Robotic surgery system including position sensors using fiber bragg gratings

An apparatus comprising:

• a robotic manipulator;
• and
• a surgical instrument mounted on the robotic manipulator,
• the surgical instrument comprising:
• an elongate arm having a joint region;
• an optical fiber bend sensor positioned in a sensor region that is at least in part within the joint region, wherein the optical fiber bend sensor translates axially relative to the joint region in response to bending of the joint region, and wherein a length of the sensor region exceeds a length of the joint region;
• and
• a memory having stored therein a kinematic error map of the elongate arm, wherein the kinematic error map is created by:
• positioning the surgical instrument using a control system in a minimally invasive surgical system;
• determining a measured location of the surgical instrument based on information from the optical fiber bend sensor;
• determining an expected location of the surgical instrument based on the positioning;
• and
• generating the kinematic error map of the elongate arm using the measured location and the expected location.

A method for a surgical instrument mounted on a robotic manipulator comprising:

• generating a kinematic error map of a elongate arm of the surgical instrument using location data and expected location data,
• wherein the location data is determined based on information from an optical fiber bend sensor positioned in a sensor region that is at least in part within a joint region of the elongate arm, wherein the optical fiber bend sensor translates axially relative to the joint region in response to bending of the joint region, and wherein a length of the sensor region exceeds a length of the joint region;
• wherein the expected location information is determined based on a position of the elongate arm;
• and
• storing the kinematic error map in a memory of the surgical instrument.