# US 12,004,836 B2 · Surgical manipulator and method of operating the same using virtual rigid body modeling preliminary

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- Number: US 12,004,836 B2
- Document ID: US12004836B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/121,617
- Filed: 2023-03-15
- Published: 2023-07-27
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2012-08-03
- Assignees: Stryker Corporation
- Applicants: Stryker Corporation
- Inventors: David G. Bowling; John Michael Stuart; Joel N. Beer
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12004836B2

## CPC

- A61B 34/74: {Manipulators with manual electric input means}
- A61B 34/10: Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
- A61B 34/20: Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
- A61B 34/30: Surgical robots
- A61B 34/32: operating autonomously
- A61B 34/37: Leader-follower robots (A61B34/35 takes precedence)
- A61B 34/70: {Manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery}
- A61B 34/76: {Manipulators having means for providing feel, e.g. force or tactile feedback}
- B25J 9/161: {Hardware, e.g. neural networks, fuzzy logic, interfaces, processor}
- B25J 9/1633: {compliant, force, torque control, e.g. combined with position control}
- B25J 13/00: Controls for manipulators (program controls B25J9/16)
- A61B 17/16: Instruments for performing osteoclasis; Drills or chisels for bones; Trepans {(arthroscopic bone cutters A61B17/320016)}
- A61B 18/148: {having a short, rigid shaft for accessing the inner body transcutaneously, e.g. for neurosurgery or arthroscopy}
- A61B 2018/00565: {Bone}
- A61B 2018/00601: {Cutting}
- A61B 2034/104: {Modelling the effect of the tool, e.g. the effect of an implanted prosthesis or for predicting the effect of ablation or burring}
- A61B 2034/107: {Visualisation of planned trajectories or target regions}
- A61B 2034/2046: {Tracking techniques}
- A61B 2034/2055: {Optical tracking systems}
- A61B 2034/2059: {Mechanical position encoders}
- Y10S 901/09: Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50})
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## Abstract

A surgical manipulator and method of operating the same. The surgical manipulator includes an arm with a plurality of links and joints, wherein an angle between adjacent links forms a joint angle. The arm includes a distal end configured to support a surgical instrument with an energy applicator. At least one controller is coupled to the arm and models the surgical instrument and the energy applicator as a virtual rigid body. The controller(s) determine a commanded pose for the surgical instrument and the energy applicator based on a summation of a plurality of forces and/or torques, wherein the plurality of forces and/or torques are selectively applied to the virtual rigid body to emulate orientation and movement of the surgical instrument and the energy applicator. The controller(s) determine commanded joint angles for the arm that place the surgical instrument and the energy applicator according to the commanded pose.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A surgical manipulator comprising:
a surgical instrument including an energy applicator;
an arm comprising a plurality of links and joints, wherein an angle between adjacent links forms a joint angle, and the arm comprising a distal end configured to support the surgical instrument; and
at least one controller coupled to the arm and configured to control operation of the surgical manipulator in a manual mode or a semi-autonomous mode by being configured to:
model the surgical instrument and the energy applicator as a virtual rigid body;
selectively apply a plurality of input forces and/or torques to the virtual rigid body to simulate orientation and movement of the surgical instrument and the energy applicator;
selectively adjust the plurality of input forces and/or torques based on whether the surgical manipulator is operated in the manual mode or the semi-autonomous mode;
determine a commanded pose for the surgical instrument and the energy applicator based on the selective application and adjustment of the plurality of input forces and/or torques; and
determine commanded joint angles for the arm that place the surgical instrument and the energy applicator according to the commanded pose.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The surgical manipulator of claim 1, wherein in the manual mode, the plurality of input forces and/or torques include forces and/or torques applied to the surgical instrument by a user, wherein the forces and/or torques applied by the user indicate a desired pose of the surgical instrument by the user, and wherein the at least one controller emulates the desired pose of the surgical instrument by being configured to place the surgical instrument and the energy applicator according to the commanded pose.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The surgical manipulator of claim 1, wherein in the semi-autonomous mode, the plurality of input forces and/or torques include forces and/or torques directed to advancement of the surgical instrument and the energy applicator along a predefined path and forces and/or torques directed to maintenance of an orientation of the surgical instrument along the predefined path.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The surgical manipulator of claim 3, wherein in the semi-autonomous mode, the at least one controller is configured to enable a user to reorient the surgical instrument while the surgical instrument advances along the predefined path.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The surgical manipulator of claim 3, wherein in the semi-autonomous mode, the at least one controller is configured to enable a user to adjust a feed rate of the surgical instrument while the surgical instrument advances along the predefined path.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The surgical manipulator of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is configured to selectively balance a relative contribution of each of the plurality of input forces and/or torques by applying coefficients to each of the plurality of forces and/or torques.

### Claim 7

A method of operating a surgical manipulator, wherein the surgical manipulator includes an arm comprising a plurality of links and joints, wherein an angle between adjacent links forms a joint angle, and the arm comprising a distal end configured to support a surgical instrument including an energy applicator, and at least one controller coupled to the arm, the method comprising:
controlling, with the at least one controller, operation of the surgical manipulator in a manual mode or a semi-autonomous mode by:
modeling, with the at least one controller, the surgical instrument and the energy applicator as a virtual rigid body;
selectively applying, with the at least one controller, a plurality of input forces and/or torques to the virtual rigid body for simulating orientation and movement of the surgical instrument and the energy applicator;
selectively adjusting, with the at least one controller, the plurality of input forces and/or torques based on whether the surgical manipulator is operated in the manual mode or the semi-autonomous mode;
determining, with the at least one controller, a commanded pose for the surgical instrument and the energy applicator based on the selectively applying and adjusting the plurality of input forces and/or torques; and
determining, with the at least one controller, commanded joint angles for the arm for placing the surgical instrument and the energy applicator according to the commanded pose.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein selectively adjusting the plurality of input forces and/or torques includes the at least one controller performing one or more of: applying a weighting coefficient to one or more forces and/or torques, setting a value of one or more forces and/or torques to zero; and increasing or decreasing one or more forces and/or torques.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further including computing, with the at least one controller, a total force and a total torque, wherein the total force and total torque are applied to a center of gravity of the virtual rigid body.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the total force and the total torque are a sum of an instrument force vector, an orientation force vector, and an environmental force.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein:
the instrument force vector is a vector having three distinct forces and three distinct torques, the instrument force vector being selectively applied to the virtual rigid body to emulate advancement of the energy applicator at a particular velocity; and
the orientation force vector is a force and torque vector selectively applied to the virtual rigid body to emulate repositioning of an axis of the surgical instrument towards a centering point.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein:
the environmental force includes a plurality of force inputs that include one or more of: a joint limit force, an interference limit force, a workspace boundary force, an external force and a damping force; and
comprising determining, with the at least one controller, the environmental force by summing the plurality of force inputs.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further including selectively balancing, with the at least one controller, a relative contribution of each force input by applying coefficients to each of the plurality of force inputs.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further including varying, with the at least one controller, the coefficients as a function of a transition between the manual mode and the semi-autonomous mode such that the coefficients are increased or decreased over a time interval following the transition.

### Claim 15 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further including determining, with the at least one controller, a commanded velocity at which the energy applicator is advanced, wherein the commanded velocity is determined based on a summation of the plurality of forces and/or torques.