Patent ID: 11911910
Assignee: VERB SURGICAL INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A  B

Claim 13:
14. A method for docking a robotic arm of a surgical robotic system to a trocar, the method comprising:
determining by a processor a first estimate of a location of the trocar, using a known surgical plan including a type of surgery, size of a patient, a location and an orientation of the patient on a table, and a location of the trocar as inserted into a body of the patient;
signaling one or more of a plurality of actuators in the robotic arm to guide the robotic arm based on the first estimate so that a docking interface of a tool drive that is coupled to the robotic arm can be moved into proximity of the trocar;
when the docking interface has moved into proximity of the trocar, producing, by one or more sensors that are coupled to the docking interface, a sensed feature of the trocar;
determining, by the processor, a sensed pose of the trocar based on the sensed feature, the sensed pose including a position and an orientation of the trocar; and then alerting, by the processor, an operator of the system and providing a plurality of virtual fixture modes of operation as options to be selected by the operator for moving the docking interface closer to the trocar until the trocar can be secured to the docking interface;
calculating, by the processor, a planned trajectory to the sensed pose of the trocar; and
responsive to a selection by the operator of one of the virtual fixture modes of operation, signaling one or more of the plurality of actuators in the robotic arm to guide the docking interface along the planned trajectory to the sensed pose of the trocar.