Patent ID: 6228089
Filing Date: 2001-05-08
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A device for positioning and guidance of a surgical instrument during an orthopaedic operation, said device comprising:an industrial robot having a program-controlled, multi-jointed robot arm with a mounting plate at an end of the robot arm;an instrument for the orthopaedic operation arm on the mounting plate;a program control system with computer connected to said robot;a sensor arrangement for the sensing of reference points on the bones of the patient; andsensors in the joints of the robot arm for determining joint positions of the robot arm in an instrument coordinate system defined in the program control system and such that the robot arm can be moved by means of the program control system into a working position for the orthopaedic operation;said sensor arrangement comprising a multi-jointed sensor arm affixed to the mounting plate and forming a passive manually guided measuring instrument, said sensor arm having sensors for detecting joint positions of said sensor arm, said instrument being available to the surgeon during the orthopaedic procedure such that movement of the sensor arm at a previously-assumed position of the robot arm defined by the program control system, reference points on a patient's bone can be sensed and the computer determines the working position of the robot arm for the orthopaedic operator from the positional details supplied by the sensors of the sensor arm and the positional details of the robot arm sensors measured in the instrument coordinate system.