Hand controllers, systems, and control methods for surgical robotic systems

One or more hand controllers for controlling a surgical robotic system including a robotic assembly configured to be disposed with an internal body cavity of a subject, each of the one or more hand controllers comprising:

• a contoured housing having an upper surface, an inside side surface adjacent the upper surface, an outside side surface facing away from the inside side surface, and a lower surface facing away from the upper surface;
• a plurality of buttons including a first button positioned on the upper surface and a second button positioned on one of the upper surface, the inside side surface, or the outside side surface;
• a first touch input device positioned on the upper surface;
• a first paddle disposed at the outside side surface;
• and
• a second paddle disposed at the inside side surface;
• wherein the contoured housing is configured to be grasped with a user's thumb on the inside side surface and at least some of the user's fingers, the user's palm, or both over the upper surface, and the first button is configured to be manipulated by the user's pointer finger or index finger.

A hand controller system for controlling a surgical robotic system including a robotic assembly configured to be disposed with an internal body cavity of a subject, the hand controller system comprising:

• a first hand controller removably coupled to or configured to be connected to an operator console via a first hand controller support, the first hand controller comprising:
• a contoured housing having an upper surface, a first side surface adjacent the upper surface, a second side surface facing away from the first side surface, and a lower surface facing away from the upper surface;
• a first button and a first scroll wheel disposed at the upper surface;
• a first paddle having a contact surface disposed at the first side surface or at the second side surface;
• and
• a second button disposed at the first side surface or at the second side surface;
• and
• a second hand controller removably coupled to or configured to be connected to the operator console via a second hand controller support, the second hand controller comprising:
• a contoured housing having an upper surface, a first side surface adjacent the upper surface, a second side surface facing away from the first side surface, and a lower surface facing away from the upper surface;
• a first button and a first scroll wheel disposed at the upper surface;
• a first paddle having a contact surface disposed at the first side surface or at the second side surface;
• and
• a second button disposed at the first side surface or at the second side surface, wherein an inside surface of the first hand controller faces an inside surface of the second hand controller when the first and second hand controllers are in a neutral position in use.

A method for controlling a robotic assembly of a surgical robotic system, the surgical robotic system comprising an image display and right hand controller and a left hand controller configured to sense a movement of an operator's hands, the robotic assembly including a camera assembly and a robotic arm assembly including a first robotic arm and a second robotic arm each of the first robotic arm and the second robotic arm having an associated instrument tip, positions and orientations of the robotic arms and camera assembly defining a virtual chest of the robotic assembly, the method comprising:

• while the robotic assembly is disposed in an interior cavity of a subject, receiving a first control mode selection input and changing a default control mode of the surgical robotic system to a first control mode in response to the first control mode selection input, the surgical robotic system having a plurality of control modes including one or more of:
• a scan mode, a view mode, a travel mode, and a translation mode, and the first control mode being the scan mode, the view mode, the travel mode, or the translation mode;
• and
• in response to a first movement including a first translation and a first rotation of the right hand controller or the left hand controller while the robotic assembly is in the first control mode:
• where the first control mode is the scan mode, holding the robotic arm assembly stationary while rotating the camera assembly in a corresponding first rotation relative to a view of the camera assembly displayed on the image display of the surgical robotic system, which is a displayed camera view;
• where the first control mode is the travel mode, moving the corresponding instrument tip by a corresponding first movement including a corresponding first translation and a corresponding first rotation relative to the displayed camera view while rotating the camera assembly to center the view of the camera assembly on a position of a midpoint between instrument tips of the robotic arms of the robotic assembly, which is an average tip position, while translating the robotic assembly to translate a chest point of the virtual chest, rotating the robotic assembly to rotate the virtual chest, or both, to maintain a distance between the center of the virtual chest and the average tip position in an acceptable distance range, and to maintain an angular deviation between a line from the chest point to the average tip position and a normal to the virtual chest within an acceptable angular deviation range;
• where the first control mode is the view mode, holding a position and an orientation of each instrument contestant while moving the camera assembly by a corresponding first movement including a corresponding first translation of the virtual chest and a corresponding first rotation of the camera assembly relative to the displayed camera view while rotating a virtual chest of the robotic assembly to maintain an angular deviation between the line from the center of the virtual chest to the average instrument tip position and the normal to the virtual chest within the acceptable angular deviation range, moving a corresponding instrument tip by a corresponding first movement including a corresponding first rotation relative to the displayed camera view, while rotating the camera assembly to center the view of the camera assembly on the average instrument tip position causing a change in the orientation of the camera assembly or a change in the orientation of the camera assembly and a change in the orientation of the virtual chest to maintain the view of the camera assembly centered on the average instrument tip position and to maintain an angular deviation between the line from the center of the virtual chest to the average instrument tip position and the normal to the virtual chest within the acceptable angular deviation range;
• and
• where the first control mode is the translate mode, moving a corresponding instrument tip by a corresponding first movement including a corresponding first translation and a corresponding first rotation relative to the displayed camera view while rotating the camera assembly or rotating the camera assembly and translating the virtual chest to center the view of the camera assembly on the average tip position and to maintain a distance between the center of the virtual chest and the average instrument tip position within the acceptable distance range.

A surgical robotic system for performing a surgery within an internal cavity of a subject, the surgical robotic system comprising:

• a right hand controller and a left hand controller operated to manipulate the surgical robotic system;
• a camera assembly;
• a robotic arm assembly configured to be inserted into the internal cavity during use, the robotic arm assembly including:
• a first robotic arm including or coupled to a first instrument tip disposed at a distal end of the first robotic arm;
• a second robotic arm including or coupled to a second instrument tip disposed at a distal end of the second robotic arm;
• an image display for outputting an image from the camera assembly;
• and
• at least one computing module or control unit configured to:
• receive movement data from the right hand controller and the left hand controller and in response generate control signals based on a current control mode of the surgical robotic system;
• receive a control mode selection input and in response change the current control mode of the surgical robotic system to a selected one of a plurality of control modes of the surgical robotic system;
• receive a function selection input from the first hand controller and/or the left hand controller and generate control signals to perform a corresponding function of a plurality of functions.