HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTROTOME CONTROL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

Abstract

A high-frequency electrotome control system and a control method thereof are disclosed. The high-frequency electrotome control system includes an electrotome activation pedal, a master-slave control system, and a high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module. The high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module is connected with the electrotome activation pedal and configured to detect the state of the electrotome activation pedal. The high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module is connected with the master-slave control system and configured to activate an electrotome control output based on the state of the electrotome activation pedal and an electrotome control signal from the master-slave control system.

Claims

1.-7. (canceled)

8. A high-frequency electrotome control system, comprising: an electrotome activation pedal; a master-slave control system connected with the electrotome activation pedal and configured to detect a state of the electrotome activation pedal; and a high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module connected with the electrotome activation pedal and configured to detect the state of the electrotome activation pedal, the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module being connected with the master-slave control system and configured to activate an electrotome control output based on the state of the electrotome activation pedal and an electrotome control signal from the master-slave control system.

9. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 8, wherein the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module is configured to feed back the activation of the electrotome control output to the master-slave control system.

10. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 8, wherein the master-slave control system is configured to trigger an alarm mechanism in response to an occurrence of an abnormality in the activation of the electrotome control output.

11. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 8, wherein the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module comprises: a logic OR circuit comprising an input terminal and an output terminal, the input terminal being connected with the electrotome activation pedal; a plurality of logic AND circuits each comprising first and second input terminals, the first input terminal being connected with the output terminal of the logic OR circuit and the second input terminal being connected with the master-slave control system; and a plurality of switch elements connected with the plurality of logic AND circuits, respectively, wherein the plurality of logic AND circuits are configured to control the plurality of switch elements to activate the electrotome control output.

12. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 11, wherein the master-slave control system is connected with the output terminal of the logic OR circuit and configured to output the electrotome control signal based on a pedal function signal of the electrotome activation pedal and a hardware control signal from the logic OR circuit.

13. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 12, wherein the master-slave control system is configured to output an alarm in response to detection of either the pedal function signal or the hardware control signal, but not both.

14. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 11, wherein the master-slave control system is further configured to receive an output terminal signal of at least one of the plurality of switch elements as a back-collected signal to determine whether the at least one of the plurality of switch elements normally performs a switching action.

15. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 14, wherein: the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module further comprises a plurality of standby switches arranged between the plurality of switch elements and a high-frequency electrotome generator; and the master-slave control system is further configured to output an emergency control signal to cut off a first standby switch in response to a determination that a first switch element connected with the first standby switch abnormally performs a switching action.

16. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 15, wherein the master-slave control system is configured to enter, in response to the determination that the first switch element abnormally performs the switching action, a fault-tolerant control mode where the master-slave control system is configured to output an emergency control signal to control the first standby switch based on a pedal function signal of the electrotome activation pedal and a hardware control signal from the logic OR circuit.

17. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 8, wherein the electrotome activation pedal comprises a left-hand tool electroexcision activation pedal, a left-hand tool electrocoagulation activation pedal, a right-hand tool electroexcision activation pedal, and a right-hand tool electrocoagulation activation pedal.

18. The high-frequency electrotome control system of claim 8, wherein the electrotome activation pedal comprises a first independent contact connected with the master-slave control system and a second independent contact connected with the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module.

19. A control method, performed by a high-frequency electrotome control system, the high-frequency electrotome control system comprising an electrotome activation pedal, a master-slave control system connected with the electrotome activation pedal, and a high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module connected with the electrotome activation pedal and the master-slave control system, the control method comprising: determining, by the master-slave control system, whether both a pedal function signal from the electrotome activation pedal and a hardware control signal output by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module are detected; in response to a determination that both the pedal function signal and the hardware control signal are detected, outputting, by the master-slave control system, a software control signal according to the detected pedal function signal and a surgical tool to be controlled; and activating, by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module, an electrotome control Output based on the hardware control signal and the software control signal.

20. The control method of claim 19, comprising: performing, by a logic AND circuit of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module, logic AND operation on the hardware control signal and the software control signal to switch on a corresponding switch element.

