Surgical robotic automation with tracking markers
AssigneeGlobus Medical, Inc.
InventorsNeil R. Crawford, Stephen Cicchini, Norbert Johnson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Devices, Systems, and Methods for detecting a 3-dimensional position of an object, and surgical automation involving the same. The surgical robot system may include a robot having a robot base, a robot arm coupled to the robot base, and an end-effector coupled to the robot arm. The end-effector, surgical instruments, the patient, and/or other objects to be tracked include active and/or passive tracking markers. Cameras, such as stereophotogrammetric infrared cameras, are able to detect the tracking markers, and the robot determines a 3-dimensional position of the object from the tracking markers.
Claims20
A surgical robot system comprising:
- a robot having a robot base, a robot arm coupled to the robot base, and an end-effector coupled to the robot arm, the end-effector having a base and a tool holder adapted to be coupled to a surgical instrument;
- a plurality of fixed tracking markers rigidly affixed to the base of the end-effector;
- a plurality of repositionable tracking markers rigidly affixed to the tool holder of the end-effector, wherein the tool holder is repositionable between a first position and a second position relative to the base of the end effector, the fixed tracking markers together with the repositionable tracking markers in the first position defining a first array template and the fixed tracking markers together with the repositionable tracking markers in the second position defining a second array template;
- and
- a camera configured to detect the fixed tracking markers and the repositionable tracking markers in the first and second positions, wherein the robot determines a 3-dimensional position of the end-effector based on determining whether the detected tracking marks define the first or the second array template.
A surgical robot system comprising:
- a robot having a robot base, a robot arm coupled to the robot base, and an end-effector coupled to the robot arm, the end-effector having a first plurality of tracking markers affixed to a base of the end-effector and a second plurality of tracking markers affixed to a guide tube of the end-effector, wherein the second plurality of tracking markers are moveable relative to the first plurality of tracking markers from a first configuration to a second configuration;
- and
- at least one camera able to detect the first and second plurality of tracking markers in the first configuration and the second configuration, wherein the robot determines a 3-dimensional position of the end-effector from at least one template corresponding to the first configuration or the second configuration of the first and second plurality of tracking markers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.