Patent ID: 11934594
Assignee: INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS, INC.
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  G | IPC G

Claim 17:
18. A system comprising:
an input device structurally configured to be utilized by an operator to control a medical device;
an operator-detection sensor associated with the input device and configured to detect a presence of an operator at the input device;
a motion sensor associated with the input device and configured to detect a displacement distance of the input device;
a control unit configured to:
permit or prevent control signal generation based on whether the detected displacement distance exceeds a displacement threshold for the input device while detecting that an operator is present at the input device; and

an output device structurally arranged to convey information to the operator,
wherein the operator-detection sensor comprises a capacitive sensor configured to detect presence of an operator based on a capacitance level exceeding a command capacitance level, and wherein the control unit is further configured to:
instruct the output device to output a message to the operator to not touch the input device during calibration of the command capacitance level.