21. The control method of claim 9, comprising: determining, by the master-slave control system, whether an output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module is normal based on a back-collected signal; and in response to a detection of an abnormality, cutting off, by the master-slave control system, a corresponding standby switch through an emergency control signal.

22. The control method of claim 19, comprising: determining, by the master-slave control system, whether an output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module is normal based on a back-collected signal.

23. The control method of claim 19, further comprising: in response to a failure to detect both the pedal function signal and the hardware control signal, determining, by the master-slave control system, that the electrotome activation pedal fails.

24. The control method of claim 19, further comprising: determining, by the master-slave control system, whether a first output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module ought not be in an activated state is in fact activated; and in response to a determination that the first output path is in fact activated, entering a fault-tolerant control mode where the master-slave control system is configured to output an emergency control signal to control a first standby switch based on the pedal function signal of the electrotome activation pedal and the hardware control signal from the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module.

25. The control method of claim 24, further comprising, after entering the fault-tolerant control mode: determining, by the master-slave control system, whether an output path currently required to be activated is the first output path; and in response to a determination that the output path currently required to be activated is the first output path, outputting, by the master-slave control system, the emergency control signal to cut off the first standby switch.

26. The control method of claim 25, further comprising, after entering the fault-tolerant control mode: in response to a determination that the output path currently required to be activated is not the first output path, driving, by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module, a corresponding switch element to switch.

27. The control method of claim 24, further comprising, after entering the fault-tolerant control mode: in response to a release of the electrotome activation pedal, exiting the fault-tolerant control mode.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic control flow diagram of a conventional high-frequency electrotome surgical device;

[0020] FIG. 2(a) is a high-frequency electrotome integration in a conventional robot-assisted minimally invasive surgical device;

[0021] FIG. 2(b) is a schematic control flow diagram of a conventional robot-assisted minimally invasive surgical device;

[0022] FIG. 3 is a control logic block diagram of a high-frequency electrotome control system of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 4 is an implementation of a high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a high-frequency electrotome control method of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fault-tolerant control process of a high-frequency electrotome of the present disclosure

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0026] In order to make objectives, technical solutions and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure clearer, with reference to accompanying drawings of embodiments of the present disclosure, technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure is clearly and completely described. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of, rather than all of, embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without inventive work fail within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, a high-frequency electrotome control system provided by the present disclosure includes an electrotome activation pedal 11, a master-slave control system 12, a high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13, a high-frequency electrotome generator 14 and a corresponding surgical tool.

[0028] The electrotome activation pedal 11 (in FIG. 3, a right pedal is still used as the electrotome activation pedal, and a left pedal controls other functions) is connected with both the master-slave control system 12 and the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13. Then, the master-slave control system 12 and the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 can detect an on or off state of the electrotome activation pedal 11

[0029] An output of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 is connected with the high-frequency electrotome generator 14 to activate the high-frequency electrotome generator 14 to output high-frequency electrical energy. Then the high-frequency electrotome generator 14 is connected with each robot surgical tool, and transmits electrical energy to each surgical tool, so that electroexcision or electrocoagulation function can be realized.

[0030] The high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 can be in bidirectional communication with the master-slave control system 12. An electrotome control output signal of the master-slave control system 12 is no longer directly connected with the high-frequency electrotome generator 14, but connected with the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13. The high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 can activate corresponding electrotome control output path after comprehensively considering various signals. In addition, the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 can feedback logic decision result to the master-slave control system 12. If any abnormality occurs, the master-slave control system 12 can trigger a corresponding alarm mechanism.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 includes a logic OR circuit 131, a plurality of logic AND circuits 132, and a plurality of switch elements. Logic OR circuitry 131 is used to perform logic OR operation on contact signals of the electrotome activation pedal 11. A hardware control signal output by logic OR circuit 131 is sent to master-slave control system 12 for feedback, an another hardware control signal outputted by logic OR circuit 131 is used to perform logic AND operations with a plurality of software control signals outputted by master-slave control system 12. Results of the logical AND operations are used to control respective switch elements to close or open. Outputs of respective switch elements are connected to respective input control interfaces of the high-frequency electrotome generator 14. In addition, the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 also includes a plurality of standby switches. A control module of the master-slave control system 12 can acquire a pedal contact signal and detect a state of each pedal. The control module outputs a plurality of software control signals according to the surgical tool to be controlled. The control module also receives a signal output by the switch element as a back-collected signal which can be used to determine whether the switch element normally perform switching action or not. The control module can also output emergency control signals EM_OFF1-EM_OFF5 to cut off the standby switch so as to ensure that the wrong output signal is cut off.

