Surgical kit inspection systems and methods are provided for inspecting surgical kits having parts of different types. The surgical kit inspection system comprises a vision unit including a first camera unit and a second camera unit to capture images of parts of a first type and a second type in each kit and to capture images of loose parts from each kit that are placed on a light surface. A robot supports the vision unit to move the first and second camera units relative to the parts in each surgical kit. One or more controllers obtain unique inspection instructions for each of the surgical kits to control inspection of each of the surgical kits and control movement of the robot and the vision unit accordingly to provide output indicating inspection results for each of the surgical kits.

In one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for performing surgical procedures is disclosed including a flexible entry guide tube, and a first steering device. The flexible entry guide tube has one or more lumens extending along its length from a proximal end to substantially at or near a distal end. At least one of the one or more lumens is an instrument lumen with open ends to receive a flexible shaft of a surgical tool to perform surgery near the distal end of the flexible entry guide tube. The first steering device is insertable into the instrument lumen to shape the flexible entry guide tube as it is inserted through an opening in a body and along a path towards a surgical site. The apparatus may further include a flexible locking device to couple to the flexible entry guide tube and selectively rigidize the flexible entry guide tube to hold its shape. The flexible entry guide tube may be steered by remote control with one or more actuators.

A surgical instrument for use with a robotic system that has a control unit and a shaft portion that includes an electrically conductive elongated member that is attached to a portion of the robotic system. The elongated member is configured to transmit control motions from the robotic system to an end effector.

A method for customizing an interactive control boundary includes positioning a virtual implant model relative to a virtual bone model based on a user input, and extracting reference feature information associated with the virtual implant model, wherein the reference feature information describes one of a point, a line, a plane, and a surface associated with the virtual implant model. The method further includes mapping the extracted reference feature information to the virtual model of the bone, and receiving information indicative of a positional landmark associated with the bone, then estimating an intersection between the positional landmark and the mapped reference feature and generating a virtual boundary based, at least in part, on the estimated intersection between the positional landmark and the mapped reference feature.

A system is disclosed herein for providing a kinetic assessment and preparation of a prosthetic joint comprising one or more prosthetic components. The system comprises a prosthetic component including sensors and circuitry configured to measure load, position of load, and joint alignment. The system further includes a remote system for receiving, processing, and displaying quantitative measurements from the sensors. The kinetic assessment measures joint alignment under loading that will be similar to that of a final joint installation. The kinetic assessment can use trial or permanent prosthetic components. Furthermore, adjustments can be made to the applied load magnitude, position of load, and joint alignment by various means to fine-tune an installation. The kinetic assessment increases both performance and reliability of the installed joint by reducing error that is introduced by elements that load or modify the joint dynamics not taken into account by prior assessment methods.

A docking system for a mechanical telemaniplator is provided, optionally to be used with a mechanical telemanipulator with a master-slave configuration. The docking system is configured to allow for safe and secure immobilization of a handle or master manipulator of a mechanical telemanipulator with a master-slave configuration so as to prevent movement of a slave manipulator or instrument. While the docking element can be deployed on any mechanical telemanipulator, it can advantageously be used on a surgical platform comprising a mechanical telemanipulator with a master-slave configuration. In this context, the docking system can be used to secure the handle portion or master manipulator of the surgical platform to safely prevent undesirable movement of a slave manipulator or surgical instrument.

Disclosed is a reusable surgical instrument (1) with an articulated end-effector (3), such as a dissector, scissor or grasper, to enhance a surgeon's performance during various surgical procedures. The longitudinal axis of the instrument is defined by a shaft (2), comprising an internal structural element (2″) covered by an external tube (2′), which may be inserted through a surgical incision into the body of a patient, optionally through a trocar. The articulated end-effector (3) is mounted on the distal extremity of the shaft's internal structural element and comprises a plurality of links interconnected by a plurality of joints, whose movements are remotely actuated by the surgeon's hands. This remote actuation is accomplished via mechanical transmission (5, 6, 7), mainly composed of flexible elements, which are able to deliver motion from a set of actuation elements, placed at a proximal extremity of the shaft (2), to the instrument's articulated end-effector (3). The external tube (2′) can be easily and individually detached from the shaft (2) after each procedure, so that the instrument (1) can be more effectively cleaned and sterilized.

A pull wire attachment system for a minimally invasive medical instrument comprises an anchoring element fixedly attached to the medical instrument. The anchoring element has a first outer diameter. The system also includes a pull wire assembly comprising an elongate pull wire having a proximal end and a distal end and a securing element coupled to the distal end of the pull wire. The securing element includes a second outer diameter sized smaller than the first outer diameter of the anchoring element. The securing element is coupled to the anchoring element to prevent proximal translation of the distal end of the pull wire along a longitudinal axis of the medical instrument past the anchoring element.

Various exemplary methods, systems, and devices for initializing a surgical tool are provided. In general, a surgical tool can include an end effector, an elongate shaft, and a wrist that couples the end effector to a distal end of the shaft. The wrist can be configured to facilitate movement of the end effector relative to the shaft. The surgical tool can include multiple flexible members configured to move, either individually or as a group including any plural number of the flexible members, to cause the movement of the end effector relative to the shaft by pivoting at the wrist. The movement of the end effector can include movement between an unarticulated position and an articulated position. The surgical tool can also include one or more homing members configured to be selectively actuated to force the end effector into the unarticulated position.

A robot comprising: a base; a flexible arm extending from the base and having: a plurality of joints whereby the configuration of the arm can be altered, a plurality of drivers arranged to drive the joints to move, and an attachment structure for attaching a tool to the arm; and a control unit configured to control the drivers and to receive inputs from sensors, and operable in a mode in which, whilst a tool is attached to the attachment structure and captive in a port, it: (i) controls the drivers to permit the arm to be reconfigured by the action of an external force applied to the arm so as to cause the tool to be retracted from the port along a longitudinal axis of the tool; and (ii) on receiving sensor input indicating that the arm has been reconfigured so as to cause the tool to be retracted from the port along a longitudinal axis of the tool, controls the drivers to reconfigure the arm so as to agitate the tool transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tool.