US6441577B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Manipulator positioning linkage for robotic surgery
Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc
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Filing: 2001-04-03
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Granted: 2002-08-27
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Expires: 2021-04-03
Abstract
Abstract Techniques and structures are provided for aligning robotic elements with an internal surgical site and each other. Manually positionable linkages support surgical instruments. These linkages maintain a fixed configuration until a brake system is released. While the brake is held in a released mode, the linkage allows the operating room personnel to manually move the linkage into alignment with the surgical site. Joints of the linkage translate the surgical instrument in three dimensions, and orient the surgical instrument about three axes of rotation. Sensors coupled to the joints allow a processor to perform coordinate transformations that can align displayed movements of robotically actuated surgical end effectors with a surgeon's hand inputs at a control station.
Inventors
- 👤 Steven J. Blumenkranz
- 👤 David J. Rosa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 12:19
CPC Classifications
B; B25; B25J; B25J9/00; B25J9/16; B25J9/1679; B25J9/1689; A; A61; A61B; A61B34/00; A61B34/30; A61B34/37; A61B34/70; A61B34/71; A61B17/00; A61B2017/00477; A61B90/00; A61B90/50; A61B2090/506; G; G05; G05B; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/30; G05B2219/39; G05B2219/39022; G05B2219/40; G05B2219/40158; G05B2219/40166; G05B2219/45; G05B2219/45123; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S128/00; Y10S128/07
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
176 words
A robotic surgery system comprising: a base; a surgical end effector; a manipulator supporting the end effector, the manipulator having a pivot point an imaging system oriented toward the end effector, the imaging system having a field of view defining an imaging coordinate system; a linkage supporting the manipulator relative to the base; a brake system restraining articulation of the linkage, the brake system releasable to allow manual movement of the pivot point of the manipulator relative to the base; a servomechanism drivingly engaging the manipulator for robotic manipulation of tissues with the end effector; a hand input controller coupled to a processor of the servomechanism, the controller having a controller coordinate system; and a sensor system coupled to the linkage so as to generate linkage configuration signals; wherein the processor is further coupled to the sensor system, the imaging system, and the servomechanism, the processor using the linkage configuration signals and the imaging coordinate system to calculate a coordinate system transformation so as to coordinate controller inputs with a displayed image of the end effector.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
176 words
A robotic surgery system comprising: a base; a surgical end effector; a manipulator supporting the end effector, the manipulator having a pivot point an imaging system oriented toward the end effector, the imaging system having a field of view defining an imaging coordinate system; a linkage supporting the manipulator relative to the base; a brake system restraining articulation of the linkage, the brake system releasable to allow manual movement of the pivot point of the manipulator relative to the base; a servomechanism drivingly engaging the manipulator for robotic manipulation of tissues with the end effector; a hand input controller coupled to a processor of the servomechanism, the controller having a controller coordinate system; and a sensor system coupled to the linkage so as to generate linkage configuration signals; wherein the processor is further coupled to the sensor system, the imaging system, and the servomechanism, the processor using the linkage configuration signals and the imaging coordinate system to calculate a coordinate system transformation so as to coordinate controller inputs with a displayed image of the end effector.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein the linkage comprises a plurality of joints, and wherein the sensor system measures articulation of the joints.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
The robotic system of claim 2 , wherein a plurality of the measured joints comprise manually repositionable joints, and further comprising a brake system for preventing articulation of the joints during manipulation of tissue.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
55 words
The robotic system of claim 1 , further comprising an imaging linkage supporting the imaging system relative to the base, the sensor system coupled to the imaging linkage so as to generate imaging linkage configuration signals, the processor further manipulating the linkage configuration signals to transform the controller coordinate system to the imaging coordinate system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
84 words
A transportable robotic surgery system comprising: a cart having rolling elements for moving the cart between operating rooms; a plurality of robotic arms supported by the cart; a plurality of surgical implements supported by the arms; a control station couplable to the cart for directing robotic surgery; wherein at least one arm comprises a manipulator, a linkage coupled with the manipulator, the linkage comprising a plurality of joints, wherein at least a portion of the linkage is manually moveable, and a joint sensor system.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
84 words
A transportable robotic surgery system comprising: a cart having rolling elements for moving the cart between operating rooms; a plurality of robotic arms supported by the cart; a plurality of surgical implements supported by the arms; a control station couplable to the cart for directing robotic surgery; wherein at least one arm comprises a manipulator, a linkage coupled with the manipulator, the linkage comprising a plurality of joints, wherein at least a portion of the linkage is manually moveable, and a joint sensor system.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The transportable system of claim 5 , wherein the rolling elements include at least one non-swiveling roller and at least one steerable roller coupled to a steering handle.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The transportable system of claim 5 , wherein the cart and control station are transportable on a standard hospital elevator.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
79 words
A method for preparing for robotic surgery, the method comprising: maintaining driven joints of a robotic surgical manipulator sufficiently near mid points of travel of the joints so as to inhibit interference with a limit of travel of the manipulator with in an intended worksite; pre-positioning the robotic manipulator by manually articulating a linkage while maintaining the driven joints near the mid points; and restraining the positioned manipulator with a brake system so as to preventarticulation of the linkage.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
79 words
