Patent Publication Number: US-2023141650-A1

Title: Bi-planar robotic arm device for vascular interventional surgery

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO THE RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The application is the national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/083459, filed on Apr. 7, 2020, which is based on and claims priority on Chinese patent application No. 202010187837.7, filed on Mar. 17, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the field of medical devices, in particular, a bi-planar robotic arm device for vascular interventional surgery. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A vascular interventional surgery robot generally works in the master-slave teleoperation mode, which can prevent the surgeon from the cumulative radiation damage caused by the long-term use of the digital subtraction angiography (DSA) instrument. More importantly, the master-slave operation can improve the accuracy and stability of the operation, prevent the surgeon from becoming fatigued, and improve the quality of interventional surgery. The master of the robot is the surgeon, which is typically achieved by the handle operation instruction from the surgeon, including clamping, rotation, and pushing/pulling, as well as the combination of these actions. Among them, the pushing/pulling manipulation of the catheter/guidewire is the most basic and frequent action, including pulling out the catheter/guidewire along a straight path as much as possible along the exit direction of the sheath and segmentally pushing the catheter/guidewire along a straight path from the opening of the sheath. Because some of the existing catheters/guidewires are up to 2.5 meters long and complex surgery needs to simultaneously use several catheters/guidewires, the interventional device is required to push a larger working range and has more push points. 
     At present, the traditional method for pushing and pulling the guidewire/catheter of the robot for vascular intervention surgery is to use two rollers to press the catheter or guidewire, and then the rollers roll forward to make the catheter or guidewire move forward or the rollers roll reversely to make the catheter/guidewire retreat, such as the products of Catheter Robotics company of France and CorPath company of the United States. Although this method can effectively control the advance and retreat of catheters/guidewires, it is difficult to realize the large-scale coaxial operation of multiple catheters/guidewires. In China, this problem also exists in the method proposed by the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in which the rollers roll to clamp and push the catheter/guidewire, and the method proposed by Beijing Institute of Technology, in which gears force out, clamp, and push the catheter/guidewire. 
     The surgical robot pursues the transparency of the operation, that is, the manipulations of the surgeon is replicated by the slave robotic arm of the surgical robot as closely as possible. The roller forces out the catheter/guidewire and pushes the catheter/guidewire to realize the push operation of the catheter/guidewire, but the rollers implement the movement function rather than reproduce the manipulation of the surgeon. The operations of surgeons are diverse, involving speed, strength, position, and so on, but the roller push mechanism lacks the necessary flexibility. The flexibility requires the cooperation of multiple interventional devices and a large dynamic movement range of the devices. It is desirable that a solution based on using a robot arm is able to meet the flexibility requirement. In practice, the surgeon generally uses both hands to clamp and twist the catheter/guidewire and cooperatively uses the two arms to achieve the advance, retreat, and cooperation of the catheter/guidewire, as well as the distal operation. For this reason, the present invention provides a solution, in which a bi-planar robotic arm for vascular intervention is designed to simulate the two arms of the surgeon. The bi-planar robotic arm can realize straight (e.g., linear) pushing/pulling and meet the operational requirements in a large dynamic range. 
     The Chinese patent No. CN109157729A discloses a guidewire delivery device for vascular interventional surgery, including a support part, where the driving device is arranged on the supporting part. The driving device is connected to an active motion device, and a plurality of connecting rods are arranged on the active motion device. One end of the connecting rod is hinged with the active motion device, and the other end of the connecting rod is hinged with a guidewire clamping device. The guidewire clamping device is slidably connected to a guiding device, which is fixedly connected to a connecting frame, and the connecting frame is arranged on the supporting part. The guidewire delivery device has a small size, good transmission precision of the whole mechanism, convenient handling, high efficiency of delivering the guidewire, lower labor intensity of the surgeon, and high practicability, which is worth popularizing. However, this method can only effectively control the advance and retreat of the catheter/guidewire; it is difficult to achieve a wide range of coaxial operation of multiple catheters/guidewires, and thus, cannot achieve the identical reproduction of the surgeon&#39;s manipulations. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of the defects in the prior art, the object of the invention is to provide a bi-planar robotic arm device for vascular interventional surgery. 
     A bi-planar robotic arm device for vascular interventional surgery includes an operating table, a frame assembly, an outer arm assembly, and an inner arm assembly. The frame assembly includes a standing column, a sliding block, a sliding platform, a support, and a screw stepper motor. 
     The standing column is arranged on the operating table. The support is arranged on the standing column. The sliding platform is arranged on the support. The sliding platform is connected to the sliding block. The sliding block is connected to the screw stepper motor and can slide along the sliding platform under the action of the screw stepper motor. 
     The outer arm assembly is connected to the standing column. The inner arm assembly is connected to the outer arm assembly and the sliding block. The inner arm assembly and the outer arm assembly can move relative to each other. 
     Preferably, the outer arm assembly includes an outer arm first motor, a transmission shaft, an outer arm first connecting rod, an outer arm second motor, an outer arm second connecting rod, an outer arm third motor, and an outer arm third connecting rod. 
     The outer arm first motor is arranged on the standing column. The outer arm first motor is connected to one end of the outer arm first connecting rod through the transmission shaft. The other end of the outer arm first connecting rod is connected to one end of the outer arm second connecting rod. The other end of the outer arm second connecting rod is connected to one end of the outer arm third connecting rod. The other end of the outer arm third connecting rod is the clamping end. The outer arm second motor is arranged at one end of the outer arm second connecting rod. The outer arm third motor is arranged at one end of the outer arm third connecting rod. 
     Preferably, the inner arm assembly includes an inner arm first motor, a transmission assembly, a transmission cylinder, a supporting bearing assembly, an inner arm first connecting rod, an inner arm second motor, an inner arm second connecting rod, an inner arm third motor, and an inner arm third connecting rod. 
     The inner arm first motor is arranged on the sliding block. The inner arm first motor is connected to the transmission cylinder through the transmission assembly. The transmission cylinder is connected to one end of the inner arm first connecting rod. The other end of the inner arm first connecting rod is connected to one end of the inner arm second connecting rod. The other end of the inner arm second connecting rod is connected to one end of the inner arm third connecting rod. The other end of the inner arm third connecting rod is the clamping end. The inner arm second motor is arranged at one end of the inner arm second connecting rod. The inner arm third motor is arranged at one end of the inner arm third connecting rod. 
     The transmission cylinder is connected to the sliding block through the supporting bearing assembly. The transmission cylinder is hollow, and the transmission shaft of the outer arm assembly passes through the transmission cylinder. 
     Preferably, the transmission assembly includes a driving pulley, a belt, and a driven pulley. The driving pulley is connected to the inner arm first motor. The driven pulley is coaxially arranged on the transmission cylinder, and the driving pulley is connected to the driven pulley through the belt. 
     Preferably, the transmission cylinder coincides with the axis of the transmission shaft of the outer arm assembly, and the transmission cylinder and the transmission shaft of the outer arm assembly can slide and rotate relative along the axis. 
     Preferably, the transmission shaft is a telescopic rod. 
     Preferably, the transmission shaft rotates under the action of the outer arm first motor, thereby driving the outer arm first connecting rod to rotate. The outer arm first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the outer arm second connecting rod. The outer arm second connecting rod can rotate relative to the outer arm first connecting rod under the action of the outer arm second motor. The outer arm second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the outer arm third connecting rod. The outer arm third connecting rod can rotate relative to the outer arm second connecting rod under the action of the outer arm third motor. 
     The rotation axis of the outer arm first connecting rod, the rotation axis of the outer arm second connecting rod, and the rotation axis of the outer arm third connecting rod are parallel to each other. 
     The outer arm first connecting rod, the outer arm second connecting rod, and the outer arm third connecting rod are located in the same plane. 
     Preferably, the transmission cylinder rotates under the action of the inner arm first motor and the transmission assembly, thereby driving the inner arm first connecting rod to rotate. The inner arm first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the inner arm second connecting rod. The inner arm second connecting rod can rotate relative to the inner arm first connecting rod under the action of the inner arm second motor. The inner arm second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the inner arm third connecting rod. The inner arm third connecting rod can rotate relative to the inner arm second connecting rod under the action of the inner arm third motor. 
     The rotation axis of the inner arm first connecting rod, the rotation axis of the inner arm second connecting rod, and the rotation axis of the inner arm third connecting rod are parallel to each other. 
     The inner arm first connecting rod, the inner arm second connecting rod, and the inner arm third connecting rod are located in the same plane. 
     Preferably, the motion plane of the outer arm first connecting rod, the outer arm second connecting rod, and the outer arm third connecting rod of the outer arm assembly is parallel to the motion plane of the inner arm first connecting rod, the inner arm second connecting rod and the inner arm third connecting rod of the inner arm assembly. 
     Preferably, the bi-planar robotic arm device further includes a controller. The controller is connected to the transmission shaft, the screw stepper motor, the outer arm first motor, the outer arm second motor, the outer arm third motor of the outer arm assembly, and the inner arm first motor, the inner arm second motor, the inner arm third motor of the inner arm assembly with signals. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 
     1. Based on the bionics principle, the present invention realizes the linear pushing/pulling motion of the catheter/guidewire through a three-degree of freedom (3 DoF) robotic arm. The robotic arms have a large motion range, which solves the problems of insufficient motion range, flexibility, and maneuverability inherent in the existing mechanism and meets the needs of clinical application. 
     2. The robotic arms of the present invention are located in two parallel planes, and the distance between the two planes of the robotic arms can be changed through the sliding platform to meet the needs of interventional surgery in peripheral vascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, nervous system diseases, etc. 
     3. The motions of the two robotic arms of the present invention are independently controlled and do not interfere with each other. The motion parameters of the robotic arms can be obtained by inverse kinematics solution according to the position and posture of the catheter/guidewire in the base coordinate system of the surgical robot. The inverse kinematics solution is fast and has a unique solution, which can solve the fast real-time operation of the catheter/guidewire. The control operation method is simple and easy. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       By reading the detailed description of the non-restrictive embodiment with reference to the following drawings, other features, purposes, and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious: 
         FIG.  1    shows a structural schematic diagram of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    shows a schematic diagram of the inverse kinematics solution of the three degrees of freedom of the planar robotic arms of the invention. 
     
    
    
     As the figure shows: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 1 -operating table 
               
               
                   
                 2 -standing column 
               
               
                   
                 3 -outer arm first motor 
               
               
                   
                 4 -transmission shaft 
               
               
                   
                 5 -inner arm first motor 
               
               
                   
                 6 -driving pulley 
               
               
                   
                 7 -belt 
               
               
                   
                 8 -driven pulley 
               
               
                   
                 9 -transmission cylinder 
               
               
                   
                 10 -inner arm first connecting rod 
               
               
                   
                 11 -outer arm third connecting rod 
               
               
                   
                 12 -outer arm second motor 
               
               
                   
                 13 -inner arm second motor 
               
               
                   
                 14 -outer arm second connecting rod 
               
               
                   
                 15 -inner arm second connecting rod 
               
               
                   
                 16 -outer arm third motor 
               
               
                   
                 17 -inner arm third motor 
               
               
                   
                 18 -outer arm third connecting rod 
               
               
                   
                 19 -inner arm third connecting rod 
               
               
                   
                 20 -supporting bearing assembly 
               
               
                   
                 21 -sliding block 
               
               
                   
                 22 -sliding platform 
               
               
                   
                 23 -support 
               
               
                   
                 24 - external intervention equipment 
               
               
                   
                 25 - internal intervention equipment 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is described in detail in combination with a specific embodiment. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention but do not limit the present invention in any form. It should be noted that for ordinary technicians in the art, a number of changes and improvements can be made without departing from the idea of the present invention. These changes and improvements all belong to the protection scope of the invention. 
     In the description of this application, it is necessary to understand that the terms “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, and “outside” indicating the orientation or position are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the attached drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation and be constructed and operated in a specific direction. These terms cannot be understood as a restriction on this application. 
     The present invention provides a bi-planar robotic arm device for vascular interventional surgery, in particular, a device for linear pushing and pulling of catheter/guidewire by using planar robotic arms serially installed with three-degree of freedom (3 DoF) rotating joints, which solves the problem of linear operation of catheter/guidewire in a large range of motion. The bi-planar robotic arm device includes two robotic arms connected in serial by 3 DoF rotating joints. The shoulder joints of the two robotic arms are installed coaxially, and the width between the shoulder joints is adjusted by a translational joint, that is, the rotation axis of the outer arm first connecting rod  11  is coaxial with that of the inner arm first connecting rod  10 . The ends (clamping ends) of the two robotic arms can be used for the parallel straight moving operation of the interventional device and simultaneously operate to make two groups of interventional devices move linearly. The present invention has the characteristics of large movement range, small space use, good mobility and flexibility, and can meet the needs of clinical pushing/pulling operation of interventional devices used in peripheral vascular interventional surgery, cardiovascular interventional surgery, and the like. 
     According to the present invention, a bi-planar robotic arm device for vascular interventional surgery, as shown in  FIG.  1   , includes an operating table  1 , a frame assembly, an outer arm assembly, and an inner arm assembly. The frame assembly includes a standing column  2 , a sliding block  21 , a sliding platform  22 , a support  23 , and a screw stepper motor. The standing column  2  is arranged on the operating table  1 . The support  23  is arranged on the standing column  2 . The sliding platform  22  is arranged on the support  23 . The sliding platform  22  is connected to the sliding block  21 . The sliding block  21  is connected to the screw stepper motor and can slide along the sliding platform  22  under the action of the screw stepper motor. The outer arm assembly is connected to the standing column  2 . The inner arm assembly is connected to the outer arm assembly and the sliding block  21 . The inner arm assembly and the outer arm assembly can move relative to each other. Preferably, the standing column  2  is mounted on the side of the operating table  1 , and the inner arm assembly is installed on the sliding block  21  to be translated synchronously. 
     The outer arm assembly includes an outer arm first motor  3 , a transmission shaft  4 , an outer arm first connecting rod  11 , an outer arm second motor  12 , an outer arm second connecting rod  14 , an outer arm third motor  16 , and an outer arm third connecting rod  18 . The outer arm first motor  3  is arranged on the standing column  2 . The outer arm first motor  3  is connected to one end of the outer arm first connecting rod  11  through the transmission shaft  4 . The other end of the outer arm first connecting rod  11  is connected to one end of the outer arm second connecting rod  14 . The other end of the outer arm second connecting rod  14  is connected to one end of the outer arm third connecting rod  18 . The other end of the outer arm third connecting rod  18  is the clamping end. The outer arm second motor  12  is arranged at one end of the outer arm second connecting rod  14 . The outer arm third motor  16  is arranged at one end of the outer arm third connecting rod  18 . The clamping end of the outer arm third connecting rod  18  can clamp the external interventional device  24  and perform a straight-line pushing/pulling operation on the interventional device in the motion plane of the outer arm assembly. The outer arm first motor  3  is arranged on the standing column  2  to reduce the weight of the outer arm assembly. 
     The inner arm assembly includes an inner arm first motor  5 , a transmission assembly, a transmission cylinder  9 , a supporting bearing assembly  20 , an inner arm first connecting rod  10 , an inner arm second motor  13 , an inner arm second connecting rod  15 , an inner arm third motor  17 , and an inner arm third connecting rod  19 . The inner arm first motor  5  is arranged on the sliding block  21 . The inner arm first motor  5  is connected to the transmission cylinder  9  through the transmission assembly. The transmission cylinder  9  is connected to one end of the inner arm first connecting rod  10 . The other end of the inner arm first connecting rod  10  is connected to one end of the inner arm second connecting rod  15 . The other end of the inner arm second connecting rod  15  is connected to one end of the inner arm third connecting rod  19 . The other end of the inner arm third connecting rod  19  is the clamping end. The inner arm second motor  13  is arranged at one end of the inner arm second connecting rod  15 . The inner arm third motor  17  is arranged at one end of the inner arm third connecting rod  19 . The transmission cylinder  9  is connected to the sliding block  21  through the supporting bearing assembly  20 . The interior of the transmission cylinder  9  is hollow. The transmission shaft  4  of the outer arm assembly passes through the transmission cylinder  9 . The clamping end of the inner arm third connecting rod  19  can clamp the interventional device  25  and perform a straight line pushing/pulling operation on the interventional device in the motion plane of the inner arm assembly. The transmission cylinder  9  is designed to avoid movement interference between the inner arm assembly and the outer arm assembly. 
     The transmission assembly includes a driving pulley  6 , a belt  7 , and a driven pulley  8 . The driving pulley  6  is connected to the inner arm first motor  5 . The driven pulley  8  is coaxially arranged on the transmission cylinder  9 , and the driving pulley  6  is connected to the driven pulley  8  through the belt  7 . The transmission cylinder  9  coincides with the axis of the transmission shaft  4  of the outer arm assembly. The transmission cylinder  9  and the transmission shaft  4  of the outer arm assembly can slide and rotate relative along the axis. The transmission shaft  4  is a telescopic rod. Such a design makes the rotating shaft of the outer arm first connecting rod  11  coaxial with the rotating shaft of the inner arm first connecting rod  10 . The inner arm assembly is fixedly installed on the sliding block  21  by the supporting bearing assembly  20 , so that the inner arm assembly can travel along the transmission shaft  4  and the distance between the motion plane of the outer arm assembly and the motion plane of the inner arm assembly can be changed to simulate the flexibility of the surgeon&#39;s hands to meet the requirements of different operations. 
     The transmission shaft  4  rotates under the action of the outer arm first motor  3 , thereby driving the outer arm first connecting rod  11  to rotate. The outer arm first connecting rod  11  is rotatably connected to the outer arm second connecting rod  14 , so that the outer arm second connecting rod  14  can rotate relative to the outer arm first connecting rod  11  under the action of the outer arm second motor  12 . The outer arm second connecting rod  14  is rotatably connected to the outer arm third connecting rod  18 , so that the outer arm third connecting rod  18  can rotate relative to the outer arm second connecting rod  14  under the action of the outer arm third motor  16 . The rotation axes of the outer arm first connecting rod  11 , the outer arm second connecting rod  14 , and the outer arm third connecting rod  18  are parallel to each other. The outer arm first connecting rod  11 , the outer arm second connecting rod  14 , and the outer arm third connecting rod  18  are located in the same plane. 
     The transmission cylinder  9  rotates under the action of the inner arm first motor  5  and the transmission assembly, thereby driving the inner arm first connecting rod  10  to rotate. The inner arm first connecting rod  10  is rotatably connected to the inner arm second connecting rod  15 , so that the inner arm second connecting rod  15  can rotate relative to the inner arm first connecting rod  10  under the action of the inner arm second motor  13 . The inner arm second connecting rod  15  is rotatably connected to the inner arm third connecting rod  19 , so that the inner arm third connecting rod  19  can rotate relative to the inner arm second connecting rod  15  under the action of the inner arm third motor  17 . The rotation axes of the inner arm first connecting rod  10 , the inner arm second connecting rod  15 , and the inner arm third connecting rod  19  are parallel to each other. The inner arm first connecting rod  10 , the inner arm second connecting rod  15 , and the inner arm third connecting rod  19  are located in the same plane. 
     The motion plane of the outer arm first connecting rod  11 , the outer arm second connecting rod  14 , and the outer arm third connecting rod  18  of the outer arm assembly is parallel to the motion plane of the inner arm first connecting rod  10 , the inner arm second connecting rod  15  and the inner arm third connecting rod  19  of the inner arm assembly. 
     The bi-planar robotic arm device further includes a controller. The controller is connected to the transmission shaft  4 , the screw stepper motor, the outer arm first motor  3 , the outer arm second motor  12 , the outer arm third motor  16  of the outer arm assembly, and the inner arm first motor  5 , the inner arm second motor  13 , the inner arm third motor  17  of the inner arm assembly with signals. 
     The clamping ends of the 3 DoF robotic arms of the inner arm assembly and the outer arm assembly clamp the interventional material (such as catheter/guidewire). The inverse kinematics solution algorithm of the catheter/guidewire advancing along a straight line to the three joints is realized by a geometric method, that is, through the real-time position and posture of the catheter/guidewire in the base coordinate system of the surgical robot, the rotation angles of the three axes of the robotic arms are calculated. The controller adjusts the corresponding motor in real time according to the rotation angle value. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the motion adjustment relationship of the 3 DoF robotic arms of the inner arm assembly and the outer arm assembly is identical. Taking the outer arm assembly as an example, taking the intersection point between the transmission shaft  4  of the outer arm assembly and the standing column  2  as the coordinate origin, the transverse motion direction of the outer arm assembly is the X axis, and the longitudinal motion direction of the outer arm assembly is the Y axis to establish a rectangular coordinate system. The length of the outer arm first connecting rod  11  is L 1 , the length of the outer arm second connecting rod  14  is L 2 , the length of the outer arm third connecting rod  18  is L 3 , the angle between the outer arm first connecting rod  11  and the X axis is θ 1 , the angle between the outer arm second connecting rod  14  and the outer arm first connecting rod  11  is θ 2 , and the angle between the outer arm third connecting rod  18  and the outer arm second connecting rod  14  is θ 3 . It is assumed that the clamping end of the robotic arm is holding the catheter/guidewire, and a typical case is that the catheter/guidewire is perpendicular to the clamping end of the robotic arms, that is, the catheter/guidewire is perpendicular to the outer arm third connecting rod  18 . The inverse kinematics solution algorithm of the catheter/guidewire advancing along a straight line to the three joints is realized by the geometric method. In the x-y coordinate system (e.g., Cartesian coordinate system) shown in  FIG.  2   , the initial coordinate of the clamping point of the catheter/guidewire is (x 0 , y 0 ), and the angle between the catheter/guidewire and the X axis is θ, then the solution relations for θ 1 , θ 2  and θ 3  are as follows: 
         x   0   =L   1  cos θ 1   +L   2  cos (θ 2 −θ 1 )+ L   3  sin θ
 
         y   0   =L   1  sin θ 1   −L   2  sin (θ 2 −θ 1 )− L   3  cos θ
 
       θ 1 +θ=θ 2 +θ 3  
 
     Among them, L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , θ, x 0 , and y 0  are known, and the values of θ 1 , θ 2 , and θ 3  can be calculated according to the above relationship to adjust the outer arm assembly. 
     Specific embodiments of the invention are described above. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific embodiments. A person skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claim, which does not affect the substance of the present invention. Without conflict, the features of the embodiments and embodiments of this application may be arbitrarily combined with each other.