Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SURGICAL MANIPULATOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a surgical manipulator including a
manipulator arm, an end-effector held by the manipulator arm, surgical tools
held by the end-effector and manipulator joints, particularly right-angle
drive
devices for transmitting rotational motion in one axis to a perpendicular
axis.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The goal of surgical manipulator systems is to apply robotic and sensor
technologies to improve the quality of patient surgical outcomes in a cost-
effective manner. Surgical robotics can attain this goal through repeatable
increased spatial resolution and better geometric accuracy of surgical tools
positioning by the surgeon, faster operating speed, good ergonomics that can
reduce the surgeon's fatigue, and the ability to provide a platform for
surgeon
training and education.
A number of commercial surgical robotic systems are currently in use
including the NeuroArm Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI) compatible
neurosurgical robot by the University of Calgary, the da Vinci and Zeus
surgical robots by Intuitive Surgical, the RAMS system by Microdexterity and
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Haptic Guidance System by MAKO, the
SpineAssist by Mazor Surgical Technologies, as well as ROBODOC of
Integrated Surgical Systems. For a list of reference to the existing patents
of
the above-mentioned systems, refer to the appendix.
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The University of Calgary neuroArm system is designed to perform
neurosurgery in an MRI environment. It has dual arms, each with 6 Degrees
of Freedom in a master-slave configuration. The robot is MR compatible so no
magnetic material is used for any part of the robot arm. It also has haptic
feedback capability for sensing tool tip forces. Surgical tool changes are
performed manually, see United States Patent No. 7,155,316.
The Intuitive Surgical da Vinci system is designed for laparoscopic
surgery. It can have up to 5 arms controlled by the surgeon in a Master-slave
control configuration. The system is large and heavy with a weight greater
than 1000 lbs. There is no haptic feedback and tool changes are performed
manually. The Zeus is a discontinued product that was also designed for
laparoscopic surgery. Smaller and lighter than the da Vinci, the Zeus also had
up to 5 arms in a Master -slave control architecture with no haptic capability
and manual tool changes. (di Vinci: patents see attached list; Zeus: US Patent
Nos. 05515478, US05553198, US05645520, US06646541, US06714841 etc)
Originally developed by JPL, the Robot-Assisted Micro-Surgery
(RAMS) system is being commercialised by MicroDexterity. This telerobotic
platform is designed for microsurgery on brain, eye, ear, nose, throat, face,
and hand. Clinical tests had been performed on neurosurgery and hand
surgery. The dual-arm system is very compact; the manipulator is
approximately 25 mm in diameter and 250 mm long. The robot has a Master-
slave architecture and exhibits high spatial resolution of 10 microns. The
system has indirect pressure and texture sensing of the tool forces using
joint
encoder information. The surgical tools are changed manually, see US Patent
No. 6,702,805.
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The MAKO Haptic Guidance System targets knee replacement
surgeries by means of a robotic system that assists the surgeon in
arthroplasty through keyhole incisions. The FDA-approved system allows
surgeon to pre-operatively optimize the size and alignment of knee, and
execute surgeon-guided knee sculpturing and implant placing with CT image-
guidance, see US patent Publications 20060142657, 07206627, 07139418)
Mazor Surgical Technologies developed the SpineAssist as a minimally
invasive guidance systems for pedicle screw insertion as well as other spine
related procedures. In the size of a soda can, the SpineAssist is a parallel-
platform robot mounted onto the patient's spine or spinous process. Pre-
operative planning with CT images is followed by automatic fluoroscope or CT
image registration to the robot, after which the positioning device
automatically directs its arm in the trajectory planned by the surgeon, with
accuracy less than 1.5 mm.
In 1992, Integrated Surgical Systems introduced the ROBODOC, a
large orthopedic surgical system intended for use in patients requiring
primary
cementless total hip replacement surgery. It has a single 6DOF arm that
operates automatically using a pre-operatively defined program. It has no
haptic feedback capability and tool changes are performed manually, see US
Patent Publications 20040142803, 05766126, 06239874, 06349245.
The Pathfinder developed by Prosurgics is a stereotaxy tool-locator
with image-guidance capabilitiesfor intracranial neurosurgeries. The arm has
six degrees-of-freedom and is passively manipulated by the surgeon without
haptic feedback. The single-arm system is mounted on a mobile base.
Surgical tools are changed out manually.
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Laprotek is a minimally-invasive surgical robotics system. Developed
by endoVia, the system is similar to Zeus. It has two four degrees-of-freedom
arm teleoperated by joysticks at a console, with visual feedback also
available
via laparoscopic camera. It has haptic feedback using force sensors at the
motors.
There are a number of aspects of the existing state of surgical robotic
technology that require major improvements. The development of robot arms
that are dexterous, precise and have large workspaces both in how they attain
the work site location and when they are inside body cavities and organs. The
overall size, weight and volume of most current systems are a major issue in
that they have a major detrimental impact on operating room facility space
and the support staff who set-up the equipment. Smaller, lighter weight
stowable systems are needed. For example, the da Vinci surgical manipulator
weighs 1200 lbs (exclusive of the operator interface) and stands
approximately 8ft. The Zeus arms are approximately 2ft long and weigh 40
lbs. Total weight of the robot is 120 lbs. (exclusive of the user interface).
The majority of current systems do not provide Haptic feedback. Haptic
feedback restores the lost sense of touch for the surgeon and may improve
the surgeon's performance in terms of speed and reducing risk of collateral
tissue damage.
Manual surgical tool exchange increases the surgical operating time;
increasing the time the patient is required to remain under anaesthesia and
increasing facility costs. The ability to automatically exchange surgical
tools
would therefore reduce patient risks and lower operating costs.
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The high mechanical power density and small diameter of conventional
dc motor servomotors are desirable traits to reduce the physical dimensions
of robotic manipulators. However, the drawback of conventional servomotors
presently in use in many surgical robots is their long axial length, so a
right-
angle transmission means is needed if excessive lateral extension of the
manipulator arm joints is to be avoided.
Of all the available right-angle transmission components at present,
bevel gear pairs deliver high torque and backdrivability, but backlash is
typically high and they seldom come in small packages. The traditional
standard bevel gear box has large backlash in transmission which is highly
undesirable in applications where high precision is required in both
directions
of motion.
There are several manufacturers offering worm gears in a small
package , and integrating with spring-loaded features the gearbox can be
backlash free and achieve precise motion, but the lowered efficiency and the
odd standard gear ratio increment suggest that more powerful (thus larger in
size) motors will be needed. Worm gear boxes can have low-backlash
configurations but its indirect proportional relationship between the
efficiency
versus the gear ratio leads to a bulkier and heavier overall unit, while also
the
lack of back-drivability is also undesirable in the event of crash recovery or
calibration common to robotics applications.
Cable-pulley system provides an alternative to traditional gear-type
mechanism, but introduces transmission error if any of the cable segments in
the transmission chain is not tensioned properly. Researchers from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and eventually Barrett Technology
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developed the WAM, or the "whole-arm-manipulation", in which part of the
mechanism involves a differential cable-pulley subset that allows for a two
degree-of-freedom motion at the same joint driven by two independent
motors. Cable within the WAM design is pretensioned at a single-point by
turning two coaxial pulleys independently with cable responsible for both
directions forming a U-shape turnaround at termination for auto-adjustment of
cable length and tensioning automatically. Another differential pulley
application can be found at the hoist and drive concept by Power Kinetics, in
which cable pretension is accomplished by increasing the physical separation
between pulleys. Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, meanwhile, created a
two to three degrees-of-freedom mechanism, using idle pulleys for both
redirecting the direction of cable and also tensioning the cable. On the other
hand, Roto-Lok mechanism developed by Sagebrush Technology is a parallel
drum-drive configuration using cable and pulleys. Springs are presented at
each of the cable termination to eliminate transmission slack. For a list of
patents on the above-mentioned mechanisms refer to the appendix section.
None of the above mentioned inventions can be adapted to a single-actuator
right-angle transmission application, and their means of cable tension
adjustment all require extra room for additional elements which will lead to
the
increase in overall size of the transmission module.
Harmonic drives, on the other hand, features zero-backlash, highly
repeatable precision, back-drivability, high efficiency, compact size and
lightweight. Unfortunately, the mechanism does not allow for a right-angle
drive version. No commercially available right-angle transmission in the
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market currently has both zero-backlash and high efficiency capabilities in a
compact in-line package.
Therefore, it would be very advantageous to provide a surgical robotic
system employing right angle drives which avoids the above mentioned
drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides embodiments of a surgical manipulator
including a manipulator arm, an end-effector held by the manipulator arm,
surgical tools held by the end-effector and manipulator joints, particularly
right-angle drive devices for transmitting rotational motion in one axis to a
perpendicular axis.
In one aspect of the invention there is provided surgical manipulator,
comprising:
a) a base and a first right angle drive mechanism mounted on said
base, a shoulder-roll drive mechanism located in said base for rotating said
first right-angle drive mechanism about a shoulder-roll axis,
said first right-angle drive mechanism including a first input pulley and
a first output pulley mounted substantially perpendicular to said first input
pulley, said first right-angle drive mechanism including a first bi-
directional
coupling mechanism for coupling said first input pulley and said first output
pulley, a first drive mechanism coupled to said first input pulley for
rotating
said first input pulley about a first input axis wherein rotation of said
first input
pulley is translated into rotation of said first output pulley by said first
bi-
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directional coupling mechanism about a shoulder-yaw axis which is
substantially perpendicular to said first input axis;
a second right-angle drive mechanism coupled to said first output
pulley of said first right angle drive mechanism, said second right-angle
drive
mechanism including a second input pulley and a second output pulley
mounted substantially perpendicular to said second input pulley, said second
right-angle drive mechanism including a second bi-directional coupling
mechanism for coupling said second input pulley and said second output
pulley,
a second drive mechanism coupled to said second input pulley for
rotating said second input pulley about a second input axis wherein rotation
of
said second input pulley is translated into rotation of said second output
pulley
by said bi-directional coupling mechanism about a shoulder-pitch axis which
is substantially perpendicular to said first input axis;
b) a robotic upper arm being mounted at one end thereof to said
second output pulley so that when said second output pulley is rotated, said
robotic upper arm rotates about said shoulder-pitch axis, a third right-angle
drive mechanism mounted in said robotic upper arm, said third right-angle
drive mechanism including a third input pulley and a third output pulley
mounted substantially perpendicular to said third input pulley, said third
right-
angle drive mechanism including a third bi-directional coupling mechanism for
coupling said third input pulley and said third output pulley said third right-
angle drive mechanism including a third drive mechanism coupled to said
third input pulley for rotating said third input pulley about a third input
axis,
wherein rotation of said third input pulley about said third input axis is
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translated into rotation of said third output pulley by said bi-directional
coupling mechanism about an elbow-pitch axis substantially perpendicular to
said third input axis;
c) a robotic fore arm mounted on said third output pulley of said third
right-angle drive mechanism so that when said third output pulley is rotated,
said robotic fore arm rotates about said elbow-pitch axis, a fourth right-
angle
drive mechanism mounted in said robotic fore arm, said fourth right-angle
drive mechanism including a fourth input pulley and a fourth output pulley
mounted substantially perpendicular to said fourth input pulley, a fourth bi-
directional coupling mechanism for coupling said fourth input pulley and said
fourth output pulley, said fourth right-angle drive mechanism including a
fourth
drive mechanism coupled to said fourth input pulley for rotating the fourth
input pulley about a fourth input axis, wherein rotation of said fourth input
pulley about said fourth input axis is translated into rotation of said fourth
output pulley by said bi-directional coupling mechanism about a wrist-pitch
axis substantially perpendicular to said fourth input axis;
d) a robotic wrist mounted on said fourth output pulley of said fourth
right-angle drive mechanism so that when said fourth output pulley is rotated,
said robotic wrist rotates about said wrist-pitch axis, said robotic wrist
including an actuation mechanism coupled to a wrist output shaft for rotating
said robotic wrist output shaft about a wrist-roll axis; and
e) an end-effector mounted to said wrist output shaft, said end-effector
including gripping means for releasibly gripping a surgical tool wherein when
said actuation mechanism is engaged said end-effector is rotated about said
wrist-roll axis.
