Robotic apparatus

A method of controlling movement of a surgical instrument at a surgical site, comprising:

• providing the surgical instrument, said surgical instrument having an elongate shaft suitable for insertion through a patient's body wall aperture, said elongate shaft having a longitudinal axis and a distal end, said instrument further comprising a wrist mechanism coupled to said shaft distal end and an end effector coupled to said wrist mechanism, said wrist mechanism comprising a plurality of wrist segments pivotally coupled together, said wrist segments providing the instrument with redundant degrees of freedom of motion;
• tracking movement of a moving portion of said surgical site;
• and
• causing said end effector to track said movement by pivoting the wrist segments while the elongate shaft remains substantially stationary relative to said patient's body wall, such that the distance between said end effector and said moving portion remains substantially fixed.

A method for conducting robotic surgery on a patent, comprising:

• positioning a surgical tool in the vicinity of a portion of a beating heart, said toil connected to a distal portion of an articulated robotic arm;
• tracking motion of said portion of said beating heart, wherein said motion of said beating heart portion is tracked by contacting said heart directly with a portion of a motion detector, the portion of the motion detector supported by joint that move in relation to the beating heart motion;
• causing the surgical tool to tack the motion of said portion of said beating heart, such that said tool is substantially stationary relative to the portion of the beating heart;
• manipulating a remote master control to move the surgical tool relative to said heart portion;
• and
• manipulating heart tissue.

A method for performing robotic surgery on moving tissue at a surgical site in a patient's body, comprising,

• providing a surgical instrument, said instrument coupled to the distal portion of an articulate arm;
• positioning a distal end of said instrument at the surgical site in the vicinity of a portion of said moving tissue;
• tracking the motion of said portion of said moving tissue by directly contacting said portion with a portion of a motion sensor, the portion of the motion sensor supported by joints that move in relation to the beating heart motion;
• and
• causing said surgical instrument to track the motion of said portion of said moving tissue, such that said instrument is substantially stationary relative to the portion of the moving tissue.