Techniques For Detecting Errors Or Loss Of Accuracy In A Surgical Robotic System

A method of operating a robotic surgical system comprising a surgical tool, a manipulator comprising a plurality of links and being configured to support the surgical tool, a navigation system comprising a tracker and a localizer being configured to monitor a state of the tracker, and one or more controllers coupled to the manipulator and the navigation system, the method comprising the one or more controllers:

• determining a relationship between one or more components of the manipulator and one or more components of the navigation system by utilizing kinematic measurement data from the manipulator and navigation data from the navigation system;
• and
• utilizing the relationship for determining whether an error has occurred relating to at least one of the manipulator and the navigation system, wherein the error is defined as at least one of:
• undesired movement of the manipulator;
• undesired movement of the localizer;
• failure of any one or more components of the manipulator or the localizer;
• and
• improper calibration data.

A method of operating a robotic surgical system comprising a surgical tool, a manipulator comprising a base and a plurality of links and being configured to support the surgical tool, a navigation system comprising a tracker and a localizer being configured to monitor a state of the tracker, and one or more controllers coupled to the manipulator and the navigation system, the method comprising the one or more controllers:

• determining values of a first transform between a state of the base of the manipulator and a state of a either the localizer or the tracker of the navigation system;
• determining values of a second transform between the state of the localizer and the state of the tracker;
• and
• combining values of the first and second transforms to determine whether an error has occurred relating to at least one of the manipulator and the localizer.