SURGICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM

Abstract

A robotic surgical system is provided. An illustrative robotic surgical system includes a base having a known position relative to an operating table; an end effector configured to hold and align a surgical tool for performing a procedure on a subject on said operating table; at least one robotic arm connecting said base with said end effector; and a target attached to the end effector, wherein an image of the target attached to the end effector is used to determine a pose of the end effector.

Claims

1. A robotic surgical system, comprising: a base; an end effector configured to hold and align a surgical tool for performing a procedure on a subject on an operating table; at least one robotic arm connecting said base with said end effector; and a target attached to the end effector, wherein an image of the target is used to determine a pose of the end effector relative to the subject's anatomy.

2. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, further comprising: a robotic control system that moves the end effector during the procedure according to a surgical plan.

3. The robotic surgical system of claim 2, wherein the robotic control system further performs a registration procedure based on a knowledge of the pose of the end actuator.

4. The robotic surgical system of claim 3, wherein the robotic control system defines an intraoperative co-ordinate system of the end effector relative to the subject's anatomy.

5. The robotic surgical system of claim 4, wherein the image of the target comprises an intraoperative image that include the target and the subject's anatomy and wherein the robotic control system compares the intraoperative image with a preoperative image of the subject's anatomy as part of performing the registration procedure.

6. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the pose of the end actuator includes a position and an orientation of the end actuator.

7. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the base is fixed to the operating table.

8. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the target comprises a radio-opaque marker.

9. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the target comprises a plurality of markers arranged in a known three-dimensional pattern.

10. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein a stiffness of the base is adjustable according to the pose.

11. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the image is also used to uniquely define an intraoperative co-ordinate system of the end effector relative to the subject's anatomy.

12. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, wherein the at least one robotic arm comprises a first section and a second section, wherein a mechanical rigidity of the first section and a mechanical rigidity of the second section are known.

13. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, further comprising: a connection element that couples a point between the first section and the second section to a part of the subject's anatomy.

14. The robotic surgical system of claim 1, further comprising: an optical scanning system that detects the subject's body; and a control system that prevents collision of the at least one robotic arm with the subject's body or with an implantation accessory.

15. The robotic surgical system of claim 14, wherein the optical scanning system is located on the at least one robotic arm.

16. The robotic surgical system of claim 14, wherein the optical scanning system obtains the image of the target.

17. A method of performing a surgical procedure on a subject, the method comprising: fixing a base of a robotic surgical system into a known position; connecting an end effector to the base via at least one robotic arm, wherein the end effector is configured to hold and align a surgical tool for performing the surgical procedure on the subject; attaching a target to the end effector; obtaining an image of the target when the target is attached to the end effector; and determining a pose of the end effector relative to the subject's anatomy based on the image of the target.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the pose comprises a position and an orientation of the end effector.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the target comprises a plurality of radio-opaque markers arranged in a known three-dimensional pattern.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the image comprises an intraoperative image and wherein the method further comprises: comparing the intraoperative image with a preoperative image of the subject; and performing a registration process based on the comparison of the intraoperative image with the preoperative image.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a floor mounted surgical robot system of the present disclosure; and

[0034] FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 are schematic isometric views of an alternative robotic surgical system in which the robotic base is connected by means of a support post to the operating table.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Reference is first made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic view of a floor mounted surgical robot system of the present disclosure, the patient 19 is shown lying on the operating table and is attached by means of a bone connection link 13 to an attachment location 18 of the robotic arm. The robotic arm of the system is shown made up of arm parts 17 connected by rotary or prismatic joints 16, and is divided into two parts. The arm section 11, known as the robotic base arm, situated between the bone connection link 13 and the robotic base 12, has a structure such that that section has a predetermined level of flexibility, enabling the bone connection link 13 to move to a limited extent. Consequently, the patient's body can also move to that extent, without exerting excess pressure on the patient, or without the patient becoming unattached from the bone connection link 13. In contrast to that section, the arm section 15 situated between the bone connection link 13 and the end actuator 14 of the robot, known herewithin as the robotic actuator arm, has a high level of rigidity such that the accuracy of the pose of the end actuator 14, relative to the patient's anatomy, is maintained at the highest possible level. Consequently, as the patient's body undergoes small movements, such as generated by breathing or coughing, the bone connection link 13 and the attachment location 18 move together with motion of the patient's bone, thereby accurately maintaining the pose of the end actuator 14 of the robot relative to the attachment location 18 and hence to the patient's body position as it moves. In FIG. 1, the end actuator 14 of the robot is shown as a guide tube holding a surgical tool, though this is understood to be only one example of the use of the end actuator, which could hold a drill, scalpel and any other surgical tool.