[0032] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment employs four pedals (a left hand tool electroexcision activation pedal, a left hand tool electrocoagulation activation pedal, a right hand tool electroexcision activation pedal and a right hand tool electrocoagulation activation pedal). The four pedals are divided into two groups for activating the electroexcision or electrocoagulation function of the tools controlled by the left hand and the right hand, respectively. Each pedal includes two independent contacts S1 and S2. When the pedal is stepped down, the two contacts S1 and S2 can be closed. One of the two contacts of each pedal is connected with the control module in the master-slave control system, so that the control module can detect a state of each pedal. The other contact of the two contacts of each pedal is connected with an input terminal of the logic OR circuit 131 of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13. Logic OR operation is performed on four contact signals. A hardware control signal of the logic OR circuit 131 is fed back to the control module of the master-slave control system, another hardware control signal and each software control signal output by the control module in the master-slave control system 12 are respectively subjected to logic AND operation (this embodiment takes five output as an example, because currently many electrotome generators simultaneously support at most two monopole tools and one bipolar tool, requiring five control inputs. By way of example, specific number can be selected according to actual requirement). Output signals of logic AND operations can be used to control corresponding switch elements (for example, relays in this embodiment) K1-K5 to close or open. Each switch element (K1-K5) is respectively connected with the corresponding input control interface of the high-frequency electrotome generator 14. Therefore, activation of electroexcision or electrocoagulation function is no longer simply determined by the software control signal of the master-slave control system 12. When both the software output signal and the hardware signal (the output signal of the logic OR circuit) are activated, the corresponding electrotome function can be triggered. Thus, even if the software fails, the function of the electrotome cannot be triggered by mistake by disconnecting the hardware signal. In order to prevent an erroneous electrotome activation signal from being generated due to failure of the corresponding switch element, the output part of the switch element is designed with a back-collected signal. The back-collected signal is fed back to the control module of the master-slave control system 12. The control module can detect whether the switch element normally completes switching action or not. If the switch element fails, the control module can cut off standby switches SE1-SE5 connected between the switch element and the corresponding input control interface of the high-frequency electrotome generator through emergency control signals EM_OFF1-EM_OFF5 to ensure that wrong output signals are cut off

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, present disclosure provides a method of the high-frequency electrotome control system including the following process.

[0034] After the control module of the master-slave control system 12 finishes initialization and starts normal work, whether each output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 is in an off state is checked through a back-collected signal.

[0035] If any one of the output paths is detected to have been activated, the master-slave control system 12 turns off the corresponding standby switches (SE1-SE5) through emergency control signals, so as to cut off the wrong output path. An alarm can be provided to prompt a user that the electrotome function fails. The user can select to stop operation and remove the failure. The user can also select to enter into fault-tolerant control mode so as to cope with a case that the electrotome function still needs to be used under the emergency condition.

[0036] If the output paths are normal, the control module of the master-slave control system 12 detects whether a pedal is pressed by detecting a pedal function signal or a hardware control signal outputted by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13. If neither the pedal function signal nor the hardware control signal fed back by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 is detected, then no pedal is considered to be pressed. When a pedal is pressed at a certain time, the control module of the master-slave control system 12 detects the function signal of the pedal or the hardware control signal fed back by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13. Then, the control module can determine whether both signals are detected. If not, it is determined that a pedal contact has failure. The control module provides an alarm to the user. If both signals are detected, the control module determines that the triggering is valid and outputs corresponding software control signal according to the detected pedal function signal and a serial number or type of the currently-controlled robot surgical tool. Different pedals represent different functions, and the pedal function signal refer to a signal sent by a pedal when being pressed down.