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The present invention also provides a surgical manipulator system,
comprising:
a) a base and a first right-angle drive mechanism mounted on said
base, a shoulder-roll drive mechanism located in said base for rotating said
first right-angle drive mechanism about a shoulder-roll axis, said first right-
angle drive mechanism including a first input pulley and a first output pulley
mounted substantially perpendicular to said first input pulley, said first
right-
angle drive mechanism including a first bi-directional coupling mechanism for
coupling said first input pulley and said first output pulley, a first drive
mechanism coupled to said first input pulley for rotating said first input
pulley
about a first input axis wherein rotation of said first input pulley is
translated
into rotation of said first output pulley by said first bi-directional
coupling
mechanism about a shoulder-pitch axis which is substantially perpendicular to
said first input axis;
b) a robotic upper arm being mounted at one end thereof to said first
output pulley so that when said first output pulley is rotated, said robotic
upper
arm rotates about said shoulder-pitch axis, a second right-angle drive
mechanism mounted in said robotic upper arm, said second right-angle drive
mechanism including a second input pulley and a second output pulley
mounted substantially perpendicular to said second input pulley, said second
right-angle drive mechanism including a second bi-directional coupling
mechanism for coupling said second input pulley and said second output
pulley, a second drive mechanism coupled to said second input pulley for
rotating said second input pulley about a second input axis wherein rotation
of
said second input pulley is translated into rotation of said second output
pulley
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by said second bi-directional coupling mechanism about a elbow-pitch axis
which is substantially perpendicular to said second input axis;
c) a robotic fore arm mounted on said second output pulley of said
second right-angle drive mechanism so that when said second output pulley is
rotated, said robotic fore arm rotates about said elbow-pitch axis, a third
right-
angle drive mechanism mounted in said robotic fore arm, said third right-angle
drive mechanism including a third input pulley and a third output pulley
mounted substantially perpendicular to said third input pulley, said third
right-
angle drive mechanism including a third bi-directional coupling mechanism for
coupling said third input pulley and said third output pulley, a third drive
mechanism coupled to said third input pulley for rotating said third input
pulley
about a third input axis wherein rotation of said third input pulley is
translated
into rotation of said third output pulley by said third bi-directional
coupling
mechanism about an wrist-pitch axis substantially perpendicular to said third
input axis;
d) a fourth right-angle drive mechanism mounted on said third output
pulley of said third right-angle drive mechanism, said fourth right-angle
drive
mechanism including a fourth input pulley and a fourth output pulley mounted
substantially perpendicular to said fourth input pulley, said fourth right-
angle
drive mechanism including a fourth bi-directional coupling mechanism for
coupling said fourth input pulley and said fourth output pulley, a fourth
drive
mechanism coupled to said fourth input pulley for rotating said fourth input
pulley about a fourth input axis and wherein rotation of said fourth input
pulley
is translated into rotation of said fourth output pulley by said fourth bi-
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directional coupling mechanism about a wrist-yaw axis substantially
perpendicular to said fourth input axis;
e) a robotic wrist mounted on said fourth output pulley of said fourth
right-angle drive mechanism so that when said fourth output pulley is rotated,
said robotic wrist rotates about said wrist-yaw axis, said robotic wrist
including
an actuation mechanism coupled to a wrist output shaft for rotating said
robotic wrist output shaft about a wrist-roll axis; and
f) an end-effector mounted to said wrist output shaft, said end-effector
including gripping means for releasibly gripping a surgical tool wherein when
said actuation mechanism is engaged said end-effector is rotated about said
wrist-roll axis.
The present invention also provides a surgical manipulator system,
comprising;
a) at least first and second surgical manipulators as disclosed above;
b) left and right hand controllers with the right hand controller being
associated with the first surgical manipulator and the left hand controller
being
associated with the second surgical manipulator, said at least first and
second
hand controllers being configured to be operated by a surgeon;
c) communication system coupling said left and right hand controllers
to said at least first and second surgical manipulators for translating
movement of said left and right hand controllers to scaled movement of said
at least first and second surgical manipulators; and
d) a vision system focused on a work area including an area of a
patient to be operated on and focused on the end-effectors and associated
surgical tools attached to said at least two surgical manipulators, said
vision
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system including display means for displaying images of said work area to a
surgeon.
A further understanding of the functional and advantageous aspects of
the invention can be realized by reference to the following detailed
description
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will be more fully understood from the
following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application, and in which:
Figure 1 is an isometric view of an assembled right-angle drive system
constructed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded, disassembled view of the right-angle drive
system of Figure 1;
Figure 3a is an isometric view of the output shaft forming part of the
right angle drive;
Figure 3b is a side view of the output shaft of Figure 3a;
Figure 3c is a view of the output shaft along the arrow 3c in Figure 3b;
Figure 4a is an isometric view of a mid-housing forming part of the
right angle drive;
Figure 4b is a front view of the mid housing of Figure 4a;
Figure 4c is a cross sectional view along the line A-A of Figure 4b;
Figure 4d is equivalent to the view direction of Figure 4c but showing
all surface features of the mid housing;
Figure 4e is a bottom view of Figure 4b along the arrow 4e;
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Figure 4f shows a bearing mounting on the output shaft of Figure 3a
mounted in the mid-housing of Figure 4a;
Figure 5a is an isometric view of an output pulley forming part of the
right angle drive;
Figure 5b is a front view of the output pulley of Figure 5a;
Figure 5c is a bottom view of Figure 5b;
Figure 5d is a cross sectional view along the line A-A of Figure 5b;
Figure 5e is a detail view of Figure 5d showing the details of the
tensioning mechanism;
Figure 5f is a top view of Figure 5b;
Figure 6a is an isometric view of an input pulley forming part of the
right angle drive;
Figure 6b is a front view of the input pulley of Figure 6a;
Figure 6c is a top of Figure 6a;
Figure 6d is a cross sectional view along the line C-C of Figure 6b;
Figure 6e is a cross sectional view along the line B-B of Figure 6b;
Figure 6f is a view of the cable termination subassembly with a loop
sleeve crimped fitting;
Figure 6g is a cross-section view of the input and output pulleys of
Figures 5a and 6a illustrating the grooved circumference on both the input
and output pulley for the cable wrapping;
Figure 7a shows an isometric view of an idler shaft forming part of the
right angle drive;
Figure 7b shows a front view of the idler shaft of Figure 7a;
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Figure 8 shows the relative positions of the input and output pulleys
perpendicular to each other and the driving cables and idlers for converting
rotational motion of the input pulley into rotational motion of the output
shaft
oriented perpendicular to the input axis;
Figure 9a shows an isometric view of a tensioning screw forming part
of the right angle drive;
Figure 9b shows a cross-sectional view along line 9b of Figure 9d;
Figure 9c shows the side view of the tensioning screw of Figure 9a;
Figure 9d shows the front view of the tensioning screw of Figure 9a;
Figure 10a shows the front view of the assembled right-angle drive;
Figure 10b shows the cross-sectional view of Figure 10a along the
line A-A of Figure 10a;
Figure 10c shows the detailed view of section C in Figure 10b for the
idler subassembly;
Figure ha shows the assembled side view of the right-angle drive with
the output pulley front face;
Figure 11 b shows a cross-sectional view of Figure ha along line B-B
of Figure lla for the output elements;
Figure 11c shows a cross-sectional view of Figure lla along line C-C
of Figure lla for the input elements and the top idler subassembly;
Figure 12 shows a side cross-sectional view of the input elements;
Figure 13 shows the opposite assembled side view to Figure 11a;
Figure 14 shows a perspective view from a top-front angle of the
assembled right-angle drive of Figures 1 and 2 without the cover and idler
caps;
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Figure 15 shows a perspective view from a top-rear angle of the
assembled right-angle drive without the cover and idler caps;
Figure 16a is an isometric view of a surgical robot forming part of the
present invention;
Figure 16b is a side view looking along arrow b of Figure 16a;
Figure 16c is a front view looking along arrow c of Figure 16a;
Figure 16d is a top view looking along arrow d of Figure 16a;
Figure 16e is another an isometric view of the surgical manipulator
similar to Figure 16a but looking from the opposite direction;
Figures 17a to 17e show details of the manipulator base forming a
shoulder-roll joint assembly;
Figure 17a is an isometric view of the manipulator base without the
cover;
Figure 17b is a top view of Figure 17a along the arrow b;
Figure 17c is a front cross-section view of Figure 17b along the line c-
c showing the actuation components of the shoulder-roll joint;
Figure 17d is a side cross-section view of Figure 17b along d-d
showing the actuation components of the shoulder-roll joint;
Figure 17e is a front cross-section view of Figure 17b along e-e
showing the actuation components of the shoulder-roll joint and showing the
cover 402;
Figures 18a to 18e show details of the manipulator shoulder with the
right angle drive mounted on top of the shoulder-roll driven shaft forming a
shoulder-pitch joint assembly;
Figure 18a is an isometric view of the manipulator shoulder;
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Figure 18b is a front view of Figure 18a along the arrow b;
Figure 18c is a top view of Figure 18a along the arrow c;
Figure 18d is a cross-section view of Figure 18c along the line d-d;
Figure 18e is a side view of Figure 18a along the arrow e
Figures 19a to 19e show details of the manipulator lower arm and the
right angle drive mounted at the front of the manipulator lower arm forming an
elbow-pitch joint assembly;
Figure 19a is an isometric view of the lower manipulator arm;
Figure 19b is a front view of Figure 19a along the arrow b;
Figure 19c is a side view of Figure 19a along the arrow c;
Figure 19d is a top view of Figure 19a along the arrow d;
Figure 19e is a cross-section view of Figure 19c along the line e-e;
Figures 20a to 20e show details of the manipulator upper arm and the
right angle drive mounted at the front of the manipulator upper arm forming a
wrist-pitch joint assembly;
Figure 20a is an isometric view the manipulator fore arm;
Figure 20b is a side view of Figure 20a along the arrow b;
Figure 20c is a bottom cross-section view of Figure 20b along line C-
Figure 20d is a top view of Figure 20a along the arrow d;
Figure 20e is a back cross-section view of Figure 20b along e-e;
Figures 21a to 21e show details of the manipulator wrist forming a
wrist-roll joint assembly;
Figure 21a is an isometric view of the wrist;
Figure 21b is a top view of Figure 21a along the arrow b;
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Figure 21c is a front cross-section view of Figure 21b along line c-c;
Figure 21d is a front view of Figure 21a along the arrow d;
Figure 21e is a side cross-section view of Figure 21b along line e-e;
Figure 21f to 211 show the concept of different configurations with a
seventh degree-of-freedom and the modularity of joint units making up the
manipulator arm;
Figures 21fa and 21fb show two isometric views of the original six
degrees-of-freedom manipulator configuration shown in Figure 16a to 16e;
Figures 21ga and 21gbshow two isometric views of the one seven
degrees-of-freedom manipulator configuration with a shoulder-yaw joint
introduced to that of the configuration shown in Figure 21f;
Figures 21ha and 21hb show two isometric views of the one seven
degrees-of-freedom manipulator configuration with a wrist-yaw joint
introduced to that of the configuration shown in Figure 21f,
Figure 211 shows an isometric view of the exploded joint units of the
original six degrees-of-freedom manipulator configuration shown in Figure 21f
in which the modular components include quick connectors/disconnectors for
rapid assembling and disassembling;
Figure 21j shows the concept of modular end-effector with various
functions attaching to the same manipulator arm;
Figures 22a to 25b show details of the surgical forcep tools;
Figure 22a is an isometric view of a first embodiment of a surgical tool;
Figure 22b is a side view of the surgical tool of Figure 22a;
Figure 22c is a bottom cross-sectional view along the line c-c of
Figure 22b with the surgical tool in the open position;
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Figure 22d is a bottom cross-sectional view along the line c-c of
Figure 22b with the surgical tool in the closed position;
Figure 22e is a back cross-sectional view along the line e-e of Figure
22a,
Figure 23a is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of a
surgical tool in the opened position;
Figure 23b is an elevational view of the surgical tool of Figure 23a;
Figure 24a is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of a
surgical tool in the closed position;
Figure 24b is an elevational view of the surgical tool of Figure 24a;
Figure 25a is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment of a
surgical tool; and
Figure 25b is an elevational view of the surgical tool of Figure 25a.
Figure 26a is an isometric view of an assembled end-effector holding a
surgical tool forming part of the present invention;
Figure 26b is a disassembled view of the end-effector and surgical
tool;
Figure 26c is a front view of Figure 26a;
Figure 26d is a side view of Figure 26a showing the force-path of the
pinch force as a result of tool-actuation;
Figure 26e is a cross-sectional view of the assembled end-effector
holding a surgical tool along the line c-c of Figure 26c showing the load-path
of the tip force monitored by the force-moment sensor;
Figure 27a is a top view of the tool-yaw subassembly;
Figure 27b is a bottom view of the tool-yaw subassembly;
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Figure 27c is a top view of the assembled end-effector;
Figure 27d is a bottom view of the assembled end-effector;
Figure 27e is a top view of the main end-effector body;
Figure 27f is a cross-sectional view of Figure 27e along the line f-f
showing the load-path of the tip force monitored by the force-moment sensor;
Figure 28a is a top view of the tool actuator;
Figure 28b is a cross-sectional view of the tool actuator along the line
b-b of Figure 28a;
Figure 29a is a front view of the tool holder;
Figure 29b is a cross-sectional view of the tool holder along line b-b in
Figure 29a;
Figure 29c is an isometric view of the tool holder;
Figure 29d is a top view of the tool holder showing the tool ejection
wings in the engaged configuration;
Figure 29e is a top view of the tool holder showing the tool ejection
wings in the ejected configuration;
Figure 29f is an isometric view of the end-effector releasing the tool at
the tool tray; and
Figure 30 is a schematic diagram showing the operation concept of a
dual-manipulator telerobotic system controlled by a surgeon in a typical
operating theatre.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, the systems described herein are directed to a
surgical manipulator apparatus. As required, embodiments of the present
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invention are disclosed herein. However, the disclosed embodiments are merely
exemplary, and it should be understood that the invention may be embodied in
many
various and alternative forms. The Figures are not to scale and some features
may
be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular elements while
related
elements may have been eliminated to prevent obscuring novel aspects. For
purposes of teaching and not limitation, the illustrated embodiments are
directed to a
surgical manipulator apparatus.
The surgical manipulator apparatus comprises a multi-jointed robotic arm,
with the different booms connected to right angle drive units, and surgical
end-
effectors connected to a robotic wrist unit. Each of these components will now
be
described in detail.
1) RIGHT ANGLE DRIVE UNIT
Referring first to Figure 1, an isometric view of an assembled right-angle
drive
system is shown generally at 10 which includes a housing comprised of a
chassis 14
and a cover 16. Referring particularly to Figure 2, the right angle drive
system 10
includes an output pulley 20, an output shaft 26 on top of which the output
pulley 20
is mounted to, a mid housing 22, a pair of idler units 78, 86, 84, 80a/b,
82a/b, an
optical encoder 46,.and an input pulley 54 mounted on a drive mechanism which
preferably comprises a harmonic-drive 56.
21
=
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Referring to Figure 2 and Figures 3a and 3b, the optical encoder 46 is
mounted on shaft section 38 of output shaft 26 for measuring rotational
displacement of the output shaft 26. The typical optical encoder 46 measuring
system includes a light source, a code disk rotating about an internal or
external precision ball bearing and an optical light sensor. The code disk has
a series of opaque and transparent markings which spatially encode the
angular position of the shaft section 38 that may be configured to provide the
absolute or relative angular position of the shaft. A light source shines
through
the code disk and onto the optical light sensor. Every angular position has
coded dark spots and light spots on the code disk which interrupt the light
beam on the optical light sensor, from which electronic signals are generated.
The electronic signals are amplified and converted into angular position/speed
data which can be used by a control system.
For an incremental encoder embodiment, all the markings on the code
disc are identical, and electronic signals are generated in the form of pulses
which are counted by the controller to determine the relative positioning or
differentiated against time to obtain speed. For an embodiment which uses an
absolute encoder, each marking on the code disc is distinctively formed by a
series of lines, and the resulting electronic signal from the light detection
of
the optical sensor will be a unique binary code which makes absolute position
sensing possible.
The harmonic-drive 56 is mounted to the chassis 14, and on the output
flange 98 of the harmonic-drive 56 an input pulley 54 is mounted and has an
axis of rotation perpendicular to that of the output pulley 20. The harmonic-
drive 56 is used to introduce high reduction ratio to the overall right-angle
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drive 10. The cable-pulley system thus is only responsible for the angled
transmission of motion from the input to the output side and thus forms a bi-
directional coupling mechanism since rotation of the input shaft about its
axis
in one direction causes rotation of the output shaft about its axis in one
direction, and rotation of the input shaft by the drive mechanism in the other
direction causes rotation of the output shaft about its axis in the other
direction.
Figures 6a to 6e, and Figure 12 show details of the input pulley 54.
Input pulley 54 includes two sections, an auxiliary section 130 and a main
section 132 with the auxiliary section 130 having a larger diameter than the
main section 132 to accommodate for the vertical locations of the main idlers
80a, 80b and auxiliary idlers 82a, 82b (Figure 1). Sections 130 and 132 have
circular grooved circumferences 134 and 136 with spiral continuous grooves
160 (Figure 6g) on the surfaces to provide friction between the cable and the
input pulley 54 such that the driving torque for the pulley by the cable is
distributed evenly about the pulley and not completely relying on the
termination at the looped crimped fittings 101 (Figure 6f) located inside the
pockets 138 and 140. The cables are terminated at the input pulley 54 by
threading into the corresponding lateral access holes 141a, 141b, 141c, 141d
and through the pockets 140a, 138a, 140b, 138b respectively.
The loop crimp fittings 101 provided by the cable manufacturer are
crimped onto the tip of the cables with each forming a loop at the other end
of
the fitting as shown in Figure 6f. Each fitting together with the loop hides
inside the pockets 138a, 138b, 140a, 140b, in which when each cable is
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under tension its fitting will ride up against the internal wall of the pocket
and
maintain the cable tension.
Referring to Figures 6a, 6g, 8 and 11c, cable 92b (Figure 8) is
wrapped around the main section 132 (Figure 6a) of the input pulley 54 along
the circular groove section 160 (Figure 6g) which is machined on the
circumferential surface 136 in a spiral helical path along the center of
rotation
of the pulley. The direction of which cable 92b winds around the surface 136
(Figure 6a) is counter-clockwise starting from the lateral access hole above
the loop sleeve termination pocket 138a and looking into the input pulley 54
in
the view direction of Figure 6b. When the cable 92b is inside the groove 160,
the surface friction in between the two assists in the input pulley 54 driving
the
cable 92b with tension which in turn drives the output pulley 20, thus
relieving
some of the stress concentrated at the loop sleeve fitting 101 (Figure 11c)
where the cable is terminated. The adjacent groove section 161(Figure 6g),
which is wound around by cable 92a (Figure 8) clockwise, may or may not be
continuous with section 160 depends on the axial length of the main cable
section 132. The identical relationship applies to the auxiliary cable section
130 as groove section 162 (Figure 6g) is for cable 90b (Figure 8) winding
counter-clockwise and groove section 163 (Figure 6g) is for cable 90a
(Figure 8) winding clockwise.
Referring to Figures 3a, 3b and 3c, the output shaft 26 includes a
cylindrical housing 36 and a shaft 38 extending from the rear face 40 of the
output shaft 26 and the rear face 40 includes a circumferential shoulder 42 of
a larger diameter than the diameter of cylindrical housing 36. There is a
centered hole 28 located on a front face 30 to receive therein a centering
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dowel 32 which forms the rotating output seen in Figure 1 protruding from the
center of output pulley 20. Referring to Figure 4f, a radial ball-bearing 59
is
mounted on shaft 38 between which the shoulder 42 of the output shaft 40 the
encoder 46 is sandwiched.
Referring to Figures 4a to 4f, the mid-housing 22 includes a pair of
circular bores 70 and 72 which are match-machined to be perfectly concentric
to each other for the angular-contact ball-bearings 24 shown in Figure 1. The
diameter 68 which is smaller than that of 70 and 72 is sized according to the
recommended outer ring shoulder landing diameter specified by the bearing
manufacturer. Details of the mounting and preloading of the angular-contact
ball-bearing pair 24 inside mid-housing 22 will be described later. Mid-
housing
22 includes an idler support section 74 (Figure 4a) having two holes 76, one
on the top surface and the other on the bottom surface for receiving idler
shafts 78 which are part of the main idler mechanisms, shown in Figure 2.
Referring to Figures 4f and 11b, the two angular-contact ball-bearings
24 are mounted inside the bearing seats 70, 72 in a back-to-back
configuration (best seen in Figure 4f). The bearings 24 are seated with their
respective outer ring 139 inside the concentric bore 72 and 70. The locknut 60
is turned on the output shaft 26 via a threaded section 43 (Figure 3a), which
provides loading from the locknut 60 via the output shaft 26 to the inner ring
142 of the bearing adjacent to the locknut 60 (see Figure 4f). The loading
will
be transmitted from the inner ring 142 through the balls 143 and to the outer
ring 139 of that bearing, following the load path outlined along 140 shown in
dotted lines, and end up back at the output shaft 26 again at the flange 40
(Figure 3b). The preload is completed when the inner gap inside the raceway
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of the bearings 24 between the balls 143 and the inner ring 142 and outer ring
139 is eliminated by the motion of the locknut 60 towards the bearing pairs
along the output shaft 26 as a result of the turning of the locknut 60. This
procedure is carried out by means of the use of a torque wrench to tighten the
locknut 60 on output shaft 26, using a torque level recommended by the
bearing manufacturer for installation.
Figures 5a to 5f inclusive show details of the output pulley 20. Output
pulley 20 includes two sections 110 and 112 with the auxiliary section 110
having a larger diameter than the main section 112 to accommodate for the
vertical locations of the main 80a, 80b and auxiliary idlers 82a, 82b.
Sections
110 and 112 have circumferences 114 and 116 respectively with continuous
spiral grooves 160 (of Figure 6g) on the surfaces to provide friction between
the cable and the output pulley 20 in order to distribute the driving torque
evenly about the pulley 20 and relieve stress on the termination at the
tensioning screws 94a, 94b and 96a, 96b thereby reducing the possibility of
detachment. Figure 11a shows the front view of the drive unit showing the
positioning of the tensioning screws in the holes 144a, 144b, 146a and 146b.
Referring to Figures 5a, 6g and 8, cable 92b (Figure 8) is wrapped
around the main section 112 (Figures 5a and 8) of the output pulley 20 along
the circular groove 160 (Figure 6g) which is machined on the circumferential
surface 116 (Figure 5a) in a spiral helical path along the center of rotation
of
the pulley 20. The direction of which cable 92b winds around the surface 116
is counter-clockwise starting from the lateral access hole above the
tensioning
screw hole 146a and looking into the output pulley 20 at the output load
interface surface. When the cable 92b is inside the groove 160, the surface
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friction in between the two assists in driving the output pulley 20 to rotate
counter-clockwise when the cable 92b is under tension, thus relieving some of
the stress concentrated at the tensioning screw 96b inside the tensioning
screw hole 146a where the cable is terminated. The adjacent groove section
161 (Figure 6g), which is wound around by cable 92a (Figure 8) clockwise,
may or may not be continuous with groove 160 depending on the axial length
of the main section 112. The identical relationship applies to the auxiliary
section 110 as groove section 162 (Figure 6g) is for cable 90b (Figure 8)
winding counter-clockwise and groove section 163 (Figure 6g) is for cable
90a (Figure 8) winding clockwise.
The tensioning screw 96a inserts into hole 144a of output pulley 20,
which sits on the shoulder 145a (Figure 5d) that supports the tensioning
screw 96a under loading from the counter-clockwise auxiliary cable 90b. The
cable 90b accesses the output pulley 20 through the lateral hole 147 (Figure
5f), wraps around the tensioning screw 96a for up to three windings, and
passes through the hole 154 (Figure 9a) of the tensioning screw 94a. It is
noted that the only difference among screws 94a, 94b, 96a and 96b is the
axial location of hole 154. There are two lateral holes 147 on the output
pulley
for each of the tensioning screws, the choice between the pair will
20 determine the direction of cable winding on the tensioning screws and
thus
the direction of rotation of the tensioning screws for tightening their
respective
cable. Turning setscrew 97 (Figure 11b) in tapped hole 159 (Figure 9b) of
the tensioning screw pinches the cable 90b and deforms the tip of the cable
90b until it is jammed inside the hole 154 and secured by the setscrew 97. To
allow room for maneuvering the cable 90b, the entire subassembly of
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tensioning screw 96a and the setscrew 97 is taken outside of the output pulley
20 after threading the cable through the lateral access hole 147 to complete
the cable windings and setscrew securing before being put back to the hole
144a.
Once the cable 90b and the tensioning screw 96a are inside hole 144a,
the cable tension can be adjusted by turning the tensioning screw 96a
clockwise by means of a screwdriver engaging at the slot 158 of the
tensioning screw (Figure 9b). After the desired cable tension is reached a
washer 99 (Figure 1) and hex nut 100 (Figure 1) are placed onto the
threaded section 156 (Figure 9b) of the tensioning screw 96a to fix the rotary
position of the tensioning screw 96a with respect to the output pulley 20. The
cable tension can be guaranteed if the tensioning screw cannot be turned
counter-clockwise without loosening up the hex nut. This is accomplished by
selecting the lateral access hole 147 from the pair for each tensioning screws
on the output pulley 20 such that the tensioning screw will always need to be
turned clockwise to tighten the cable tension.
Specifically, if the tensioning screw attempts to turn counter-clockwise
due to the cable tension, the washer and hex nut will attempt to rotate as a
unit with respect to the output pulley but friction against the front face of
the
output pulley will resist the rotation and thus any rotation of the tensioning
screw 96a will be done with the washer 99 and hex nut 100 remaining static to
the output pulley 20, resulting in the hex nut compressing against the output
pulley via the tensioning screw and consequently resisting any further
counter-clockwise rotation of the tensioning screw 96a. Provided the friction
against between the output pulley front face and the washer 99 and the hex
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nut 100 is greater than that between the internal thread of hex nut 100 and
the
external thread section 156 of tensioning screw 96a (of Figure 9a), the cable
tension will not loosen up on its own. This can be ensured by the large
surface area of the flat washer 99, with which the tensioning screw 96a, the
washer 99 and the hex nut 100 will not rotate counter-clockwise as a unit,
thereby guaranteeing the tensioning of that particular cable section. The load
carried by the right-angle drive is mounted to the front face of the output
pulley 20, via the bolt holes 150 and the timing dowel holes 151, shown in
Figures 5a and 5b. To locate the center-of-rotation of the output pulley 20,
the load can use the center dowel 32 of Figure 1. Figure 5e shows details of
the tensioning mechanism at output pulley 20.
The flexible cables 90b and 92b may be low-stretch/pre-tensioned
cables, which may or may not be metallic, to minimize transmission loss due
to elastic stretching of the cables.
Referring again to Figure 2, the idler mechanisms each include main
idlers 80a and 80b, and auxiliary idlers 82a and 82b, and it is noted that
main
idlers 80a and 80b and auxiliary idlers 82a and 82b may or may not be
identical depending on the relative position of the idler shaft 78 with
respect to
both the input pulley 54 and output pulley 20, and auxiliary idler spacer 84
that
separates the main idlers 80a, 80b and auxiliary idlers 82a, 82b, and two
flange radial ball-bearings 86 to allow free rotation of both the main idlers
80a,
80b and auxiliary idlers 82a, 82b independent of each other. Figures 7a and
7b show the idler shafts 78 which include a circumferential ridge 79 located
near one of the ends of the shaft 78 so that the two shafts are inserted into
holes 76 a distance equal to the distance from that particular end to the
ridge
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79, best seen in Figure 10c. A lock nut 60 is located between the output
pulley 20 and the angular-contact ball-bearing 24 located closest to the
output
pulley 20 for retaining that particular bearing in mid-housing 22, see Figure
4f.
Figure 8 shows the relative positions of the input pulley 54 and the
output pulley 20. The idler shafts 78 are located in holes 76 of section 74 of
mid housing 22, best seen in Figures 2 and 4a. In the cable-driven right-angle
drive, the input axis 58 defined by the harmonic-drive 56 (see Figure 15) and
output axis 180 defined by the output shaft 26 (Figure 11b) are aligned
perpendicular to each other. The transmission between the input and output
pulleys 54 and 20 respectively is carried out by the cable-pulley system
including input pulley 54 and output pulley 20, main idlers 80a, 80b and
auxiliary idlers 82a, 82b and cables 90a, 90b and 92a, 92b, in which these
two sets of cables correspond to the two directions of rotation.
Referring to Figure 8, (and Figure 11a for the tensioning screws
referred to below) there are a total of four independent cable sets including:
1)
auxiliary cable 90a responsible for clockwise rotation of the output pulley 20
which is associated with auxiliary idler 82a and auxiliary tensioning screw
94a;
2) auxiliary cable 90b which is responsible for counter-clockwise rotation of
the output pulley 20 which is associated with auxiliary idler 82b and
auxiliary
tensioning screw 96a; 3) main cable 92a which is responsible for clockwise
rotation of the output pulley 20 which is associated with main idler 80a and
main tensioning screw 94b; and 4) main cable 92b responsible for counter-
clockwise rotation of the output pulley 20 which is associated with main idler
80b and main tensioning screw 96b. Each cable can be independently
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tensioned, but when used to transmit rotational motion between the input and
output shafts the main and auxiliary cable pairs work together for each
direction to reduce tension in each cable set. The two sets of cables reduce
the cable tension to improve cable reliability and provide redundancy to
improve safety should one cable break.
Referring again to Figure 8, when the input pulley 54, driven by the
output flange 98 of the harmonic-drive 56, rotates counter-clockwise (when
looking at the back of the harmonic-drive 56), the counter-clockwise main
cables 92b and auxiliary cable 90b are under tension from the end through
the lateral access holes 141b, 141a (Figure 6a) respectively with the
terminations at the crimped fittings 101 situated inside the pockets 138a,
140a
respectively on the input pulley 54, being diverted into a right-angle change
of
direction by the main idlers 80b and auxiliary idlers 82b, and pulls on other
end of the cables at the setscrew 97 termination(Figure 5e) on the main
tensioning screws 96b and auxiliary tensioning screws 96a and hence cause
the output pulley 20 and dowel 32 connected to output shaft 26 to rotate
counter-clockwise looking at the front face of the output pulley 20. Whereas
the other set of cables unwind in the opposite direction since clockwise main
cable 92a and auxiliary cable 90a, beginning at the input pulley 54 at the
crimped fittings terminations 101 through the lateral access holes 141d and
141c (Figure 6a) respectively, are diverted into a right-angle change of
direction by the main idler 80a and auxiliary idler 82a, and are terminated on
the output pulley 20 at the setscrew 97 on the main tensioning screws 94b
and auxiliary tensioning screws 94a.
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Cables 90a, 90b and 92a, 92b are preferably low-stretch/pre-tensioned
cables to minimize motion loss due to elastic deformation of the cables under
tension. Referring to Figures 1, 2, 10b and 10c, when assembled, idler caps
62 and 64 are bolted to the top and bottom of housing cover 16 which support
the idler shafts 78 on their free ends opposite to those at the holes 76 on
the
mid-housing 22. The Idlers 80a, 80b and 82a, 82b mounted on the idler shafts
thus can maintain their radial positions with respect to the input pulley 54
and
output pulley 20 even when the cables are under tension.
Figure 13 shows a view from the back of the drive unit opposite to the
output face from which dowel 32 projects. As can be seen, bearing 59 rotates
in hole 61 (of Figure 2) located in the back wall of chassis 14.
Figures 14 and 15 show isometric views of the drive unit without the
cover 16 thereby showing the placement of the cable drive system, shown in
Figure 8, now placed in the chassis 14. There is a slight difference in
structure of the output pulley 20 of the right-angle drive in Figure 14 and 15
compared to right-angle drive 10 in Figure 1. In Figure 14 and 15, the output
pulley 20 includes a raised guide 21 integrally formed on the outer surface of
pulley 20. The right-angle drive shown in Figure 14 and 15 is larger than the
right-angle drive 10 in Figure 1 because it is used in both the shoulder-pitch
joint as the right-angle drive 406 and the elbow-pitch joint as the right-
angle
drive 410.
The load at the elbow-pitch and shoulder-pitch joints are substantially
higher than that at the wrist-pitch joint due to the difference in component
weight each joint is carrying, hence the pulleys 20 and 54 need to be enlarged
to compensate for the higher torque so the stress in the driving cable sets
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90a, 90b, 92a, 92b can be reduced. Thus the overall size of the right-angle
drive 10 in Figure 1, while applicable to the wrist-pitch joint, is required
to be
increased as a result for the elbow-pitch and shoulder-pitch joints to become
the variation shown in Figure 14 and 15. The excessive loading at the
shoulder-pitch joint compared to that at the elbow-pitch joint is partially
compensated for by the counterbalance torsion spring 440 as shown in
Figure 18d. Referring to Figure 18d, the raised guide 21 on output pulley 20
of right-angle drive unit 406 is used for guiding the internal axle 505 of the
shoulder support 439 to be coupled with the output pulley 20, forming a
combined drive shaft to rotate the output bracket 266. The raised guide 21 on
the output pulley 20 of the right-angle drive unit 410 for the elbow-pitch
joint is
not used (Figure 19e).
The cable driven right-angle drive 10 disclosed herein has several
advantageous features. Specifically, it is a low-to-medium load, lightweight
unit which may be retrofitted into the joints of existing modular robotic arm
systems. The use of the drive cables 90a, 90b and 92a, 92b provide a
backlash-free bidirectional rotation. The drive, by incorporating harmonic-
drive
56, provides a back-lash free motor input. The drive unit is compact and
lightweight, and has an in-line or offset input/output configuration. In an in-
line
configuration the input and output axes are coplanar whereas in an offset
configuration the planes of the input and output axes are parallel but offset
in
direction normal to the planes. The relative alignment error between the input
and output axis can be compensated by the tensioning of the cables. The unit
uses redundant cables for safety, uses a simple cable tensioning mechanism
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and is highly cost-effective since it is of simple construction and does not
require expensive gearing and alignment.
In another embodiment of the pulleys 20 and 54, both the input and
output pulleys can have any number of differential diametrical sections other
than the two shown for this design. Provided there would be a pair of idler
pulley subassembly to go with each section of cable transmission, more
sections of cable transmission can be introduced to the input and output
pulleys as long as the other physical constraints are satisfied. Additional
sections of cable will provide more security to the overall integrity of the
transmission, but the size of the module will inevitably be increased.
A gear ratio may be introduced using a miniature harmonic gear
located at the input pulley, and the load is mounted directly on the front
face
of the output pulley. Additional devices such as angular motion sensors and
motor brakes may be fitted onto the output pulley drive shaft to make a
compact module. The module can be sized to the targeted load capacity using
off-the-shelf components readily available in various sizes from multiple
vendors.
