# US 11,998,283 B2 · System for guiding a surgical tool relative to a target axis in spine surgery > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,998,283 B2 - Document ID: US11998283B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/493,024 - Filed: 2018-03-15 - Published: 2020-01-09 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2017-03-15 - Assignees: Orthotaxy S.A.S. - Applicants: Orthotaxy S.A.S. - Inventors: Stéphane Lavallee; Daniel Girardeau-Montaut; Nicolas Demanget - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11998283B2 ## CPC - A61B 34/20: Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis - A61B 34/25: {User interfaces for surgical systems} - A61B 34/30: Surgical robots - A61B 34/70: {Manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery} - A61B 90/11: with guides for needles or instruments, e.g. arcuate slides or ball joints - A61B 90/37: {Surgical systems with images on a monitor during operation} - A61B 90/40: Apparatus fixed or close to patients specially adapted for providing an aseptic surgical environment - A61B 90/50: Supports for surgical instruments, e.g. articulated arms - A61B 2034/107: {Visualisation of planned trajectories or target regions} - A61B 2034/2048: {using an accelerometer or inertia sensor} - A61B 2034/2051: {Electromagnetic tracking systems} - A61B 2034/2055: {Optical tracking systems} - A61B 2034/2059: {Mechanical position encoders} - A61B 2034/302: {specifically adapted for manipulations within body cavities, e.g. within abdominal or thoracic cavities} - A61B 2090/3762: {using computed tomography systems [CT]} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) ## Abstract The invention relates to a system for guiding a surgical tool (200) held by a user relative to at least one target axis (T) defined in a coordinate system of a patient's spine, comprising: (i) a robotic device (300) comprising: —a base (301), —a guiding device (303) configured for constraining the tool to a guiding axis (G), —a compact motorized actuation unit (304) movable relative to the base (301), coupled to the guiding device (303) for adjusting a position and orientation of said guiding device relative to the target axis, —a support unit (305) connected to the base (301), comprising at least one element designed to make contact with the spine or a region of the patient's body adjacent to the spine so as to provide a partial mechanical link between the guiding device and the spine, (ii) a passive articulated lockable holding arm (400) supporting the base (301) of the robotic device, (iii) a tracking unit (500) configured to determine in real time the pose of the guiding axis with respect to the coordinate system of the patient's spine, (iv) a control unit configured to: (a) determine the pose of the guiding axis with respect to the target axis, (b) compute a working space of the robotic device for said determined pose, (c) compute at least one indicator representing the capability of the actuation unit to bring the guiding axis in alignment with the target axis based on the computed working space and the pose of the guiding device, (v) a user interface (600) coupled to the control unit, configured for displaying a representation of the guiding axis (G) relative to the target axis (T), wherein the control unit is further configured to control the actuation unit to bring the guiding axis into alignment with the target axis. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A robotic-assisted surgical system, comprising: a robotic device for constraining a surgical tool to a guiding axis and adjusting a pose of the guiding axis, wherein a portion of the robotic device is configured to contact a patient; and a control unit configured to: compare the pose of the guiding axis with a planned target axis; determine a working space of the robotic device; and cause a display device to display: a representation of the target axis; a representation of the guiding axis, wherein an overlap of the representation of the guiding axis with the representation of the target axis is indicative that the axes are aligned; and a representation of a distance between the target axis and an envelope of the working space, wherein, if the distance between the target axis and the envelope of the working space is below a predetermined threshold, the representation is displayed as a first color, diameter, or thickness, and, if the distance between the target axis and the envelope of the working space is above the predetermined threshold, the representation is displayed as a second color, diameter, or thickness. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the representation of the distance between the target axis and the envelope of the working space is displayed as having at least two of a color, a diameter, or a thickness differing depending on whether the distance is above or below the predetermined threshold. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display device to display 2D representations of the target axis and the guiding axis. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The system of claim 3, wherein the representation of the target axis is a cross. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The system of claim 3, wherein the representation of the guiding axis comprises a first circle representing a distal point of the guiding axis and a second circle representing a proximal point of the guiding axis. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The system of claim 3, wherein the representation of the distance between the target axis and the envelope of the working space is a circle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The system of claim 3, wherein the representation of the distance between the target axis and the envelope of the working space is a rectangle. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the portion of the robotic device configured to contact the patient is a support unit. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the support unit is connected to a base and configured to contact the patient to provide a partial mechanical link between the robotic device and the patient. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the robotic device further comprises an actuation unit movable relative to a base for adjusting the pose of the guiding axis with respect to the target axis. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, further comprising a passive articulated lockable holding arm supporting the base of the robotic device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the actuation unit is configured to be activated only when the holding arm is locked. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the robotic device further comprises a trigger configured to simultaneously lock the holding arm and activate the actuation unit to adjust the pose of the guiding axis. ### Claim 14 A robotic-assisted surgical system, comprising: a robotic device for constraining a surgical tool to a guiding axis and adjusting a pose of the guiding axis, wherein a portion of the robotic device is configured to contact a patient; and a control unit configured to: compare the pose of the guiding axis with a planned target axis; determine a working space of the robotic device; and cause a display device to display: a representation of the target axis; a representation of the guiding axis; a representation of a distal section of an envelope of the working space; and a representation of a proximal section of the envelope of the working space, wherein: if the guiding axis is aligned in both sections of the working space, the representations of the distal section and the proximal section are displayed in a same color; and if the guiding axis is not aligned in both sections of the working space, the representations of the distal section and the proximal section are displayed in different colors. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display device to display 3D representations of the target axis and the guiding axis. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the representation of the target axis is a first cross having an intersection representing a distal point of the target axis and a second cross having an intersection representing a proximal point of the target axis. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the representation of the guiding axis comprises a bar. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display device to display the representation of the distal section of the envelope of the working space as a torus. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display device to display the representation of the proximal section of the envelope of the working space as a torus. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the display device to display the representation of the proximal section of the envelope of the working space as a disc representing a reference surface.