[0036] In FIG. 1, the robot base 12 is shown as a floor mounted base, but it is be understood that the robot base could be attached to a support post attached to the operating table, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 hereinbelow, or any other feature in the vicinity, such as the ceiling over the operating table. The base may even be supported on a cart. Although such a cart should be locked in position in order to ensure safe operation, the natural flexibility of a cart amounted robot, as compared with a bed or floor mounted robot, may contribute in part to the intentionally incorporated flexibility of the base system. In such a configuration, the true base may be considered to be the wheels of the cart locked on the floor of the Operating Room, while the cart itself may be considered to be part of the robotic base arm. Additionally, even a support post or similar can have an intrinsic flexibility, such that it may also be considered to be part of the flexible mechanical path between the base and the bone connection link 13.

[0037] In the implementation shown in FIG. 1, the bone connection link can be either a static rod, or it can include an automated bone connection unit 10, as described in the above mentioned International Published Patent Application WO2015/087335.

[0038] A three dimensional X-ray target (not shown) can be held by the robotic actuator arm, such that a fluoroscopic X-ray image of the region of interest including the target, can be used for registration of the robotic frame of reference to any preoperative images used in planning the surgery.

[0039] Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a schematic isometric view of an alternative robotic surgical system in which the robotic base is connected by means of a support post 20 to the operating table 21. The robotic arm has two sections:

[0040] (i) a robotic base arm section 22 comprising struts 23 and rotary and prismatic joints 24, whose flexibility, together with the bending of the support post 20, which should therefore also be considered part of the robotic base arm, provide the base arm section with the desired extent of flexibility, and

[0041] (ii) a robotic actuator arm section 25, which is a very rigidly constructed section, made up in this exemplary system, of several rotary joints 26 and the end actuator 27 itself. If a larger robotic work envelope is desired, additional links may be incorporated between the rotary joints 26.

[0042] The bone connection link 28 is shown attached to its fixation location between the base arm section 22 and the robotic actuator arm section 25. At its distal end, there may be a bone connecting component, such as a clamp or a pointed or threaded end such as a k-wire. Additionally, the bone connection link 28 may incorporate an automated bone connection unit such as that shown in FIG. 1. The optical scanning head 29, which may be a small sensor device, is mounted in a position where it can scan the surface as the robot arm moves, such as at the end of the actuator arm 27. An optional navigation camera is shown mounted on the support post 20, in order to track items such as surgical tools, even if not involved in navigating them to their target. The robotic base may be connected to the bed through a mechanism that “floats” the robot base and arm so that the nurse can attach it easily to the bed.

[0043] Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which is an additional view of the system shown in FIG. 2, showing the parts described in FIG. 2 from an alternative vantage point. A display screen 30 is also shown for providing information to the surgeon performing the operation.

[0044] Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which is a further schematic drawing showing an operation in progress with the system control cart 40, and the surgeon 41 surveying the data on the operating table screen 30. The bone connection link 28 is shown attaching the junction of the base arm section and the robotic actuator arm section to a point in the lower spine of the patient.

[0045] It is appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of various features described hereinabove as well as variations and modifications thereto which would occur to a person of skill in the art upon reading the above description and which are not in the prior art.