Slider control of catheters and wires

One exemplary user interface for a medical robotics system may include a control panel and one or more sliders that may be slidably carried by the control panel to actuate one or more motors for moving a surgical instrument of the medical robotics system. The sliders may be configured to actuate the motors to move the surgical instrument along a respective one of a plurality of degrees of freedom.

BACKGROUND

Medical robotics manufacturers are developing user interfaces to effectively perform various robot-assisted surgical procedures. The user interfaces may be operated to control robotic catheters and wires in vascular procedures, or the user interfaces may be integrated within other robotic systems to control other suitable devices to perform various surgical procedures. One exemplary user interface may include a joystick device, which can be used to simultaneously control movement of a surgical device with multiple degrees of freedom. Depending on the procedure and the subjective preference of the physician performing the procedure, this joystick may not be considered intuitive or otherwise desirable.

Therefore, a need exists for an improved user interface for a medical robotics system that provides independent and intuitive control of multiple degrees of freedom of surgical instruments.

SUMMARY

One example of a user interface for a medical robotics system may include a control panel and one or more sliders that may be slidably carried by the control panel to actuate one or more motors for moving a surgical instrument of the medical robotics system. The sliders may be configured to actuate the motors to move the surgical instrument along a respective one of a plurality of degrees of freedom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the discussion that follows and also to the drawings, illustrative approaches are shown in detail. Although the drawings represent some possible approaches, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated, removed, or partially sectioned to better illustrate and explain the present disclosure. Further, the descriptions set forth herein are not intended to be exhaustive or otherwise limit or restrict the claims to the precise forms and configurations shown in the drawings and disclosed in the following detailed description.

Referring toFIG. 1, one example of a user interface102for a medical robotics system100may include a control panel104and a plurality of sliders106, which are slidably carried by the control panel to actuate one or more motors108for moving a surgical instrument110of the system. The sliders106can move the surgical instrument along a respective one of a plurality of degrees of freedom. In this respect, each slider106may be operated to control movement of the surgical instrument exclusively along one degree of freedom, independent of the remaining degrees of freedom controlled by the remaining sliders. As one example, the user interface102may be utilized for controlling a catheter110and wire for a robotic catheter control system. However, the user interface102may be used for other suitable medical robotics systems. The control panel104may be a housing112that may slidably carry the sliders106, with tongue114in groove116attachments or outer suitable couplings. In another example shown inFIG. 4, the control panel404may be a touchscreen device412that provides virtual sliders406.

Each slider may control an independent degree of free movement of the surgical instrument. For example, one slider may be adapted for controlling only the insertion/retraction of the surgical instrument. Another slider may be adapted for controlling only the rolling or rotation of the surgical instrument. For instance, the slider may actuate one or more motors to pivot a catheter tip about a longitudinal axis of the catheter. Still another slider may be adapted for controlling only the articulation or bending movement of the surgical instrument within a bending plane.

The sliders may have a predetermined shape or orientation with respect to each other, or be arranged in a layout or combination, which permits control of the surgical instrument to be more intuitive. As one example,FIG. 1illustrates one example of a user interface102having a plurality of sliders106movable along a plurality of linear paths118, which may be arranged parallel with respect to one another. As exemplified inFIG. 2, another example of a user interface202may include a roller slider206a, which may be movable along a round or elliptical path218aon the control panel204so as to permit intuitive control over a rolling or rotational movement of the surgical instrument. This user interface202may further include an articulation slider206b, which may be movable along a curved or arcuate path218bon the control panel so as to control an articulation or bending of the surgical instrument. Further, this user interface202may have an insertion/retraction slider206c, which may be movable along a linear path218cto control an insertion or refraction of the surgical instrument into the body of a patient. However, any one or more of these paths can have circular, elliptical, parabolic or other non-linear shapes based on, for example, the actual movement of the instrument so as to provide intuitive operation of the catheter. Exemplary illustrations of these paths and the associated movement of the catheter are shown inFIGS. 2-5. Turning now toFIG. 3, another example of a user interface302may include an insertion/retraction slider306a, which may be movable along a linear insertion path318aso as to control the insertion and retraction of the surgical instrument with respect to the body of the patient. The user interface302may also have an articulation slider306b, which may be movable along a linear articulation path318bfor controlling an articulation of the surgical instrument within a bending plane. The linear articulation path may be perpendicular to the linear insertion path to, for example, provide intuitive control of the surgical instrument. Of course, however, it is contemplated that any one or more sliders that may be movable along paths may have other suitable shapes with various orientations with respect to each other.