Thus, the present invention provides a compact yet highly efficient
module for right-angle transmission by combining cable-pulley systems and
harmonic drive technology. The cable-pulley drive system provides high
fidelity while the harmonic drive contributes to the high power density and
back-drivability. In light to medium duty load applications, this module will
enable miniature actuators and sensors while outperforming conventional
bevel or worm gearing. The mechanism itself is simple yet robust, highly
modular and flexible in interfacing. Redundant cables add safety to the
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design and the accessibility of the input and output transmission axes
facilitate integration of auxiliary devices into a compact integrated unit.
The
design has simple components and does not need expensive gear cutting
technology. No other existing technology can compete in terms of positional
accuracy, size and weight, efficiency, modularity, ease of reconfiguration,
integration and maintenance.
Thus, the present invention provides a right-angle drive which exhibits
little or no backlash, simple and robust design, highly repeatable precision,
high efficiency, back-driveability, a high gear ratio, compact size and
lightweight for a right-angle drive.
While a preferred embodiment of the present invention is the right-
angle drive where the input pulley 54 and output pulley 20 rotate in planes
that are perpendicular to each other so that the rotational motion of the
input
shaft is converted to rotational motion about an axis perpendicular to the
input
rotational axis, it will be understood that other angles are possible.
Particularly, the housing chassis 14, cover 16, mid-housing 22 and the other
components can be made to accommodate any fixed angle between the input
and output axis as long as the cable routing is not compromised. Thus, while
the preferred nominal angle between input and output is 90 degrees, it will be
appreciated that other angles are possible. In addition, because flexible
cables are being used in which the tension can be adjusted, it will be
appreciated that the user can reconfigure the housing to adjust the input and
output axis at the preferred angle so that as the input and output pulleys are
locked in position to give the desired angle, the cable tension of each cable
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adjusted accordingly to either take up the slack in the cables caused by
repositioning the input and output pulleys with respect to each other.
For example, one method to facilitate tensioning of the screws for
different angles is to have the tensioning screws continuously torqued by a
built-in spring. The screw may also have a ratchet to prevent counter-rotation
of the tension screw making the rotation unidirectional. Therefore any "slack"
in the cable may be removed by the spring and the ratchet prevents further
slackening. The spring is selected to have sufficient torque to tension the
cable adequately. The spring or a ratchet can both provide cable tensioning,
regardless of whether the input and output pulleys are configured for right-
angle transmission or some other angle. With a spring, the cable is constantly
under tension without any manual adjustment, but a very strong spring is
preferred for tensioning. A ratchet mechanism also gives unidirectional
rotation, that is, the direction to further tighten the cable tension, such
that it is
guaranteed no cable loosening will happen under normal circumstances.
A difference between a ratchet tensioning mechanism and the cable
tension mechanism shown in Figure 5e, is that the ratchet mechanism is a
discrete system, meaning that the number of "locking" rotary positions the
screw can sit at depends on the number of teeth on the ratchet, whereas the
screw/nut tensioning mechanism illustrated in Figure 5e has an infinite
number of positions possible for "locking" purpose once the cable tension is
set. The screw/nut tensioning requires manual adjustment, whereas automatic
tension adjustment is possible using a ratcheting mechanism. Thus spring or
ratchet or screw/nut mechanisms are all possible embodiments of the cable
tensioning device.
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2) SURGICAL MANIPULATOR
Figures 16a to 21e show the surgical manipulator arm 400 in its
entirety and all the various components making up the arm. Figure 16a
shows an isometric view of a six degrees-of-freedom surgical robot shown
generally at 400 forming part of the present invention. Figures 16a and 16e
show two different isometric views of manipulator 400 while Figures 16b, 16c
and 16d show back, side and top views respectively of manipulator 400. The
basic exterior structure of manipulator 400 will be discussed with respect to
Figures 16a to 16e and details of the internal structure of each of these
components will be discussed with respect to Figures 17a to 21e.
Referring to Figure 16a, the base 401 of the surgical robot 400
contains the shoulder-roll joint with axis 414 and part of the shoulder-pitch
joint with axis 422. Referring to Figures 17a to 17e, manipulator shoulder
base 401 includes a mounting plate 200 for table-top installation, a support
housing 202 mounted on base plate 200 for both the shoulder-roll and
shoulder-pitch joints, and a driven spur gear 204 for rotation about axis 414
(also shown in Figure 16a) which together with shoulder-pitch housing 252
(Figure 17c) form part of the shoulder-pitch joint (refer to description in
the
next paragraph). The shoulder-pitch housing 252 is mounted inside support
housing 202 by a pair of angular-contact ball bearings 500, with an optical
encoder 503 coupled to the extension 258 of the housing 252 to measure the
shoulder-roll joint output position. Straight-tooth spur gear 204 is
rotationally
driven by a smaller-sized pinion 206 with which it is meshed. The pinion 206
is an anti-backlash gear with springs 216 that eliminates gaps between mating
gear teeth when meshing with the driven gear 204. Via the hub 214 and
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subsequently the shoulder-roll drive shaft 220, pinion 206 is mounted to, and
driven by, a motor 212 mounted below gear 206 and secured to housing 202.
A gear ratio exists between the gear 204 and pinion 206 which depends on
the difference in their respective diameters. The motor 212 is a combination
of
harmonic-drive, an optical incremental encoder (measuring input motor
position) and a DC brushless motor. The harmonic-drive 56 supplies
additional gear ratio between the motor 212 input to the resulting output
motion at the drive shaft 220 to further reduce the speed of the gear 204.
Referring to Figure 17c in particular, to provide fail-safe braking, a
power-off brake 208 is coupled to the motor 212, at which the armature of the
brake 222 is connected to the shoulder-roll drive shaft 220 just below the
motor 212. The brake 222 is mounted onto the brake support 210, which is
then secured on the mounting plate 200. Upon braking or emergency stop
situation, power supplied to the brake 208 will be cut, the armature 222 of
the
brake 208 will stop rotating by the magnetic field generated inside the brake
208, and thus the drive shaft 220 will cease all motion and the entire
shoulder-
roll joint can be stopped as a result.
Motor 212 may include a servo motor integrated with a harmonic gear
and an angular encoder for measuring rotational displacement of the motor
shaft 220 coupled to said pinion gear.
Referring to Figures 18a to 18e, the shoulder-pitch joint includes a
right-angle drive 406 which is mounted on top of upper base 404 (Figure
16a). The structure and operation of the right angle drive shoulder-pitch
joint
406 has been described above in the section entitled Right-Angle Drive. The
spur gear 204 and the shoulder-pitch housing 252 form part of the shoulder-
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roll structure, as described in the previous paragraph. Referring to Figure
18d, the spur gear 204 acts as the interface between the right-angle drive 406
and the input actuating components, which include a DC brushless motor 250,
with an interface plate 253 at the rear at which a power-off electro-magnetic
brake 254 is attached, and an incremental optical encoder 256 mounted to the
brake 254 directly which measures the motor input position.
Upon braking, the power-off brake 254 will act in a similar fashion as its
counterpart in the shoulder-roll joint in that the motor 250 rotation will be
stopped via the connected rear end of the motor output shaft. The front end of
the output shaft of the motor 250 is connected to the harmonic-drive 56 of the
right-angle drive 406, which rotates the input pulley 54 and drives the output
pulley 20, as described in the Right-Angle Drive section. At the output side
of
the right-angle drive 406, the shoulder support 439 is mounted to the chassis
14 of the drive 406, which has an internal axle 505 supported by a pair of
angular-contact ball bearings 504 and coupled with the output pulley 20 of the
right-angle drive 406. At the outside end of the axle 505, a mounting bracket
266 is mounted, at which the lower arm of the manipulator 408 is attached to,
resulting in the lower arm 408 (Figure 16a) rotating about the shoulder-pitch
axis 422.
To assist the motor 250 in moving the lower arm 408 and the remaining
components attached above it about the shoulder-pitch joint against gravity, a
torsion spring 440 (Figures 16a, 18b and 18e) is mounted on the shoulder
support 439 and the lower arm 408 which serves as a counterbalance as the
lower arm 408 rotates in the indicated direction about the shoulder-pitch axis
422. Referring to Figures 18b, and 18e in particular, the counterbalance
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spring 440 has one leg supported by a bracket 507, while the other leg rotates
together with the lower arm 408 (seen in Figure 16a). The spring 440 will be
loaded only when the lower arm 408 is rotating forward, as illustrated along
the direction of the arrow in Figure 18e. All components attach to bracket 266
rotates as a unit about axis 414 (seen in Figure 16a) for the shoulder-roll
joint.
Referring to Figures 16a, 16e, 19a to 19e, attached to the upper end
of the lower manipulator arm 408 is an elbow-pitch right-angle drive 410 of
the
same structure and operation as that of the shoulder-pitch joint as described
in the previous paragraph. An upper arm 412 is mounted to the bracket 282
on top of the output pulley 20 (Figure 19e) of the elbow-pitch joint right-
angle
drive 410 so that the rotational motion of the input pulley 54 (Figure 19e) to
the drive unit 410 is translated into rotational motion of the upper arm 412
about the elbow-pitch axis 426. As seen in Figure 19e, a DC brushless motor
460, an interface plate 462 with the power-off brake 464, and the incremental
optical encoder 466 residing inside housing 280 are identical to their
counterparts in the shoulder-pitch joint 250, 253, 254 and 256 respectively
(Figure 18d ) both in configuration and operation.
Referring to Figures 16a, 16e, 20a to 20e, attached to the upper end
of the manipulator fore arm 412 is a wrist-pitch right-angle drive 416 of
similar
structure and operation as that of the elbow and shoulder-pitch joints but
smaller in size. A wrist 420 (Figures 16a) is mounted to the bracket 288 on
top of the output pulley 20 (Figure 20c) of the wrist-pitch joint right-angle
drive
416 so that the rotational motion of the input pulley 54 (Figure 20c) to the
drive unit 416 is translated into rotational motion of the wrist 420 about the
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wrist-pitch axis 432. The internal configuration of the fore arm 412 is
similar to
that of the lower arm 408, in which the DC brushless motor 470, interface
plate 471 with the power-off brake 471 residing inside housing 286 are similar
to their counterparts 460, 462 and 464 of the lower arm 408 but smaller in
size and having the same operating principle. The incremental encoder 473 is
identical to the encoder 466 of the lower arm 408.
Referring now to Figures 21a to 21e and particularly Figure 21e, wrist
unit 420 includes a housing 300 containing an actuation mechanism which
includes a motor 302, interface plate 480, brake 304, encoder 306 being
configured to operate in the same way as their counterparts 470, 471, 472
and 473 in the wrist-pitch joint assembly described in the previous paragraph.
The actuation mechanism within wrist 420 also includes the wrist output shaft
housing 424 which encloses a harmonic-drive 482 identical to that of the
wrist-pitch right-angle drive 416, an output shaft 484 at the outside end of
which the end-effector 428 is connected, and an incremental encoder 483
which is identical to encoder 46 in Figure 20c being used in the wrist-pitch
right-angle drive 416. The end-effector 428 is driven by the actuation
mechanism, specifically motor 302 to rotate about the wrist-roll axis 438 via
the gear-reduction by the harmonic-drive 482.
Thus the six degrees-of-freedom of the manipulator are all accounted
for: shoulder-roll axis 414, shoulder-pitch axis 422, elbow-pitch axis 426,
wrist-pitch axis 432, wrist-roll axis 438 and tool-yaw axis 441 (which will be
discussed in detail in the Surgical End-Effector Section hereinafter). The
linkages of the manipulator 400 are arranged in an offset configuration in
which the lower arm 408 and the fore arm 412 are both cascaded along the
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shoulder-pitch 422 and elbow-pitch 426 axis with respect to the shoulder- roll
axis 414 and wrist-roll 438 axis. This configuration allows for a wider range
of
travel for all the pitch joints when accommodating for the minimum length of
the manipulator arm (formed by 408, 412, 424 and 428) required to enclose
the entire actuation unit for each joint given a certain desired linkage
length
from joint-to-joint.
