Adaptive robot-assisted system and method for evaluating the position of the trocar in a robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery intervention

An adaptive robot-assisted system for evaluating the position of a trocar in a robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery intervention, the system comprising:

• a surgical robot comprising at least one robotic arm;
• the robotic arm comprising a series of joints and configured for securing, by means of passive joints of the series of joints, a surgical instrument, each of the passive joints being non-motor operated cardan type joints configured for rotating freely, without the application of resistant torque by the surgical robot, guided by the surgical instrument held thereby about a point of intersection common to several axes of rotation, and the surgical instrument being adapted for being coupled to the trocar, the trocar being adapted for its introduction in the abdominal cavity of a patient during a laparoscopic surgery intervention;
• a control unit comprising a processing unit with one or more processors and peripherals configured for controlling movements in the at least one robotic arm;
• a command station configured for a teleoperated manipulation of the surgical robot through control elements, the control unit operatively connected to the command station;
• and
• a plurality of sensors arranged in the robotic arm and configured for measuring angles of orientation α and β of the axes of rotation of the passive joints;
• the control unit being further configured for performing a dynamic estimation of the position of the trocar inserted in the wall of the abdominal cavity by performing the following steps:
• comparing, for each of the movements of the surgical instrument in the abdominal cavity established during a specific time interval during the laparoscopic surgery intervention, the angles of orientation α and β measured by the plurality of sensors with theoretical angles of orientation α and β corresponding to an absence of movement of the trocar;
• and
• performing a correction of a parameter ρ, corresponding to a distance between a point of intersection of the axes of rotation of the passive joints and a fulcrum point corresponding to a previously estimated position of the fulcrum point, by positively or negatively increasing the parameter ρ in each of the movements during the specific time interval according to a sign value of an error obtained in the comparison.