Patent Description:
Robotic surgery, computer-assisted surgery, and robotically-assisted surgery are terms for technological developments that use robotic systems to aid in surgical procedures. Robotically-assisted surgery was developed to overcome the limitations of pre-existing minimally-invasive surgical procedures and to enhance the capabilities of surgeons performing open surgery.

In the case of robotically-assisted minimally-invasive surgery, instead of directly moving the instruments, the surgeon uses one of two methods to control the instruments; either a direct telemanipulator or through computer control. A telemanipulator is a remote manipulator that allows the surgeon to perform the normal movements associated with the surgery while the robotic arms carry out those movements using end-effectors and manipulators to perform the actual surgery on the patient. In computer-controlled systems, the surgeon uses a computer to control the robotic arms and its end-effectors, though these systems can also still use telemanipulators for their input. One advantage of using the computerized method is that the surgeon does not have to be present, but can be anywhere in the world, leading to the possibility for remote surgery. One drawback of these systems relates to interference in the sensors that monitor the location of the robotic components, including the tools being used by the robot to complete the surgery. Surgical tools, and even robotic components, are often constructed from materials that are not radio translucent, and thus they cause interference with the sensors used to guide the robot to its desired precise location. The interference may cause the robot to not be located where it should be, and may cause problems with the surgery.

In the case of enhanced open surgery, autonomous instruments (in familiar configurations) replace traditional surgical tools, performing certain actions (such as rib spreading) with much smoother, feedback-controlled motions than could be achieved by a human hand. The main object of such smart instruments is to reduce or eliminate the tissue trauma traditionally associated with open surgery. This approach seeks to improve open surgeries, particularly orthopedic, that have so far not benefited from robotic techniques by providing a tool that can provide a quick retraction of the tool from the surgical site should a need arise for something, such as a patient cough or patient movement, power outages, or other threatening circumstances.

One major drawback to utilizing robots for surgical procedures is their vulnerability to movement by the patient. These movements can lead to incorrect position and orientation reporting.

Another drawback relates to power outages or electrical interference that causes the robot positional confusion or loss.

There exists, therefore, a need for a robotic system that is capable of reducing or eliminating problems occurring from patient movements to provide safer robotic surgery.

Thus, the present invention provides a system and method for providing a fast tool retraction for robotic or robotic assisted surgeries. The system is constructed to quickly retract the surgical tool from the surgical site. The tool retractor system and the robot can be reset to complete the surgery once the error has been corrected. Prior art is disclosed in <CIT>, <CIT>.

Briefly, the invention involves a system for increasing positional accuracy and safety of surgical systems that utilize a robot for performance of surgery. The system allows cutting tools to be quickly retracted from the surgical site upon detection of patient movement or some other issue that could result in positional inaccuracy for the robot. The system can be reset once the error has been cleared, and the position with respect to the patient re-established.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method and system for retracting cutting tools from a surgical site in a rapid manner.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification, include exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

Referring generally to <FIG>, a system and non-claimed method for quickly retracting a tool from a surgical site is illustrated. The retraction system <NUM> is generally constructed and arranged for attachment to a robotic arm <NUM> for manipulation of the surgical tool <NUM> to perform an in-vivo surgery. The retraction system <NUM> is constructed to retract at least a portion of the surgical tool <NUM> from the surgical site upon a predetermined condition. The retraction system <NUM> and the robot arm <NUM> can be reset when the condition has cleared so that the surgery can continue. The robotic arm <NUM> includes at least one axis of movement, and the most preferred embodiment includes six or seven axes of movement for manipulation of the surgical tool. The robotic arm <NUM> includes an attachment point <NUM> for securing a tool <NUM> to the robot for robotically controlled movement of the tool for completion of at least a portion of a surgical procedure. In a preferred embodiment, the surgical tool includes a retraction mechanism <NUM> for causing said surgical tool <NUM> to retract from a first operational position (<FIG>) to a second non-operational position (<FIG>) independent of the robotically controlled movement of the tool upon detection of a predetermined condition. Such predetermined conditions may include, but should not be limited to, movement of the patient as monitored by a camera or electromagnetic system, patient cough, patient, power fluctuation or outage, etc..

Still referring to <FIG>, the retraction mechanism <NUM> preferably includes a track portion <NUM> and a shuttle portion <NUM>. A functional portion of the surgical tool <NUM> is secured to the shuttle portion <NUM> to move therewith upon detection of one of the predetermined conditions so that movement of the shuttle portion <NUM> disables movement of the functional portion of said tool. For example, if the tool is a rotary tool, such as a grinder or drill, rotation of the grinder or drill would be disabled. In the case of a tool, such as a Jamshidi needle, the needle would be sufficiently retracted to remove the needle from the surgical site. Likewise, other surgical tools would either be disabled from movement used to modify tissue and/or be retracted from the surgical site, thereby preventing the tool from causing damage to tissue surrounding the surgical site, i.e. disabling the functional portion of the surgical tool. In a most preferred embodiment, disablement would include, but would not be limited to, removal of motive power to the functional portion of the surgical tool.

Still referring to <FIG>, in at least one embodiment, movement of the shuttle <NUM> is provided by a second source of motive power, which may be pneumatic and in the form of vacuum or pressure without departing from the scope of the invention. The pneumatic motive power may be fluidly connected to an air cylinder <NUM> having a moveable piston <NUM> therein. The pneumatic motive power is supplied to a first side <NUM> of said piston <NUM> to position said surgical tool <NUM> in the operational position, and whereby supplying the pneumatic motive power to the second side <NUM> of the piston <NUM> causes the surgical tool <NUM> to retract to the non-operational position. It should be noted that the aforementioned orientation of pneumatic motive power is assuming pressurized fluid; those skilled in the art will readily recognize that should vacuum be the pneumatic motive power that the side of the piston to which the pneumatic power is provided to cause the desired movement will be reversed. In a preferred embodiment, the first side <NUM> of the piston <NUM> includes a rod member <NUM> secured thereto. The rod member <NUM> extends through an end portion of the air cylinder and moves with the piston <NUM>. The rod <NUM> is connected to the shuttle <NUM> so that the shuttle <NUM> moves with the piston <NUM>. In at least one embodiment, the shuttle <NUM> is removably secured to the rod <NUM>, whereby the surgical tool or the operative portion of the surgical tool <NUM> is removable and replaceable with respect to the shuttle <NUM>. To facilitate the removal and replacement of the surgical tool, a hand operated spring pin <NUM> may be utilized. Fasteners or the like may be substituted for the spring pin without departing from the scope of the invention. It should be noted that while the cylinder is illustrated as including the rod member <NUM>, magnetic coupling of the piston <NUM> to the shuttle <NUM> may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. Such construction of pneumatic cylinders is commonly referred to as linear motors in the industrial arts. It should also be noted that, in the preferred embodiment, the cylinder is constructed and arranged to move the surgical tool <NUM> about one and one half inches or about <NUM> millimeters, and the movement occurs in a fraction of a second.

Still referring to <FIG>, the track portion <NUM> includes a plate <NUM>, the plate <NUM> having a first side surface <NUM> and a second side surface <NUM>. The first side surface <NUM> is secured to the robot attachment point <NUM>, while the second side surface <NUM> includes the track portion <NUM>. In one embodiment, the track portion <NUM> includes at least two guide members <NUM> for guiding the shuttle <NUM> during movement thereof between the operational position and the non-operational position. According to the invention, embodiments are provided with a male dove tail <NUM> (<FIG>) which slidably cooperates with a conjugately shaped female dove tail <NUM>. The dove tails interlock to prevent side to side and up and down movements while allowing guided sliding movement. The cooperating dove tails <NUM>, <NUM> also allow the surgical tool to be accurately positioned and repositioned after the tool has been retracted. The shuttle <NUM> preferably includes at least one first set of electrical contacts <NUM>, while the track portion includes at least one second set of electrical contacts <NUM>. The first set of electrical contacts <NUM> and the second set of electrical contacts <NUM> are positioned to contact each other when the shuttle <NUM> is positioned in the operational position, and thus provide electrical flow to said surgical tool <NUM> for operation thereof. In this manner, the first set of electrical contacts <NUM> and the second set of electrical contacts <NUM> are separated during movement of the shuttle to the non-operational position, thereby disabling electrical motive movement of the surgical tool <NUM>. In at least one embodiment, the surgical tool may be a rotary drill or grinder <NUM>. Thus, all or portions of the drill/grinder are subject to wear and may need to be replaced periodically. Therefore, the drill/grinder <NUM> may be removably secured to the shuttle <NUM> and a reusable portion of the shuttle may be tethered to the plate <NUM> with a flexible member <NUM> such as a cable. A retractor mechanism <NUM> may be provided to allow the shuttle to be moved further away from the plate. Upon replacement of any necessary parts, the shuttle <NUM> may simply be snapped back together and the spring pin utilized to connect the shuttle <NUM> to the cylinder rod <NUM>.

Still referring to <FIG>, the first side surface <NUM> of the plate <NUM> includes a tool change structure <NUM> for interlocking cooperation with a tool change mechanism <NUM>. The tool change mechanism <NUM> is secured to the robot arm <NUM> to provide for tool interchangeability to the robot. Therefore, each surgical tool <NUM> is preferably a self-contained system connectable to the tool change mechanism <NUM>, which provides the first motive power and the second motive power to the tool retraction system <NUM> through the tool change structure <NUM>. In the preferred embodiment, the tool change structure <NUM> includes a pilot aperture <NUM> for providing positional location of said tool with respect to robot arm <NUM>. A plurality of rod members <NUM> are secured about a periphery of the pilot aperture <NUM> for providing orientation of the surgical tool <NUM> with respect to the robot arm <NUM>. Positioned between the rod members <NUM> is at least one primary electrical contact <NUM> for supplying electrical motive power to the surgical tool <NUM> for operation thereof. Also provided as part of the tool change structure <NUM> and mechanism <NUM> is at least one primary pneumatic connection <NUM> for supplying pneumatic motive power to the cylinder for operation thereof.

Referring to <FIG>, an alternative embodiment of the present device and system is illustrated. In this embodiment, springs <NUM> are utilized to position the surgical tool <NUM> in the operational position, while an air cylinder <NUM> is utilized to move the shuttle <NUM> to the non-operational position. Removal of the pneumatic motive force allows the surgical tool to automatically reposition itself to the operational position. It should also be noted that this construction allows electrical solenoids and the like to be utilized in place of the air cylinder without departing from the scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.

Claim 1:
A system (<NUM>) for retracting a surgical tool from a surgical site comprising:
a robot (<NUM>) having at least one axis of movement, said robot having an attachment point (<NUM>) for securing a surgical tool (<NUM>) to said robot for robotically controlled movement of said surgical tool (<NUM>) for completion of at least a portion of a surgical procedure;
said surgical tool (<NUM>);
said surgical tool (<NUM>) including a retraction mechanism (<NUM>) for causing said surgical tool (<NUM>) to retract from a first operational position to a second non-operational position independent of said robotically controlled movement upon detection of a predetermined condition,
wherein said retraction mechanism (<NUM>) includes a track portion (<NUM>) and a shuttle portion (<NUM>), a functional portion of said surgical tool (<NUM>) secured to said shuttle portion (<NUM>) to move therewith upon detection of said predetermined condition,
wherein said track portion (<NUM>) including at least two guide members (<NUM>) for guiding said shuttle portion (<NUM>) during movement thereof to said non-operational position, and
wherein the at least two guide members (<NUM>) are a male dove tail (<NUM>) which slidably cooperates with a conjugately shaped female dove tail (<NUM>), the male and female dove tails (<NUM>, <NUM>) interlock to prevent side to side and up and down movements while allowing guided sliding movement.