The exact amount of offset of both the lower arm 408 and upper arm
412 is adjusted by the length of the section 506 (Figure 18d) of the shoulder
support 439 along the direction of shoulder-pitch axis 422, and the resulting
offset locates the wrist 420 such that the wrist-roll axis 438 is aligned with
that
of shoulder-roll axis 414. The reason for this lies in the kinematic
consideration which calls for an in-line kinematic chain for more intuitive
control and also for simplified kinematics computation. By aligning the wrist-
roll 438 and shoulder-roll 414 axes, the in-line kinematic configuration is
achieved even though the physical manipulator is in an offset arrangement.
Figures 21fa and 21fb show a block diagram presentation of
manipulator 400 of Figure 16a, with all the original labeling in two different
viewing angles, with the exception of the end-effector 428 which is shown in
Figures 21fa and 21fb to have a cover that is not shown in Figure 16a.
Figure 21ga and 21gb illustrate another embodiment of a surgical
manipulator 800 which uses the same components as manipulator 400 in
Figures 21fa and 21fb but includes a seventh joint 810 which can be added
in between the shoulder-roll joint and the shoulder-pitch joint. The new joint
810, which includes a right-angle drive mechanism, has a shoulder-yaw joint
axis 811 significantly perpendicular to both the said shoulder-roll axis 414
and
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the shoulder-pitch axis 422 as shown in Figures 21ga and 21gb. The output
pulley of this new right-angle drive mechanism 810 is oriented in the plane
perpendicular to the output pulley plane of the shoulder-pitch right-angle
drive
mechanism 406 and is coupled to the right-angle drive 406 responsible for the
shoulder-pitch. This additional joint 810 allows the robotic arm to orient the
direction of the elbow retraction formed by the junction between the lower arm
408 and forearm 412 in any desired plane with respect to the base 401. Such
a capability allows the manipulator 800 to access patients in a particularly
constrained or low volume situation and allows the overall configuration of
the
manipulator to be adjusted to the task at hand - operating in a primarily
vertical plane for minimally invasive neurosurgery, operating in a horizontal
plane for stereotaxy or in combination with other equipment and sensors.
Figures 21ha and 21hb show two different views of another
embodiment of a surgical manipulator 820 wherein a seventh joint 830 can be
added in between the wrist-pitch joint and the wrist-roll joint. The new joint
830, which includes a right-angle drive mechanism as described above, has a
joint axis wrist-yaw 831 significantly perpendicular to both the the wrist-
roll
axis 438 and the wrist-pitch axis 432 as shown in Figure 21ha. The output
pulley of this new right-angle drive mechanism 830 is oriented in the plane
perpendicular to the output pulley plane of the wrist-pitch right-angle drive
mechanism 416 and is coupled to the supporting structure of the said wrist
body 420. This additional joint 830 allows the manipulator wrist 420 to have
an additional degree-of-freedom in the yaw direction when an application
requires minimal or no movement of the rest of the manipulator other than the
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wrist 420, for instance minimally invasive surgery, or situations where
lateral
movement of the surgical instrument is desired without rotation.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the surgical
manipulator 800 may be further configured such that the sequence of joints
may be different, including more or less joints than shown in Figure 21f. For
some tasks, fewer than six (6) joints may be desirable for volume or access
reasons, or the order of the joints within the shoulder, elbow and wrist may
be
reversed for better reach and access in a particular environment.
Referring to Figure 211, surgical manipulator 400 may be configured to
be rapidly reconfigurable modular wherein modules of the manipulator can be
quickly removed and replaced with a different but similar modules containing
a different size, shape, orientation or sequence of joints and end effectors.
This permits the manipulator 400 to be reconfigured for the task at hand while
at the same time utilizing a common base 401 and controller (not shown). The
quick disconnect allows for a mechanical, electrical, video interface between
the remaining segment of the manipulator and the segment that is replaced.
The various modules including the robotic arm components (upper arm, fore-
arm and wrist), all the right angle drives and end effectors may be configured
to include mating interfaces 850 comprising quick release
mechanical/electrical couplings allowing them to be quickly assembled and
disassembled using a minimal number of mechanical hardware parts (bolts,
nuts etc.). The electrical wiring is similarly configured so that when two
components are assembled the electrical plugs/sockets match to complete
the different circuits.
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Such interfaces 850 will exist between the base 401 and shoulder
cluster 406, between the shoulder cluster 406 and lower arm cluster 408,
between the lower arm cluster 408 and fore arm cluster 412, between the fore
arm cluster 412 and wrist cluster 420, and between the wrist cluster 420 and
end effector 428. Each of these interfaces 850 may or may not be different
from each other among the different joints, but will be identical among the
replacements at the same joint. To assembly or disassembly any of these
joints, minimal mechanical hardware parts are required, and all electrical
connections will be connected or disconnected automatically upon coupling or
decoupling of the interface 850. Software settings will be adjusted at the
controller upon reconnection of all clusters forming the manipulator 400 to
update the appropriate control parameters reflecting the current configuration
of the manipulator 400, which can be carried out manually or automatically by
detecting all components recognized by the controller.
Referring to Figure 21j, the modularity of the manipulator joints, in
particular that at the wrist shaft 484 between the end-effector 428 and the
wrist 420, can be used to attach various purpose-specific end-effectors to
adapt to different target applications. In the embodiment with the default
design of the manipulator 400 shown in Figure 16a, all axes 414, 422, 426,
432 and 438 are included and are the same as described earlier. Using the
modular quick-disconnect interface 850 described in the previous paragraph,
end-effectors 428 with different functions can be attached to the arm to carry
out different tasks. In the default embodiment 990, the end-effector 428
contains the tool-yaw joint 441 as the default design configuration. However,
another embodiment 991 demonstrates an end-effector 428 without the sixth
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degree-of-freedom but instead just a straight instrument (such as a hand-
drill).
Embodiment 992 illustrates that another much smaller manipulator arm 881
can be attached as the instrument of an end-effector 428, such that the
manipulator arm 400 is responsible for gross motion, whereas fine motion can
be carried out by the smaller manipulator arm 881, such as an endoscope.
Additional sensing device 882 can be attached to the end-effector 428 as
shown in embodiment 993, such as a viewing camera or tracking target, as in
the case of image-guided surgery.
It will be understood that a manipulator may be constructed in which
there is not tool yaw axis 441, so that the entire system has less than six
degrees of freedom. For example, if the end-effector is gripping a probe, no
rotational axis (rotational degree of freedom) is required by the end-
effector.
3) SURGICAL TOOLS
The end effecter 428 (Figure 16a) connected to the end of the robotic
wrist unit 424 holds a surgical tool 430 which can be detached from the end-
effector 428 in a manner to be discussed after the discussion of the tools.
Figures 22a to 22e show a first embodiment of a surgical tool 430 which can
be detachably mounted to end effecter 428 attached to the manipulator 400
(Figure 16a). Referring to Figure 22c and 22d, tool 430 includes a main
housing 500, a Teflon bushing 502 seated in the end of housing 500, a piston
504 sliding in housing 500 through Teflon bushing 502, a right hand forcep
blade 506, a left hand forcep blade 508, and a forcep insert 510. The two
forcep blades have a hole through them and a dowel 512 is inserted through
the holes and the two blades pivot about this dowel 512 as the piston 504
moves in and out of main housing 500. Piston 504 includes a head portion
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514 located at the outer end of the piston and a narrower neck 516 located
between the head portion 514 and the rest of the body of the piston 504.
Piston 504 includes a smaller diameter extension 522 which slides up and
down between the end sections of the two forcep blades 506 and 508 which
are located inside main housing 500 above the dowel 512. An 0-ring 520 is
seated at the end of the larger diameter section of the piston 504. Tool 430
includes a timing pulley 528.
Figures 23a and 23b show another embodiment of a surgical tool
shown generally at 560 which includes a main body 562, a piston 564 having
a piston head 566 separated from the body of the piston by a neck 568. The
two forcep blades 570 and 572 pivot about a common pivot point located
inside housing 562 and use a spring 574 to return the blades 570 and 572 to
its open position. The spring 574 is contained in housing sections 580 and
582 associated with blades 570 and 572 respectively. The tool uses an
internal wedge action to close the blades 570 and 572. The driving piston 564
uses a roller 576 (Figure 23b) to separate the upper proximate portion of the
blades above the pivot point, which in turn squeezes the distal blade tips
together which engage tissue during surgery.
Figures 24a and 24b show another embodiment of a surgical tool
which includes a main body 632, a central piston 634 having a piston head
636 separated from the body portion by neck 638. Surgical tool 632 uses a 4-
bar linkage, creating a scissor motion, to actuate the forcep blades 640 and
642.
Figures 25a and 25b show another embodiment of a surgical tool 700
which again includes a main housing 702, a center piston 704, and forcep
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blades 708 and 710, made from a single piece. The forcep blades 708 and
710 are either made in a single piece or two pieces welded together so that
opening of the blades is carried out by the spring force at the joint of the
two
blades. To close the blades the piston 704 translates downwards and with a
wedge cut into it, it closes the blades 708 and 710 by elastically deforming
the
material where the blades 708 and 710 joint.
It will be understood that there are numerous types of surgical tools
each having a tool portion which may be of different structure and function
(eg. Scissors, scalpels, forceps, etc.) that may be mounted to the end-
effector
428 and regardless of the structure or function of these different tool
portions
when the piston 504 is linearly retracted or linearly extended with respect to
said end-effector 428 the tool portion of the surgical tool 430 may be
activated. The forceps shown is only exemplary and non-limiting.
4) SURGICAL END-EFFECTOR
As mentioned above, with reference to Figure 16a, the end effecter
428 connected to the end of the robotic wrist unit 424 with the exchangeable
surgical tool 430 held. Microsurgical manipulators preferably require end-
effectors that are small and lightweight, use different tools, have 2 degree-
of-
freedom (DOF) actuation, enable fast and automated tool exchange, have 6
DOF tool tip force sensing, have tool clasp force sensing, maintain a sterile
barrier between the robot and the tool and/or patient, and easy to assemble.
The end-effector 428 is comprised of both sterile and non-sterile
components. Sterile components are exposed to the working atmosphere of
the surgical worksite and are not guarded by a bacteria resistant bag in which
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the non-sterile components of the end-effector 428, and subsequent
remaining arm, are protected. Therefore, sterile components are required to
be contamination free by the auto-claving process, using high pressure and
temperature steam, after each surgery. In order to separate components on
the end-effector 428 that are in direct contact with the surgical environment
(and surgical tool 430) a sterile barrier needs to be established.
The size requirement of the end-effector 428 is preferably that it be
smaller than the typical human hand and as lightweight as possible, thus
driving the overall size of the entire arm. Figure 26a shows an isometric view
of the end-effector 428 assembled holding the surgical tool 430. Also, the
end-effector 428 preferably is sized/orientated accordingly so as to provide
maximum visibility at the tool tips and the work site. In order for this to be
achieved, the actuator responsible for tool-actuation is preferably located
away from the surgical site. This asymmetrical orientation facilitates two end-
effectors being positioned closely to allow small workspaces in a dual-
manipulator operating configuration to be discussed hereafter.
In a non-limiting embodiment of the surgical manipulator, an overall
size of the end-effector 428 (not including the surgical tool) has a length,
width
and height of: 70mm x 50mm x 80mm respectively and a weight of 240g.
These parameters satisfy the size requirements of the end-effector 428, but
are exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
Presently available surgical systems are known to have numerous
sterile sub-components and offer a complex means of assembly, causing long
exhaustive set-up times. The end-effector 428 disclosed herein
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advantageously offers minimal assembly components and a set-up time in
minutes.
Referring to Figures 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d, 26e and particularly Figure
26b, end-effector 428 includes a main assembly 436 which constitutes the
non-sterile member. This is where a protective bag or hard guarding will
encapsulate the end-effector 428. End-effector 428 also comprises three main
sub-components, including a magnetic tool holder 450, tool actuator 452, and
tool-yaw mechanism 454. All these subassemblies have a simple interface to
the main assembly 436 for ease of set-up by a nurse. The exploded view in
Figure 26b shows how the sterile components are removed. These three
sub-components, magnetic tool holder 450, tool actuator 452, and tool-yaw
mechanism 454 are located and releasably secured to the main assembly 436
by threaded quick change pins 458, 460 and 462.
