of the joint region along the axis of the channel, and

wherein the apparatus is configured such that following the translation of the optical fiber bend sensor,

a first portion of the length of the optical fiber bend sensor is within the entire length of the joint region and is strained by the bending of the joint region, and

a second portion of the length of the optical fiber bend sensor is outside the length of the joint region and is unstrained by the bending of the joint region.

6. The apparatus of claim 3:

wherein the apparatus is configured such that following the axial translation of the optical fiber bend sensor;

a first portion of a length of the FBG region of at least one of the plurality of optical cores is strained by the bending of the joint region; and

a second portion of the length of the FBG region of the at least one of the plurality of optical cores translates axially outside of the joint region following the axial translation of the optical fiber bend sensor, wherein the second portion of the length of the FBG region of the at least one of the plurality of optical cores is unstrained by the bending of the joint region.

7. The apparatus of claim 3:

wherein a length of the joint region along the axis of the channel is a length between the first body segment and the second body segment,

wherein a length of the optical fiber bend sensor along the axis of the channel is longer than the length of the joint region along the axis of the channel, and

wherein the apparatus is configured such that following the translation of the optical fiber bend sensor,

a first portion of the length of the optical fiber bend sensor is within the entire length of the joint region and is strained by the bending of the joint region, and

a second portion of the length of the optical fiber bend sensor is outside the length of the joint region and is unstrained by the bending of the joint region.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the optic fiber is fixed in the channel at two separate and removed locations.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the axis of the channel is a neutral axis of the elongate arm.

10. The apparatus of claim 4, 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.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the reflectance spectrum includes first reflected light from the first portion of the optical fiber bend senor and second reflected light from the second portion of the optical fiber bend sensor, and the first reflected light and the second reflected light add coherently to form the reflectance spectrum.

12. The apparatus of claim 11:

wherein the first reflected light is shifted in wavelength, and the second reflected light is not shifted in wavelength; and

wherein the detection system is configured to analyze a shape of the reflectance spectrum to determine a position of the joint region.

13. The apparatus of claim 1:

wherein the elongate arm further comprises a second joint region proximal to the first joint region, and

wherein the optical fiber is fixed in the channel proximal to the second joint region.

14. A method comprising:

positioning an optical fiber including an optical fiber bend sensor in a channel of an elongate arm of a surgical instrument, the surgical instrument being configured to be mounted on a robotic manipulator,

wherein the elongate arm comprises;

a first body segment comprising a distal end,

a second body segment comprising a proximal end,

a joint region coupled to the distal end of the first body segment and coupled to the proximal end of the second body segment, wherein the joint region extends between the distal end of the first body segment and the proximal end of the second body segment,

wherein the channel includes an axis;

positioning the optical fiber bend sensor within the joint region of the elongate arm; and

affixing the optical fiber so that the optical fiber bend sensor translates, in the channel, along the axis of the channel relative to the joint region in response to bending of the joint region.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a length of the joint region is a length between the first body segment and the second body segment, and wherein a length of the optical fiber bend sensor is equal to the length of the joint region.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein a length of the joint region is a length between the first body segment and the second body segment, and wherein a length of the optical fiber bend sensor is longer than the length of the joint region.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the affixing comprises:

affixing the optical fiber at an anchor point.