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AssigneeThe Board of Regents of the University of Washington
InventorsFrederick A. Matsen, III, Joseph L. Garbini, John A. Sidles, Donald C. Baumgarten, Brian S. Pratt
Estimating the term…
A system and method for positioning a tool relative to a patient's bone to facilitate the performance of a surgical bone alteration task. The system comprises a bone immobilization device for supporting the bone in a fixed position with respect to the reference structure, and a robot that includes a base fixed in position with respect to the reference structure. The robot also includes a mounting member, and a manipulator connected between the base and the mounting member and permitting relative movement therebetween. The tool to be positioned by the system is mounted to the mounting member. The mounting member is caused to move relative to the reference structure in response to movement commands, so that the tool can be moved to a desired task position to facilitate performance of the task. The system preferably also includes a template attachable to the mounting member, a feature of the template representing a portion of a task. Preferably, the template is secured to the mounting member, and the template is then manually manipulated such that the template feature is properly oriented with respect to the patient's bone. The template position is then recorded as a reference position that may thereafter be combined with a geometric database defining the task to determine the position of the tool. Particular embodiments for a bone immobilizer, a template and a saw guide are also described, together with a stabilizing device for the robot and a safety device for the robot base.
A method for specifying the desired position of a surgical alteration of a bone, the bone being rigidly mounted relative to a reference structure, the method being performed at least in part by a surgical system comprising a robot that includes a base rigidly mounted with respect to the reference structure, a mounting member, a manipulator connected between the base and the mounting member and permitting relative movement therebetween, position-sensing means for generating positional signals indicative of the position of the mounting member in a world coordiante system fixed relative to the reference structure, and attachment means for securing a template to the mounting member, a feature of said template indicating a feature of the alteration, said method comprising the steps of:
A method for determining a reference position of a template relative to a patient's bone to facilitate the performance of a surgical bone alteration task, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.