The orientation and shape of a slider can be used to convey the meaning of the control. For instance, while parallel sliders (e.g., as shown inFIG. 1) can be used to control different degrees of freedom, another exemplary user interface may include the articulation slider disposed perpendicular to the insertion slider to convey motion in an orthogonal direction (e.g., as shown inFIG. 3). Sliders can also be straight, curved or otherwise shaped in a particular way to make it more intuitive for a given degree of freedom (e.g., as shown inFIG. 2). For instance, the articulation slider can be curved similar to the maximum extent of the articulation. Roll of the instrument may be controlled by a slider movable along a circular path (e.g., as shown inFIG. 2).

The sliders may be configured to control movement of the surgical instrument along the related degree of freedom by utilizing various modes of control, including velocity control, relative position control and absolute position control. Velocity control is a mode of control in which the position of the slider will command a rate of change of a degree of freedom of the catheter. For example, the position of one slider, which is utilized to exclusively control catheter insertion and retraction, may be mapped to the proportional velocity of the catheter or wire and provide a maximum catheter velocity, based on a maximum speed of insertion or retraction capable of being provided by the motors, a safety threshold to protect the patient from high-velocity catheter movements, or various other factors.

Furthermore, relative position control is a mode of control in which the position of the slider will command the change in position of a degree of freedom of the catheter relative to a starting position. In one example the slider could move freely without changing the catheter insertion until a button on the slider was pressed, at which point the change in slider position with respect to the position of initial button press would command a similar change in position of the catheter. A slider may be mapped to the relative position driving for finer control of catheter or wire motions when the response is delayed. As one example, one slider, which is utilized to exclusively control wire rolling, may be mapped to control the relative wire roll as the physician operates the slider to roll the wire by a predetermined degree. The change in slider position indicates to the physician the expected amount of roll change in the wire and thereby allows the physician to stop rolling the wire and avoid an associated whipping action of the twisted wire when the actual wire roll did not match the predetermined roll degree due to the buildup along the wire.

Moreover, a slider may be mapped to the absolute position of the catheter or wire. Absolute position control is a mode of control in which the position of the slider directly maps to a position of a degree of freedom of the catheter. For instance, one slider, which may be utilized for exclusively controlling catheter articulation, may be mapped to the absolute amount of articulation of the catheter to, for example, alert the physician of an articulated position of the catheter and prevent any articulated catheter from being inserted or retracted through a passage not sufficiently shaped for passing the articulated catheter.

One or more of the control modes may be accomplished by one or more springs, friction hold mechanisms, force feedback mechanisms, potentiometers, optical/magnetic encoders, other suitable mechanisms or any combination thereof. For instance, each slider106may be coupled to one or more springs120(e.g., as shown inFIG. 1) to move the sliders to a position. In particular, the sliders106can have spring return to a zero position, in which case velocity control (analog or binary) should be used. Sliders106can also have a friction hold configured to maintain a position of the sliders106upon release of the slider by the user, which may be more advantageous for controls of an absolute position or relative position of the surgical instrument. To that end, one or more of the sliders106may be coupled to a friction hold mechanism122for absolute position or relative position. For example, a resilient or deformable material may be sandwiched between the tongue and groove. However, a variety of other suitable friction hold mechanisms may be utilized. Furthermore, one or more sliders may be coupled to force feedback mechanisms124to provide mechanical feedback or one or more detent forces for control. Moreover, one or more sliders may include a potentiometer126, optical encoder128or magnetic encoder, for example.

In one exemplary approach, a single slider can exist for each degree of freedom, which can be particularly useful in position control because each slider can keep its value of command and retain that visually for the user to serve as a visual cue. This could be particularly useful in the case of articulation when, for example, the physician may fail to relax the bend of the catheter as the catheter is tracking over a guide wire. Thus, the slider can provide a visual indication of how much the catheter is articulated, which can alert the physician to relax the bend.

As shown inFIG. 4, one exemplary touchscreen device412can include a virtual slider406having multiple paths in order to map multiple degrees of freedom at once or imply certain combinations of degrees of freedom that are valid. For instance, the work space of the leader acquires a particular shape based on its insertion value because the exposed length of its articulation section changes. This can be mapped to a 2D plane. The plane can be open as drawn with freedom to move the slider406within the open space, as indicated by the dotted line closure. The plane could also have a dynamic boundary that could change to limit different areas as the procedure progresses. Alternatively, the plane could be separated into individual virtual tracks or sliders that may imply the steps needed to get from one distinct combination to another. This could be particularly useful if the control requires movement through a certain set of states.

Sliders may move in 2D in the cardioid shape, representing the area of insertion past the sheath and its relationship to articulation. The 2D plane represents all possible combinations of insertion and articulation. There are variations on all of these slider combinations. These sliders can be large and encompass the entire pendant or controller. Another option is to combine them with other input devices such as joysticks or thumbwheels. They can be a component of the joystick, for example placed on the top of the joystick. Conversely, the joystick or thumbwheel can be placed on top of a slider.

Referring now toFIG. 5, another example of a user interface502is similar to the user interface102ofFIG. 1. The user interface502includes features, which are similar to those of the user interface102and are identified by similar reference numerals in the500series. However, while the user interface102may include three sliders106, which are slidably carried by the housing112of the control panel104and are movable along a respective one of three linear paths118, the user interface502includes only one slider506that is slidably carried by a control panel504and is movable along one arcuate path518. In particular, the housing512may have an arcuate groove516or rail. The groove516may have opposing ends517a,517b, and the slider506is configured to move along the groove516between the opposing ends517a,517bso as to control an articulation of a tip of the catheter within a bending plane. In particular, the slider506can be moved to a center portion of the groove516that is equidistant from the opposing ends517a,517bso as to actuate one or more motors to move the catheter tip to zero degrees of articulation. The slider506may be further configured to actuate the motor to articulate the catheter tip up to270degrees in one direction in response to the slider506being moved from the center portion519to one end517aof the arcuate groove516. Similarly, the slider506may be configured to actuate the motor to articulate the catheter tip up to 270 degrees in an opposite direction in response to the slider506being moved from the center portion519to the other end517bof the arcuate groove516. The slider can be configured to bend the catheter tip to maximum articulation that is more or less than 270 degrees.

The user interface502can further include a roller mechanism550that is configured to actuate a motor to insert or retract the catheter. In particular, the rolling mechanism550is rotatably carried by the control panel504. The roller mechanism550is configured to insert the catheter in response to a physician rolling the roller mechanism550in one direction and retracts the catheter in response to the physician rolling the roller mechanism550in the opposite direction. Another exemplary illustration of the roller mechanism can be configured to actuate a motor to rotate or roll the catheter. This rolling mechanism can be configured to actuate the motor so as to roll the catheter by rotating the catheter tip about a longitudinal axis of the catheter from, for example, a first bending plane to a second bending plane. In this respect, the user interface502may be used to, for example, physically rotate the catheter within a blood vessel and provide a rolling motion of the tip, thus rotating the bending plane of the catheter tip. The roller mechanism550can be further configured to reassign articulation direction of the slider516, such that the slider516is configured to articulate the catheter tip within a bending plane defined by the roller mechanism.

Referring now toFIG. 6, another example of a user interface602includes a touchscreen device612, which is similar to the touchscreen device412ofFIG. 4. However, while the touchscreen device412may be configured to be operated by only one finger, the touchscreen device612is configured to actuate one or more motors to move a catheter tip in response to at least two fingers simultaneously operating a virtual slider606or other virtual control provided by the touchscreen device612. As another example, the touchscreen device612can be configured to actuate the motor to move the catheter tip, in response to a double finger tap on the touchscreen device preceding the use of one finger to operate the touchscreen device612. The use of a double finger tap may act as a safety mechanism which prevents accidental actuation of the surgical instrument in response to a user accidentally bumping or brushing the user interface602.

Referring now toFIG. 7, yet another example of the user interface702includes a touchscreen device712and is similar to the user interface602ofFIG. 6having the touchscreen device612ofFIG. 6. However, the touchscreen device712can have an activation surface portion770configured to activate the touchscreen device712, such that a user may operate a virtual slider706on the touchscreen device712, in response to one finger pressing and holding the activation surface portion770and another finger simultaneously operating one or more virtual sliders706on the touchscreen device712. Conversely, when the finger is removed from the activation surface portion770, the touchscreen device712is deactivated, such that the virtual sliders706cannot be operated to actuate the motor and articulate the catheter tip. In this manner, activation surface portion770acts as a safety mechanism which prevents accidental actuation of the surgical instrument in response to a user accidentally bumping or brushing the virtual slider706unless the activation surface portion770is also engaged or activated.

With attention toFIG. 8, still another exemplary illustration of a user interface802having a touchscreen device812is similar to the user interface602ofFIG. 6having the touchscreen device612. However, the touchscreen device812includes a virtual slider806that is configured to move along a linear path818to actuate a motor so as to articulate a catheter tip within a bending plane. Moreover, the linear path818may be rotated in response to two fingers holding opposing ends880a,880bof the linear path818, so as to actuate a motor to rotate the catheter tip about a longitudinal axis of the catheter. Alternatively, the linear path818may be rotated so as to rotate the plane of bending of articulation, which is defined by the linear path818corresponding to the rotation of the linear path. For example, the physician may rotate the linear path so as to translate or revolve the catheter tip around a bending point in the catheter that is spaced apart from the catheter tip, without causing the catheter tip to actually rotate or spin on an axis extending through the tip. Still another exemplary user interface may include a control panel having a hand-operated mechanical slider, which is slidably carried along a groove or rail formed on a carrier, which is in turn rotatably attached to a control panel. In this respect, the motor can rotate or roll the bending plane in response to a physician rotating the carrier. The motor can articulate or bend the catheter tip within the bending plane, as defined by the rotational position of the carrier, in response to the slider being moved along the groove.

Turning now toFIG. 9, another example of a user interface902includes a touchscreen device912having a virtual slider906and is similar to the user interface602ofFIG. 6. However, the touchscreen device912is configured to move the catheter tip in response to a finger contacting a portion of the virtual slider906so as to actuate a motor to move the catheter tip to a position mapped to that portion of the virtual slider906. The touchscreen device912may be further configured to cause rapid alternation of commands by using two fingers to simultaneously contact spaced apart portions990a,990bof the virtual slider906in a rocking manner. In particular, while the virtual slider606ofFIG. 6is configured to be operated in response to a finger sliding an image across the touchscreen612, the virtual slider906of the touchscreen device912can be a surface area portion990of the touchscreen device912, within which the fingers can alternate contact with spaced apart portions990a990bof the touchscreen device912. The surface area portion990can display an image extending between the spaced apart portions990a,990b, such as a line and an associated measurement, such as position or speed. Moreover, the surface area portion990can display an image traveling between the spaced apart portions990a,990b. However, the touchscreen device912can display various other images or no images at all depending upon, for example, the surgical procedure to be performed or the preferences of the physician performing the procedure. The surface area portion990can provide a predetermined surface area of the touch screen device912that is configured to actuate the motor for moving the catheter tip based on, for example, the distance between the points of the touch screen device contacted by the fingers, e.g. spaced apart portions990a,990b. By way of another example, the catheter tip may be moved only when contact with the virtual slider906is alternated between end portions990a,990bof the virtual slider906within a predetermined period of time. In this manner, the catheter tip is moved only in response to the alternating movement, and thereby decreases opportunities for accidental movement of the catheter tip.

The exemplary systems and components described herein, including the various exemplary user interface devices, may include a computer or a computer readable storage medium implementing the operation of drive and implementing the various methods and processes described herein. In general, computing systems and/or devices, such as the processor and the user input device, may employ any of a number of computer operating systems, including, but by no means limited to, versions and/or varieties of the Microsoft Windows® operating system, the Unix operating system (e.g., the Solaris® operating system distributed by Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, Calif.), the AIX UNIX operating system distributed by International Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y., the Linux operating system, the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., and the Android operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance.