Robot-mounted surgical tables
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorsDavid Stefanchik, Omar J. Vakharia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The systems and methods disclosed herein generally involve a robotically-assisted surgical system in which a platform for supporting a patient is physically and operatively coupled to a surgical robot and an associated controller. As a result, the position of the patient can be controlled remotely using the robot, and the controller can have an awareness of the position and orientation of the patient with respect to the operating room and with respect to various components of the robot. Such systems can thus maintain a fixed frame of reference between the patient and one or more end effectors of the surgical robot, eliminating the need for recalibration of the system due to patient movement.
Claims18
A robotic apparatus, comprising;
- at least one remotely-controlled arm having an end effector coupled thereto;
- a remotely-controlled patient support table for supporting a patient;
- and
- a controller configured to adjust a position and orientation of the end effector in response to changes in a position and orientation of the patient support table, such that a fixed frame of reference is maintained between the end effector and the patient support table.
A surgical system comprising:
- a surgical robot having a slave assembly and a patient-receiving platform;
- and
- a first input device positioned remotely from the surgical robot, the first input device being configured to provide platform movement information to a controller in response to input received from a user;
- wherein a position and orientation of the platform is robotically-adjustable in response to one or more platform control signals generated by the controller, the one or more platform control signals being generated based on the platform movement information.
A method of performing robotically-assisted surgery using a robot having a surgical arm and a patient-receiving platform, the method comprising:
- receiving user input indicative of desired movement of the platform;
- generating control signals based on the user input that instruct the robot to effect a change in position or orientation of the platform;
- and
- generating control signals based on the user input that instruct the robot to effect a corresponding change in position or orientation of the surgical arm, such that a fixed frame of reference is maintained between the platform and the surgical arm when the platform is moved.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.