Medical robotic system providing an auxiliary view including range of motion limitations for articulatable instruments extending out of a distal end of an entry guide

A medical system comprising:

• an entry guide;
• a display;
• and
• a processor programmed to:
• receive information of states of the entry guide and a first articulatable instrument, the first articulatable instrument controllably extending out of a distal end of the entry guide, the first articulatable instrument having a most proximal joint and a most distal joint, the most distal joint disposed beyond the distal end the entry guide;
• generate a view by including a graphical representation of the most distal joint of the first articulatable instrument and a graphical representation of a spatial boundary for the first articulatable instrument, the spatial boundary being a function of a position of the most distal joint relative to the distal end of the entry guide, and the graphical representation being positioned in the view by using the received information and by using forward kinematics of the entry guide and the first articulatable instrument;
• and
• cause the view to be displayed on the display.

A medical system comprising:

• an entry guide;
• an input device;
• a display;
• and
• a processor programmed to assist an operator to reposition the entry guide to increase an available range of motion of at least one of a plurality of articulatable instruments extending out of a distal end of the entry guide, wherein each of the plurality of articulatable instruments has a plurality of joints including a most distal joint, and wherein an available range of motion of each of the plurality of articulatable instruments is a function of a relative position of the most distal joint of the articulatable instrument to the distal end of the entry guide, by:
• determining positions of the entry guide, the most distal joint of each of the plurality of articulatable instruments, and the available range of motion of each of the plurality of articulatable instruments;
• causing graphical representations of the most distal joint and the available range of motion for each of the plurality of articulatable instruments to be displayed on the display according to their respectively determined positions;
• and
• causing the entry guide to be moved according to operator manipulation of the input device so as to increase the available range of motion of at least one of the plurality of articulatable instruments while the operator is viewing the display and while the most distal joints of the plurality of articulatable instruments are being controllably held in place.