Surgery – Instruments
Patent
1997-05-05
1998-10-13
Buiz, Michael Powell
Surgery
Instruments
606130, 31856811, 31856821, A61B 1700
Patent
active
058206230
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an articulated arm for conducting medical procedures and relates particularly, though not exclusively, to a robotic system which is suitable for use in medical applications, whether it be surgical, therapeutic or diagnostic. The articulated arm may be used to provide a firm support for a range of surgical or diagnostic tools.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Computerised machines and robotic technology have been used very successfully in many industries, especially where repetitive (hence laborious), accurate or hazardous tasks are to be handled with speed. The positional repeatability, certainty, accuracy and precision of a robot has recently found application in positioning surgical tools in the operating theatre. In particular, minimally invasive procedures have great potential to exploit robotic technology.
It is known in the art that non-invasive surgeries, such as ESWL (extracorporeal shockwave lithrotripsy) and high intensity ultrasound, for the fragmentation of kidney stones, or otherwise, have employed computer assisted positioning systems to place the target, which is in the patient, in line with the firing line of the treatment tool which is outside the patient.
However, most minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures require the use of a tool or a number of macroscopic scale tools called endoscopes, which can be rigid or flexible, enter through small natural, or incised, openings on the patient, to treat the diseased portions of an organ internal to the body. Endoscopes for MIS procedures usually carry optic fibres for the delivery of cool light for viewing the operating site. Such views can be seen through an eyepiece, or shown on a TV monitor (called video surgery), for comfortable and enlarged viewing. These views (direct endoscopic vision), however, only provide sight on the immediate operating environment. The surgeon does not have a clear idea of what lies outside this view. It often requires his/her skills and experience to identify his/her whereabouts in the patient when new tissues unfold as a result of cutting, which can be dangerous.
Modern medical imaging modalities, such as computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) offer the possibility of a computer-assisted three-dimensional view, by displaying on a flat monitor a 3D image of the organ under treatment or observation. This image is capable of being superimposed onto the patient as seen through a pair of specially prepared goggles, to guide the surgeon during an MIS. In this manner, the time consumed in resection and suturing can be cut down by a clear view of the operating site. 3D data, composed by the computer can also be used directly, in addition to display, by suitable supervisory or control software of a motion control system, to control the movement of the cutter/endoscope carried by a robot of suitable configuration. This way, the surgeon and the computing system know what is beyond the immediate operating environment.
Examples of active robotic intervention in MIS procedures are numerous, including TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate), automated colonoscopy, stapedectomy, and ENT (ear-nose-throat) procedures. An example of an open procedure that has been demonstrated with robotic intervention is cementless hip bone implant/replacement, where a precise cavity to fit a pre-selected implant is milled both locationally and dimensionally accurately in the femur by an industrial robot that carries the milling cutter.
EP 0,416,863 (WICKHAM) describes a frame for positioning and guiding a medical implement such as a resectoscope, which can be used for the non-invasive surgical treatment of the prostate. The frame comprises an annular frame member (10,50) and an annular ring (15,57) held captive and rotatable about its axis in a plane parallel to that of the frame member. An arcuate bow (18,65) extends across the ring and carries a mounting block (20,66) for the implement, the movement of which is controlled by moving the block along th
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patent: 4941826 (1990-07-01), Loran et al.
patent: 5080662 (1992-01-01), Paul
patent: 5279309 (1994-01-01), Taylor et al.
Ackerman Stephen B.
Buiz Michael Powell
Saile George O.
Woo Julian W.
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