For a safety requirement, the surgical tool 430 must have the ability to
be manually extracted from the workspace from the top during an emergency.
This can be achieved by removing both the magnetic tool holder 450 and tool
actuator 452 quick pins 458 and 460 respectively, sliding out the tool
actuator
452 and then vertically removing the tool holder 450 containing the surgical
tool 430. Another, quicker way would be to manually eject the tool 430 from
the tool holder 450 (discussed later) and on a slight angle from vertical, so
as
to clear the tool flange, extract the tool 430 from the surgical site.
Each of the main assembly 436, and magnetic tool holder 450, tool
actuator 452, and tool actuator 452 will be discussed in more detail
herebelow.
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a) Main assembly 436
Referring to Figures 27e and 27f, the main assembly 436 of the end-
effector 428 includes all the electronic components, the tool-yaw motor 600,
the tool-actuation motor 601, the tool-tip force-moment sensor 608 and the
tool-actuation force sensor 604 all mounted on end-effector 428. This forms
the core of the end-effector 428 where these components and their adjacent
supporting structures are considered to be non-sterile and thus need to be
protected by a drape bag. The drape bag will need to cover from the base of
the robot all the way through the entire length of the arm until the front
face
611 of the end-effector main assembly 436, whereas the remaining
subassemblies of the end-effector will be attached to the main assembly via
their corresponding interfaces pinching through the drape bag.
Referring in particular to Figure 27f, the tool-yaw motor 600 is
mounted onto the motor-support bracket 602, which is an inverted C-shape
structure clamping onto both ends of the tool-yaw motor 600. A square drive
shaft 609 is attached to the output shaft of the tool-yaw motor 600 which is
exposed to the bottom side of the motor-support bracket 602, at which point
the drive timing pulley (discussed in a later paragraph) of the tool-yaw
subassembly 454 is connected to the square drive shaft 609 for rotation
transmission to the tool-yaw axis 441.
Referring to Figures 26e and 27e, the tool-actuation motor 601 is
attached to the motor-support bracket 602 at a lateral extension, arranging
the
motor 601 in parallel to the tool-yaw motor 600. This motor 601 is a linear
actuator, in which its output shaft moves up and down along the major axis of
the motor itself, and at the end of which the angled actuator bar 603 is
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connected. The bar 603 can thus transmit the vertical motion to the tool
actuator subassembly 452 which is mounted at the other end of the bar 603.
The actuator subassembly 452, upon engaging with the tool-actuation
interface (will be discussed in a later paragraph), provides the tool-
actuation
axis of motion for the end-effector.
Referring to Figure 27f, the tool-tip force-moment sensor 608 is the
single mechanical linkage between the motor-support bracket 602 and the
base block 605 which interfaces back to the wrist of the robot arm. This is to
ensure all of the interactive force and moment at the tool tip is transmitted
through the sensor 608 only and back to the base block 605 with no
alternative load paths (will be discussed in a later paragraph). This load
path
is shown by the arrows in Figure 27a. The base block 605 has a clearance
hole 612 through which the tool-yaw motor 600 is passed through without
physically contacting any part of the base block 605. The tool-holder
subassembly 450, and subsequently the tool 430, is attached to the front face
611 of the motor-support bracket 602. Thus it means except for the base
block 605, the remaining components of the entire end-effector are supported
at a single interface at the front face of the force-moment sensor 608, see
Figure 26b.
Referring again to Figure 27f, the tool-actuation force sensor 604 is
mounted on the angled actuation bar 603 between the point where the bar
603 is supported by the vertical guide rod 606 and the interface 607 with the
tool-actuator subassembly 452. The sensor 604 takes the form of a strain
gauge, at which point on the bar 603 the elastic vertical deflection due to
the
tool-actuation can be measured (as will be discussed in a later paragraph).
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b) Tool-actuation mechanism 452
Referring to Figure 26d, the end-effector 428 includes the tool-
actuation mechanism 452 that works completely independent from tool
yawing mechanism 454 discussed hereinafter. This is achieved using a linear
guide support 606 which is coupled to a linear actuator 601 to vertically
translate the piston 504 of the surgical tool 430 via the narrow neck section
516 along the tool axis to provide a gripping motion between the two blades
506 and 508 (Figures 22c and 22d). This feature of the end-effector 428 can
be utilized whether the tool 430 is rotating about the tool-yaw axis 441
(Figure
16a) or static due to the circular neck section 516 of the tool piston 504. It
can
also be bypassed when using a surgical tool that doesn't require actuation
(e.g. probe, scalpel, cauterizer etc.), with the only requirement being the
tool
does not possess any mechanical interface to couple with actuation
subassembly 452 as does the piston 504 of the forcep tool 430.
Referring to Figures 28a and 28b, the tool actuator mechanism 452 is
coupled to an angled actuation bar 603 by a cross-location pin 460. The
mechanism includes a pair of pivoting fingers 614 that are secured around the
piston member 504 of the forcep surgical tool 430. These fingers 614 are
spring loaded by springs 628 to an engaged position, but can be passively
opened up for tool removal.
Referring to Figures 26e and 27f, the angled actuation bar 603 is
guided by a linear ball bearing 615 to the offset actuator position. Strain
gauge 604 located on the angled actuation bar 603 enables the sensing of
tool-actuation forces. As the cantilever portion of the bracket exhibits
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deflection, in either direction caused by the reaction as a result of the up
and
down motion of the piston 504 of the tool 430, the strain gauge 604 will
generate a voltage signal which will be fed back to the controller for
interpretation. With proper calibration of the strain gauge sensor 604, the
vertical force required to actuate the tool can be determined, which can then
be translated into a pinching force at the tip of the blades 506 and 508 of
the
tool 430 (Figure 22c) given the geometric profile of the cam section 510 of
the blades 506 and 508 that are responsible for the closing of the blades 506
and 508 upon the upward sliding of the extension 522 of the piston 504 in
between the blades 506 and 508. Refer to the arrows in Figure 26d for an
illustration of how the pinching force at the tips of the blades 506 and 508
is
detected by the strain gauge 604.
c) Magnetic tool holder 450
The purpose of the magnetic tool holder 450 is to hold the tool rigidly,
but still allowing the tool to rotate easily. This is accomplished by
constraining
the tool 430 in a support body 616, which in a non-limiting exemplary
embodiment shown in Figure 29c is a generally 'V' shaped block made from
ABS plastic having an elongate channel having a size suitable receive therein
the cylindrical tool body 500 of surgical tool 430, which allows the tool 430
to
rotate within support body 616 with minimal friction. Referring to Figures
26b,
29a and 29b, the tool body 500 of the surgical tool 430, preferably made from
400 series stainless steel which is magnetic, is seated in the 'V' block 616
by
two rare earth pot magnets 618 imbedded in the 'V' block. The magnetic force
and 'V' block reaction forces tangential to the shaft secure the tool 430
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radially, whereas flanges 529 on the body 500 of the surgical tool 430 locates
and constrains the tool axially (Figure 22a), due to a close axial fit with
the 'V'
block body 616. Figures 29c to 29e show more detailed views of the
magnetic tool holder.
Another capability of the tool holder 450 is that it can enable passive
tool exchange for automatic tool change-out. Referring to Figures 29c, 29d
and 29e, the 'V' block 616 is featured with a tool release mechanism that once
compressed can pivot, similar to a scissor action, to strip the tool body 500
away from the magnets 618 and eject the tool 430. Figure 29d shows the
tool-engaged configuration, or when the tool-ejection wings 617 are in closed
position. Figure 29e, on the other hand, shows the tool-ejecting
configuration,
or when the wings 617 are in opened position. After ejecting the tool, the
wings 617 will return to the default closed position by the compression
springs
619 located at the back of each wing 617 (best seen in Figures 29b and
29d).
Figure 29f shows the passive tool changer mechanism on a tool tray
911 for auto tool-changing. Static pins 950, fixed to a tool tray 911 are
positioned to engage specific end-effector features to release the tool. These
features include the pivoting fingers 614 of the actuator subassembly 452 and
the outer idler pulleys 438 of the tool-yaw subassembly 454, both of which are
engaging with the tool 430 and needs to be released. The actual ejecting
feature, however, lies in the tool-holder 450, from which the ejecting wings
617 need to be pressed backward into the opened position so as to eject the
tool 430. This is carried out by the mating ejection latches 951 on the tool
tray
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911, which line up with the wings 617 and has a spring-loaded pliers-like
mechanism to provide a cushioned tool-ejection.
The downward motion of the manipulator 400 is the only active
component of this process, in which the end-effector 428 is oriented such that
the tool 430 is horizontal when the manipulator 400 pushes down onto the tool
tray 911, forcing the end-effector 428 engaging features 614 and 438 to be
opened up by the pins 950 on the tool tray 911, whereas the wings 617 are
actuated by the ejection latches 951, thus releasing completely the tool 430
onto the tool tray 911. To pickup a tool, the process is reversed. The
manipulator 400 brings the empty-handed end-effector 428 over the top of the
tool 430 on the tray 911, presses down the end-effector 428 to open up the
engaging features 614 and 438 as well as the ejection wings 617, and
captures the tool 430 by the magnet 618 on the tool holder 450 of the end-
effector 428. The tool tray 911 has multiple sets of pins 950 for each
corresponding surgical tool, and also possesses a tool-identification sensor,
which upon reading the tag built-in to each tool, the main controller can
register which tool the manipulator 400 has picked up. Identification tags on
the tool can be a bar code or infra-red tag, which works with a corresponding
IR-sensor on the tool tray 911.
d) Tool-yaw mechanism 454
The end-effector 428 includes a tool-yaw DOF that is actuated by a
servo motor integrated with an anti-backlash spur gearhead and an
incremental encoder. Referring to Figure 26b, bonded to the output shaft of
the motor-gear-encoder combo 600 is the previously described square pin
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609 that drives a timing pulley 736 from the tool-yaw subassembly 454. Since
the tool-yaw mechanism 454 is a removable sterile component, a quick-
disconnect coupling from the non-sterile servo actuator main assembly 436 is
required. The square pin 609 matched precisely to a square bore on the drive
pulley 736 enables torque to be transmitted to the tool yaw mechanism 454,
but allows easy de-coupling for auto-claving.
Referring to Figure 27a and 27b, tool yaw mechanism 454 includes a
frame 442, and through a pair of idler pulleys 438 mounted thereon, a
disposable toothed belt 540 engages a complementarily toothed pulley 528 on
the surgical tool 430, (see Figure 26b) on two opposite ends of the pulley
diameter. The toothed belt 540 routing is completed by the middle idler pulley
620 mounted on frame 442 which has the same pitch diameter as the outer
idler pulleys 438. The bi-directional rotation of the belt 540, driven by the
drive
pulley 736, converts tangential forces to rotary motion on the surgical tool
430. One of the main attributes that the tool yaw mechanism 454 exhibits is
the passive removal and replacement of different surgical tools 430. The open
front-framed architecture and belt configuration allows the tool 430 to be
ejected/replaced from the front of the tool yaw mechanism 454, avoiding it
being tangled around the belt 540. The tool ejection process is further aided
by the outer idler pulleys 438, supported by sheet metal flexures 621, which
can be passively spread out enough to completely disengage the tool,
eliminating any frictional effects. When engaged with the tool 430, the metal
flexures 621 allow a constant preload to the timing belt 540 during tool
yawing
but can also manually collapse, when no tool is present, for easy timing belt
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replacement. Figures 27c and 27d show further details of components
making up the end-effector.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the end-effector 428
disclosed herein may be retrofitted onto any robotic arm assembly and is not
restricted to being mounted on manipulator 400 disclosed herein.
