Physician input device for a concentric tube surgical robot

A physician input device for controlling a concentric tube assembly, comprising:

• a user interface handle assembly having a first and second end;
• a user interface linear joint assembly;
• a user interface pan and tilt assembly, wherein the linear joint assembly is pivotable relative to the pan and tilt assembly about a reference horizontal axis;
• a user interface base assembly, wherein the pan and tilt assembly and linear joint assembly are pivotable relative to the base assembly about a reference vertical axis.

A method of controlling a concentric tube assembly for performing robotic surgery, comprising:

• (a) providing a user input device including a base, a bearing block pivotally attached to the base and rotatable relative to the base about a vertical reference axis;
• a linear joint pivotally attached to the bearing block about a horizontal reference axis, and a handle linearly translatable relative to the linear joint, wherein the device includes a linear encoder between the handle and the linear joint, a first rotation sensor between the bearing block and the linear joint, and a second rotation sensor between the base and the bearing block;
• (b) acquiring translation data from the linear encoder, tilt angular position data from the first rotation sensor, and pan angular position data from the second rotation sensor;
• (c) generating a control signal based on the acquired translation data, tilt angular position data and pan angular position data;
• (d) transmitting the control signal to a driver coupled to the concentric tube assembly;
• (e) controlling motion of the concentric tube assembly in a field of view via the driver such that the motion of the concentric tube assembly in the field of view corresponds to the motion of the user input device along three degrees of freedom.