[0037] Because both the software control signal and the hardware control signal exist, the corresponding logic AND circuit 132 on the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 can output an effective high level to drive a corresponding switch element to close and conduct, thereby activating the corresponding electroexcision or electrocoagulation function of the high-frequency electrotome generator 14. The control module determines whether the corresponding output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module is actually in an activated state by the back-collected signal. If an abnormality is detected (the output path which should be in the activated state is not activated, or the output path which should not in the activated state is activated), the control module cuts off the corresponding erroneous output path through the emergency control signal, and sends an alarm prompt to the user.

[0038] Before the pedal is released (either the functional signal of the pedal or the hardware control signal fed back by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 disappears), the control module can continuously output software control signal, and determine whether the corresponding output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 is normal or not through the back-collected signal. When the pedal is released, the control module closes the software control signal, determines whether the corresponding output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 is normally closed or not through the back-collected signal, then continues to detect and waits for a next pressing of the pedal.

[0039] Moreover, if the control module of the master-slave control system 12 detects that a certain output path of the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 should not be in an activated state but is actually activated, the master-slave control system 12 can turn off the corresponding standby switch (SE1-SE5) through emergency control signal so as to turn off the wrong output path. The user can select to enter the fault-tolerant control mode to cope with a case that the electrotome function is still needed in emergency condition.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, the fault-tolerant control mode is similar to a normal control flow. The fault-tolerant control starts.

[0041] Firstly, whether a pedal is pressed or not is detected by detecting a pedal function signal or a hardware control signal fed back by a high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13. If the pedal function signal and the hardware control signal fed back by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 are not detected, no pedal is considered to be pressed down, and the control module continues to periodically detect whether the pedal is stepped down or not.

[0042] When the pedal is pressed (for example, the control module of the master-slave control system 12 detects a function signal of a certain pedal or a hardware control signal fed back by the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13), the control module continues to determine whether both signals are detected. If not, it is determined that a pedal contact fails, and the control module can provide an alai to the user. If both signals are detected, the control module determines that the trigger is valid, and outputs a corresponding software control signal according to the detected pedal function signal and the serial number or type of the currently controlled robot surgical tool.

[0043] Unlike normal control process, in the fault-tolerant control, the control module also determines whether the current output path required to be activated is an output path with fault. If it is not the output path where the fault is detected, then it is similar to normal control process. Because both the software control signal and the hardware control signal exist, the corresponding logic AND circuit on the high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 can output effective high level to drive the corresponding switch elements to close and conduct, so as to activate the corresponding electrocoagulation function of the high-frequency electrotome generator. But if the output path required to be activated is the output path with fault, since the control system has previously switched off the corresponding standby switch through the emergency control signal, the standby switch needs to be closed again to output the corresponding electrotome function activation signal. Then, the fault-tolerant control process is similar to the normal control process until the pedal is released and the fault-tolerant control is ended. if the fault still exists, the system automatically enters the fault-tolerant control again.

[0044] In summary, the present disclosure introduces an additional high-frequency electrotome activation hardware arbitration module 13 into the system. Control software failure can be effectively prevented from directly causing wrong electrotome output. A certain degree of fault-tolerant control can be realized. The robustness of the system is improved. A user can still continue to use the electrotome function under the condition of certain failure so as to cope with some special emergencies.

[0045] Based on the disclosure and teaching of the foregoing description, those skilled in the related art can also make appropriate changes and modifications to the foregoing embodiments. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and described above, and some modifications and changes to the present disclosure should also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present disclosure. In addition, although some specific terms are used in this disclosure, these terms are only for convenience of description and do not constitute any limitation to the present disclosure.