A robotic system includes an electrosurgical instrument having an instrument housing with a shaft and first and second jaw members attached thereto movable to grasp tissue. An input is coupled to a jaw drive rod and is configured to move the jaw members. A strain gauge is coupled to the jaw drive rod and is configured to measure an amount of strain thereon and communicate the amount of strain to a robotic controller. A handle is remotely disposed relative to the instrument housing and is configured to communicate with the input for controlling the jaw members. The handle includes a housing having components therein and a lever operably associated therewith such that movement of the lever relative to the housing correlates to movement of the jaw members. The components are configured to operably regulate the resistance of the lever in response to the amount of strain from the strain gauge.

A robotic system includes an electrosurgical instrument having an instrument housing with a shaft and first and second jaw members attached thereto movable to grasp tissue. An input is coupled to a jaw drive rod and is configured to move the jaw members. A strain gauge is coupled to the jaw drive rod and is configured to measure an amount of strain thereon and communicate the amount of strain to a robotic controller. A handle is remotely disposed relative to the instrument housing and is configured to communicate with the input for controlling the jaw members. The handle includes a housing having components therein and a lever operably associated therewith such that movement of the lever relative to the housing correlates to movement of the jaw members. The components are configured to operably regulate the resistance of the lever in response to the amount of strain from the strain gauge.

The disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for a surgical tool or a surgical robotic system. An example computer-implemented method for evaluating calibrations of a surgical tool includes fixating a joint of the surgical tool at a first angle, the joint being driven by an actuator, measuring an actuator position corresponding to the first angle, accessing a calibrated offset corresponding to the first angle, determining an expected joint angle based on the measured actuator position and the calibrated offset, and reporting a first difference between the expected joint angle and the first angle.

The disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for a surgical tool or a surgical robotic system. An example computer-implemented method for evaluating calibrations of a surgical tool includes fixating a joint of the surgical tool at a first angle, the joint being driven by an actuator, measuring an actuator position corresponding to the first angle, accessing a calibrated offset corresponding to the first angle, determining an expected joint angle based on the measured actuator position and the calibrated offset, and reporting a first difference between the expected joint angle and the first angle.

An electrosurgical instrument for use in a robotic surgical system includes an electrosurgical end effector, a housing configured to be operably coupled to an instrument drive unit, a shaft extending distally from the housing, and a wrist assembly coupled to a distal end portion of the shaft. The wrist assembly includes a first pivot member and a second pivot member having a proximal end portion movably coupled to the first pivot member, and a distal end portion configured to be coupled to the end effector. The first pivot member has a pair of first and second distally-extending arms each defining a first groove configured to receive and guide a cable.

Embodiments described herein provide various examples of a machine-learning-based visual-haptic system for constructing visual-haptic models for various interactions between surgical tools and tissues. In one aspect, a process for constructing a visual-haptic model is disclosed. This process can begin by receiving a set of training videos. The process then processes each training video in the set of training videos to extract one or more video segments that depict a target tool-tissue interaction from the training video, wherein the target tool-tissue interaction involves exerting a force by one or more surgical tools on a tissue. Next, for each video segment in the set of video segments, the process annotates each video image in the video segment with a set of force levels predefined for the target tool-tissue interaction. The process subsequently trains a machine-learning model using the annotated video images to obtain a trained machine-learning model for the target tool-tissue interaction.

Embodiments described herein provide various examples of a machine-learning-based visual-haptic system for constructing visual-haptic models for various interactions between surgical tools and tissues. In one aspect, a process for constructing a visual-haptic model is disclosed. This process can begin by receiving a set of training videos. The process then processes each training video in the set of training videos to extract one or more video segments that depict a target tool-tissue interaction from the training video, wherein the target tool-tissue interaction involves exerting a force by one or more surgical tools on a tissue. Next, for each video segment in the set of video segments, the process annotates each video image in the video segment with a set of force levels predefined for the target tool-tissue interaction. The process subsequently trains a machine-learning model using the annotated video images to obtain a trained machine-learning model for the target tool-tissue interaction.

A steerable instrument (100) controllable by a robotic arm (200), having a proximal end (20) and a distal (40) end comprising: a cylindrical shaft (130), a cylindrical bendable proximal part (120) and a cylindrical bendable distal part (140), a connector (110) configured for dismountable attachment to the robotic arm (200), attached in fixed rotational relation to the bendable proximal part (120), an end effector (150) attached in fixed rotational relation to the bendable distal part (140), the steerable instrument (100) configured such that: the bendable distal part (140) bends responsive to bending of the bendable proximal part (120), and the end effector (150) is rotatable when the bendable distal part (140) is in a bent position by a complementary rotation of the connector (110), the shaft (130) is pivotable around a fulcrum zone (134) on the shaft (130) and changes direction responsive to a complementary movement of the connector (110), thereby providing control of the shaft (130) direction, bending of the bendable distal part (140), and rotation of the end effector (150) through robotic movement of the connector (110).

A surgical instrument includes a shaft defining an axis, an end effector coupled to a distal portion thereof, a fixed handle coupled to a proximal portion thereof, a drive bar, a movable handle, and a linkage. The drive bar is disposed within the shaft and operably coupled to the end effector. The movable handle is movable relative to the fixed handle between open and closed positions and is coupled to the drive bar via a first pin on the axis. The linkage includes a first end portion coupled to the movable handle via a second pin and a second end portion coupled to the shaft via a third pin on the axis. In the closed position of the movable handle, the second pin is disposed in a near-over-center position relative to the axis to reduce a force necessary to maintain the movable handle in the closed position.

A virtual reality system providing a virtual robotic surgical environment, and methods for using the virtual reality system, are described herein. Within the virtual reality system, various user modes enable different kinds of interactions between a user and the virtual robotic surgical environment. For example, one variation of a method for facilitating navigation of a virtual robotic surgical environment includes displaying a first-person perspective view of the virtual robotic surgical environment from a first vantage point, displaying a first window view of the virtual robotic surgical environment from a second vantage point and displaying a second window view of the virtual robotic surgical environment from a third vantage point. Additionally, in response to a user input associating the first and second window views, a trajectory between the second and third vantage points can be generated sequentially linking the first and second window views.