Similarly, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the right-
angle drive unit 10 disclosed herein may be used in any application requiring
conversion of rotational motion along one axis to rotational motion along
another axis and is not restricted to being mounted on manipulator 400
disclosed herein.
Haptic Feedback
In order for the surgeon to retain the sense of touch at the hand-
controller during a telerobotic operation, haptics is required which means the
end-effector must be capable of providing realistic external force and torque
sensing at the tool tips and reflecting back to the hand-controller. To obtain
accurate haptic feedback, the end-effector is advantageously designed so that
forces and torques (moments) at the tool tips are directly registered by the
force-moment sensor 608, which measures force and moment through elastic
deflection in the direction of interest. The sensor 608 needs to measure the
force and moment in all six directions, so that a full 6DOF haptic feedback
can
be achieved. It needs to have sensing precision within the range of soft
tissue
interaction, which is roughly 1 to 200g. The size of the sensor 608 is
preferably compact enough to be incorporated into the end-effector design
without enlarging the overall end-effector size to an undesirable scale. Given
these parameters, the smallest force-moment sensor preferred in the present
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manipulator is the Nano17 of ATI Industrial Automation, having an overall size
of just 017mm x 14.5mm long.
The location of the force-moment sensor 608 within the end-effector
428 is important as it determines the eventual precision of the haptic
feedback. Ideally, the sensor 608 should be right at the tool tip where the
external forces and moments are exerting when the tool is in contact with a
foreign object. In practice this is difficult to achieve as it will mean
having a
delicate electronic component build-in to the surgical tool, which needs to go
through auto-claving cycles for sterilization. Also, various tools need to be
fitted onto the end-effector 428, thus electronic interfacing is required upon
changing of tools which add to the complexity of the end-effector design.
Furthermore, sensors on each tool will significantly increase the cost of tool
production and subsequently the investment on the overall system by the
customers.
Therefore, it is beneficial to keep the miniature force-moment sensor
within the end-effector but close to the surgical tool. This will minimize the
amount of weight on the free end of the sensor so as to avoid saturating the
sensing capacity of the sensor. Also by reducing the physical distance
between the tool tips and the point of sensing, signal distortion throughout
the
load path due to mechanical imperfections, such as backlash, compliance and
vibration, can be minimized. The load path is analogous to the current path in
an electrical circuit. Optimum force and moment sensing can be achieved
when all the forces and moments originating from the tool tips are transmitted
through the sensor only and back to the supporting structure at the other end
of the sensor, or the "ground", therefore ensuring all tool-tips loads are
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gathered by the sensor before sending back the force and moment signals
back to the controller for interpretation.
Figure 26e shows a cross-section through the load path of the end-
effector 428. The grounded portion consists of the base block 605 that
supports the backend of the force-moment sensor 608 only. All of the
actuators 600 and 601, the tool-actuation sensor 604, and their corresponding
supporting structure are mounted to the front face of the sensor 608 free end.
This excess weight read by the sensor 608 can be offset by zeroing out the
signal at the controller with the known weights and center-of-gravity
distances
of each part contributing to the weight measured by the sensor 608, including
those of the tool 430. This active gravity compensation technique can be
completed by computing the expected dead weight of all parts at the sensor
location with the dynamic equations of the manipulator, minus which the
filtered signal from the sensor is the pure external forces and moments acting
at the tool tips.
Besides tool-tips forces and moments, haptic feedback also includes
the tool-actuation force feedback. Referring to Figure 26d, the closing and
opening of the blades 506 and 508 of the tool 430 is achieved by the vertical
motion of the piston 504. The piston 504 is carried by the actuator
subassembly 452, which is connected back to the tool-actuation motor 601 via
the actuation bar 603. The pinch force at the tool tips of the blades 506 and
508, therefore, is transmitted vertically through the above mentioned path.
Thus a strain-gauge type sensor 604 is located at middle of the cantilever
section of the actuation bar 603 to measure the elastic deformation of the bar
603 to provide tool-actuation force feedback to the controller. The voltage
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signal generated can be used in force regulation for tool-actuation, or can be
reproduced at the hand-controller for tool-actuation haptic feedback via an
appropriate human-machine interface.
Referring to Figure16a, surgical manipulator 400 (and all others) is
designed to be used for surgical operations in a telerobotic system under the
direct control of a surgeon 960. In a telerobotic system, a robot and a hand-
controller form a master-slave relationship as the operator moves the hand-
controller, or the master, to perform the action, and the robot, or the slave,
carries out the actual operation as the output by following the hand motions
of
the operator. Referring to Figure 30, the telerobotic system is comprised of
two portions, the slave which is a mobile platform 906 containing two
manipulators 900 and 901, and the master in the form of a workstation 908
including one or more computer monitor, and two haptic devices 903, 904 as
hand-controllers, with each manipulator-hand-controller pair mimicking the
left
and right arm of a surgeon 960 such that dual-hand operation is possible.
The two manipulators 900 and 901 have mirrored configurations to
each other, with all components being identical. Thus the surgical manipulator
system includes at least two surgical manipulators 900 and 901 configured to
be structural mirror images of each other, with one of the surgical
manipulator
being configured for left handed operation and the other being configured for
right handed operation. This configuration is advantageous in that it allows
the
surgical tools attached to respective end-effectors to be brought into closest
proximity with each other in a surgical site on a patient.
There is a communication system coupling the left and right hand-
controllers to their respective surgical manipulators for translating movement
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of the left and right hand-controllers to scaled movement of the first and
second surgical manipulators. This scaled motion may be predetermined in
software and may be 1:1 in which the move of the surgeons hand on the
controller is translated into exactly the same movement of the end-effector.
However the ratio need not be 1:1 depending on the surgical procedure
involved.
For each of the manipulators 900 and 901, there is a tool tray 911
located near the base of each manipulator. The tool tray 911 holds a number
of surgical tools which may or may not be identical to the tools shown in
Figures 22a to 25b, but are required for the planned surgical procedures. The
manipulators 900 and 901 are programmed to change tools automatically at
the tool tray 911 upon a single command from the surgeon 960. Both
manipulators 900 and 901 are mounted on the mobile platform 906 which can
easily be transported to dock with the operating table 907 and undock and
remove when the operation is completed. A microscope and/or stereo camera
909, which can be mounted either on the mobile platform 906 or as a fixture in
the operating room, provides visual display of the surgical site and/or the
overview of the manipulators plus their tools with respect to the patient 962.
A single cable connection using regular network protocol may be used
for communication of signals between the manipulators mobile platform 906
and the workstation 908 at which the surgeon 960 is at. The left hand-
controller 903 by default controls the left manipulator 900, and the right
hand-
controller controls the right manipulator 901, although through software
selection the surgeon 960 can switch over the communication linkage
between the pair if it is required during the operation.
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Each of the haptic devices 903 and 904 is a 6DOF hand-controller that
can measure a surgeon's hand motion in all six directions of translation and
rotation in 3D space. The motion signals are then sent to the intended
manipulator through the motion controller, at which the surgeon's input will
be
reproduced. These signals can also be scaled, such that the surgeon 960 can
fully utilize the best resolution of the manipulators motion by having their
hand
motions at the hand-controllers 903 and 904 scaled down before being carried
out by the manipulators. At the hand-controllers 903 and 904, switches are
available for the surgeon 960 to control other functions of the manipulators,
such as tool-actuation, dead-man switch, and automatic tool changing.
The hand-controllers 903 and 904 also have three to six powered
joints to provide haptic feedback to the surgeon 960. The base positions of
the hand-controllers 903 and 904 on the workstation 908 can be adjusted to
the comfort of the surgeon 960, and with the addition of arm rests the only
motion required from the surgeon 960 is at the wrists. Since there is no
absolute referencing of the hand-controller motion with respect to that of the
manipulators, the surgeon 960 can hold the handles of the hand-controllers
903 and 904 at a comfortable posture, again to minimize fatigue, while the
manipulators 900 and 901 are holding the surgical tools in the appropriate
positions. Also on the workstation 908, there is one or more computer monitor
905 displaying system status and also providing touch-screen interface to the
surgeon 960 and/or nurses for adjusting critical system parameters.
One of the most important settings the surgeon 960 needs to make is
the virtual boundaries for the manipulators. Using a preoperative image with
registration back to the manipulator, or with a real-time intraoperative image
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taken by the camera 909, the surgeon 960 can specify on-screen the region
at the surgical site where the manipulator with the surgical tool 430 can
operate within. If the surgeon 960 commanded the manipulator via the hand-
controllers to move near these boundaries, the motion controller will
automatically stop the manipulators from moving any further unless the
surgeon 960 reverse the motion. This will set a prohibited area where the
manipulators cannot move the surgical tools to, such that the surgeon 960
can ensure critical areas in the patient's anatomy is protected. The monitor
905 also displays the real-time video taken by the microscope and/or camera
909.
Alternatively, the microscope/camera 909 video signal can be
displayed via a digital eyepiece 910 which mimics that of a conventional
microscope if the surgeon 960 prefers. The surgeon 960 together with the
workstation 908 can be immediately next to the operating table 907 for
telepresence operation, where the surgeon 960 will directly observe the
surgical site on the patient 962 without any visual aid. In the case of remote
operation, the surgeon 960 and the workstation 908 is at a physical distance
from the operating table 907 limited only by the network connection
infrastructure available. Visual feedback via the monitor 905 and haptic
feedback via the hand-controllers 903 and 904 retain the senses of vision and
touch of the surgeon 960 over the physical distance, which makes remote
teleoperation possible with the additional benefits of finer and more
consistent
hand motion, more ergonomic user-interfaces to reduce surgeon 960 fatigue,
less intrusive to the surgical theatre, and built-in fail-safe features to
protect
the patient 962 and the surgeon 960.
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Besides teleoperation, the manipulators can also be operated using
pre-planned image-guided trajectories. Pre-operative images of the patient's
surgical site are taken with an external imager, such as fluoroscope or CT-
scanner. The surgeon 960 can then use those images to define where the
problem exists, which area the manipulator needs to go to and with which
surgical tool. The surgeon 960 can then take an intra-operative image with
registration to the manipulator coordinate system, and map it to the pre-
operative image with the planned targets. The control software will then
interpret the targets into workspace coordinates of the manipulators, thereby
allowing the surgeon 960 to specify the complete trajectories of the surgical
tool held by the manipulator with respect to the surgical site of the patient
962.
Upon execution of the pre-planned trajectories, the surgeon 960 can either
start the autonomous motion of the manipulator and pause or rewind at any
time at the workstation monitor, or use the hand-controller to control the
motion along the prescribed trajectories.
Comparing to the other devices available in the current market, the
surgical manipulator described herein has several advantages in the field of
microsurgeries, including brain, spine and eye surgery. First of all, this
surgical manipulator is smaller than a regular human arm thanks to the right-
angle transmission modules and the compactness of the other actuation
components, which allows easy access to the surgical site and minimizes
intrusion to the operating room. Although being compact in size, this
manipulator has broad enough motion range and reach to accomplish tasks
requiring bigger manipulator workspace such as suturing. The 6DOF available
means dexterous motion is capable in any given direction. With high-power
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brushless servo motors deployed at each joint, relatively heavier-duty tasks
such as
tissue-retraction and bone-drilling for pedicle screw is made possible. The
smallest
step size achievable at the tool tip, due to the use of the right-angle
transmission
modules as well as high resolution sensors, amplifiers and motion controllers,
matches the finger motion resolution of the best brain surgeons. The auto tool-
changing capability as a result of the end-effector design reduces the tool-
changing
time and also human-error. The end-effector structure forces the load-path to
go
through the force-moment, and the consequent high fidelity of haptic feedback
retains the sense of touch of the surgeon, without which the surgeon would
lose a
significant amount of surgical techniques and know-how.
As used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "including" and
"includes" are to be construed as being inclusive and open ended, and not
exclusive.
Specifically, when used in this specification including claims, the terms
"comprises",
"comprising", "including" and "includes" and variations thereof mean the
specified
features, steps or components are included. These terms are not to be
interpreted to
exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.
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