A method for preparing for robotic surgery, the method comprising: maintaining driven joints of a robotic surgical manipulator sufficiently near mid points of travel of the joints so as to inhibit interference with a limit of travel of the manipulator with in an intended worksite; pre-positioning the robotic manipulator by manually articulating a linkage while maintaining the driven joints near the mid points; and restraining the positioned manipulator with a brake system so as to preventarticulation of the linkage.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 8 , wherein the positioning step comprises orienting shafts towards internal access sites, the manipulators adapted to pivot the shafts about the access sites so as to manipulate tissues endoscopically.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for performing robotic surgery, the method comprising: positioning a robotic surgical manipulator by manually articulating a linkage; restraining the positioned manipulator with a brake system so as to prevent manual articulation of the linkage; imaging a surgical end effector, supported by the positioned manipulator, in an imaging coordinate system; sensing a joint configuration of the restrained linkage; and actuating the restrained manipulator with a servomechanism by actuating a controller so as to robotically manipulate tissue with the end effector.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for performing robotic surgery, the method comprising: positioning a robotic surgical manipulator by manually articulating a linkage; restraining the positioned manipulator with a brake system so as to prevent manual articulation of the linkage; imaging a surgical end effector, supported by the positioned manipulator, in an imaging coordinate system; sensing a joint configuration of the restrained linkage; and actuating the restrained manipulator with a servomechanism by actuating a controller so as to robotically manipulate tissue with the end effector.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for performing robotic surgery, the method comprising: positioning a robotic surgical manipulator by manually articulating a linkage; restraining the positioned manipulator with a brake system so as to prevent manual articulation of the linkage; imaging a surgical end effector, supported by the positioned manipulator, in a imaging coordinate system; sensing a joint configuration of the restrained linkage; and actuating the restrained manipulator with a servomechanism by actuating a controller so as to robotically manipulate tissue with the end effector; transforming a controller coordinate system to the imaging coordinate system using the sensed joint configurations of the restrained linkage; and displaying the imaged end effector so that controller inputs correlate with end effector movements.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for performing robotic surgery, the method comprising: positioning a robotic surgical manipulator by manually articulating a linkage; restraining the positioned manipulator with a brake system so as to prevent manual articulation of the linkage; imaging a surgical end effector, supported by the positioned manipulator, in a imaging coordinate system; sensing a joint configuration of the restrained linkage; and actuating the restrained manipulator with a servomechanism by actuating a controller so as to robotically manipulate tissue with the end effector; transforming a controller coordinate system to the imaging coordinate system using the sensed joint configurations of the restrained linkage; and displaying the imaged end effector so that controller inputs correlate with end effector movements.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
73 words
A method for performing robotic surgery, the method comprising: manually moving a manipulator relative to a base by articulating a plurality of fixable joints; actuating a brake to inhibit inadvertent manual movement of the positioned manipulator from articulation of the fixable joints; manipulating tissue with an end effector supported by the manipulator by actuating a plurality of driven joints of a robotic linkage with a servomechanism; and sensing positions of the fixable joints.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
73 words
A method for performing robotic surgery, the method comprising: manually moving a manipulator relative to a base by articulating a plurality of fixable joints; actuating a brake to inhibit inadvertent manual movement of the positioned manipulator from articulation of the fixable joints; manipulating tissue with an end effector supported by the manipulator by actuating a plurality of driven joints of a robotic linkage with a servomechanism; and sensing positions of the fixable joints.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
100 words
A robotic surgery system couplable to a base, the robotic surgery system comprising: a surgical end effector; a robotic linkage movably supporting the end effector, the robotic linkage comprising a plurality of driven joints coupled to a servomechanism for moving the end effector so as to manipulate tissues; a positioning linkage supporting the robotic linkage relative to the base; a plurality of releasably fixable joints for pre-configuring the positioning linkage, the fixable joints being fixed during manipulation of the end effector; and a joint sensor system coupling the fixable joints to the servomechanism, the sensor system generating joint configuration signals.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
100 words
A robotic surgery system couplable to a base, the robotic surgery system comprising: a surgical end effector; a robotic linkage movably supporting the end effector, the robotic linkage comprising a plurality of driven joints coupled to a servomechanism for moving the end effector so as to manipulate tissues; a positioning linkage supporting the robotic linkage relative to the base; a plurality of releasably fixable joints for pre-configuring the positioning linkage, the fixable joints being fixed during manipulation of the end effector; and a joint sensor system coupling the fixable joints to the servomechanism, the sensor system generating joint configuration signals.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
48 words
A robotic surgical system comprising: a surgical end effector; a linkage movably supporting the end effector; a servomechanism coupled to the linkage for driving a joint of the linkage; and a processor of the servomechanism the places the linkage in a pre-determined nominal configuration for a surgical procedure.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
48 words
A robotic surgical system comprising: a surgical end effector; a linkage movably supporting the end effector; a servomechanism coupled to the linkage for driving a joint of the linkage; and a processor of the servomechanism the places the linkage in a pre-determined nominal configuration for a surgical procedure.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-08-26 | 2006-02-25 | 2006-08-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-08-26 | 2010-02-25 | 2010-08-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-08-26 | 2014-02-25 | 2014-08-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |