Surgical system for cutting an anatomical structure according to at least one target plane

A surgical system, comprising:

• a holding arm;
• an end effector operably attached to the holding arm, the end effector for holding or guiding a cutting tool for cutting a bone of a patient, wherein a pose of the end effector defines a cutting plane;
• a robotic actuation unit interposed between the holding arm and the end effector to adjust the pose of the end effector, and therefore, adjust the cutting plane;
• a first tracker attached to the actuation unit, a second tracker attached to the end effector, and a third tracker attached to the patient;
• and
• a control unit configured to:
• receive a planned target plane for cutting the bone;
• determine the pose of the end effector and a pose of the patient;
• determine whether a pose of the actuation unit can be determined, and, if the pose of the actuation unit can be determined, storing the determined pose of the actuation unit, and, if the pose of the actuation unit cannot be determined, retrieving a previously stored pose of the actuation unit;
• determine a deviation between the cutting plane and the target plane, wherein:
• if the deviation is less than a threshold, allowing operation of the cutting tool;
• and
• if the deviation is greater than or equal to the threshold:
• determine a movement for the actuation unit to align the cutting plane with the target plane;
• move the actuation unit to adjust the cutting plane;
• determine an updated pose of the end effector and therefore an updated cutting plane;
• and
• determine an updated deviation between the updated cutting plane and the target plane, and if the updated deviation is less than the threshold, allow operation of the cutting tool.

A surgical system, comprising:

• an end effector operably attached to a holding arm, the end effector for holding or guiding a cutting tool for cutting a bone of a patient, wherein a pose of the end effector defines a cutting plane;
• a robotic actuation unit interposed between the holding arm and the end effector to adjust the pose of the end effector, and therefore, adjust the cutting plane;
• a first tracker attached to the actuation unit, a second tracker attached to the end effector, and a third tracker attached to the patient;
• and
• a control unit configured to:
• determine whether a pose of the actuation unit can be determined or whether a previously stored pose of the actuation unit can be retrieved;
• determine the pose of the end effector and a pose of the patient;
• and
• determine a deviation between the cutting plane and a pose of a planned target plane transferred to or retrieved by the control unit, wherein:
• if the deviation is less than a threshold, allowing operation of the cutting tool;
• and
• if the deviation is greater than or equal to the threshold:
• move the actuation unit to adjust the cutting plane;
• determine an updated pose of the end effector and therefore an updated cutting plane;
• and
• determine an updated deviation between the updated cutting plane and the target plane, and if the updated deviation is less than the threshold, allow operation of the cutting tool.