Patent Description:
The present disclosure generally relates to surgical equipment, and more particularly to controllers for surgical equipment such as microscopes and related methods.

In certain surgical applications, viewing aids are important to help surgeons see fine details and perform precise maneuvers. One such application is in eye surgeries, where a microscope is used to give the surgeon the ability to see acutely and perform delicate steps in the surgical process. Typically, the microscope is controlled by a large, mechanical foot pedal, allowing the surgeon to use his or her hands to operate surgical devices or tools. However, such foot pedals may be somewhat difficult to use. Moreover, they are typically heavy and difficult to move while cleaning the surgery room and reposition for a subsequent surgery.

European Pat. <CIT> is directed to a microscope system that includes a surgical microscope, an operating device configured to be operated by a user, and a processor configured to receive a command signal from the operating device in response to the user operation and to control the surgical microscope based on the command signal. The operating device comprises a sensor unit configured to detect the user operation and to generate the command signal based on the detected user operation, and the sensor unit is further configured to be worn by the user.

Despite the existence of such systems, further developments in surgical equipment controllers may be desirable in certain applications.

<CIT> discloses a hands-free, heads up and discrete system and method for controlling a peripheral device using foot gestures is provided. <CIT> discloses that the system includes a foot-based sensory device that includes one or more sensors, such as pressure sensors, gyroscopes, and accelerometers, that receive sensory information from a user's foot, interpret the information as being linked to specific commands, and transmit the commands to at least one display device for controlling the display device. <CIT> further discloses that the system also includes a feedback system for providing tactile, visual and/or auditory feedback to the user based on the actions performed, information provided by the display device and/or information provided from another user.

<CIT> discloses an apparatus provided for improving athletic performance of a user, including a flexible insole, adapted for insertion into a shoe, the insole shaped so as to define one or more chambers. <CIT> discloses that the apparatus also includes a stimulator and a control unit, which control unit is adapted to detect respective pressures in the chambers, and to drive the stimulator to apply a stimulation to the user responsive to the detected pressures and a desired parameter of athletic performance.

A wearable foot controller for a surgical instrument may include a body configured to be worn on a foot and including a heel portion and a ball portion on an opposite end of the body from the heel portion, a heel pressure sensor coupled to the heel portion of the body, a ball pressure sensor coupled to the ball portion of the body, a heel movement sensor coupled to the heel portion of the body, a ball movement sensor coupled to the ball portion of the body, and a processor coupled to the body. The processor may be configured to detect activation of the heel pressure sensor and generate control data for the surgical instrument based upon the ball movement sensor when the heel pressure sensor is activated, and detect activation of the ball pressure sensor and generate control data for the surgical instrument based upon the heel movement sensor when the ball pressure sensor is activated. The processor may also be configured to communicate the control data from the processor to the surgical instrument via a communications link.

In an example embodiment, the processor may be further configured to activate the ball movement sensor responsive to activation of the heel pressure sensor, and activate the heel movement sensor responsive to activation of the ball pressure sensor. In accordance with another example embodiment, the processor may be configured to activate the ball movement sensor responsive to deactivation of the ball pressure sensor, and activate the heel movement sensor responsive to deactivation of the heel pressure sensor.

In one example implementation, the surgical instrument may be a microscope, and the control data may relate to at least one of pan, tilt, zoom, illumination and focus of the microscope. In some embodiments, the control data may relate to image recording using the microscope.

In some embodiments, the processor may be operable in a learning mode to associate at least one movement detected from at least one of the heel and ball movement sensors with a given control command. In some configurations, the processor may be further configured to change a weight associated with the control data based upon an adjustable sensitivity ratio. In an example implementation, the processor may be operable in an instructor mode in which the determined control commands override control commands from another surgical instrument controller.

In some configurations, the processor may be further configured to detect a series of movements from at least one of the heel and ball movement sensors, and switch between active and inactive states responsive to the series of movements. By way of example, the communications link may comprise a wireless communications link.

A related method for controlling a surgical instrument using a wearable foot controller, such as the one described briefly above, is also provided. The method may include detecting activation of the heel pressure sensor and generating control data for the surgical instrument based upon the ball movement sensor when the heel pressure sensor is activated, and detecting activation of the ball pressure sensor and generating control data for the surgical instrument based upon the heel movement sensor when the ball pressure sensor is activated. The method may further include communicating the control data from the wearable foot controller to the surgical instrument via a communications link.

A related non-transitory computer-readable medium for a wearable foot controller, such as the one described briefly above, is also provided. The non-transitory medium may have computer-executable instructions for causing the processor of the wearable foot controller to perform steps including detecting activation of the heel pressure sensor and generating control data for the surgical instrument based upon the ball movement sensor when the heel pressure sensor is activated, and detecting activation of the ball pressure sensor and generating control data for the surgical instrument based upon the heel movement sensor when the ball pressure sensor is activated. The steps may further include communicating the control data to the surgical instrument via a communications link.

The present description is made with reference to various example embodiments. However, many different embodiments may be used, and thus, the description should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. Like numbers refer to like elements or steps throughout.

Referring initially to <FIG>, a wearable foot controller or device <NUM> for controlling a medical instrument <NUM>, such as a microscope for surgical eye procedures (e.g., laser eye surgeries, etc.), is first described. The wearable foot controller <NUM> illustratively includes a body <NUM> configured to be worn on a foot of a user and including a heel portion <NUM> and a ball portion <NUM> on an opposite end of the body <NUM> from the heel portion. A heel pressure sensor <NUM> is coupled to the heel portion <NUM> of the body <NUM>, a ball pressure sensor <NUM> is coupled to the ball portion <NUM> of the body, a heel movement sensor <NUM> is coupled to the heel portion of the body, and a ball movement sensor <NUM> is coupled to the ball portion of the body. The wearable foot controller <NUM> further illustratively includes a processor <NUM> coupled to the body <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may be implemented using suitable hardware (e.g., microprocessor, etc.) and non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-implemented instructions for causing the hardware to perform the various operations discussed herein. The sensors <NUM>-<NUM> and processor <NUM> may be wholly or partially embedded within the body <NUM> or attached to a surface thereof in different embodiments.

More particularly, the processor <NUM> is configured to detect activation of the heel pressure sensor <NUM> and generate control data for the surgical instrument <NUM> based upon the ball movement sensor <NUM> when the heel pressure sensor is activated. Furthermore, the processor <NUM> also detects activation of the ball pressure sensor <NUM> and generates control data for the surgical instrument <NUM> based upon the heel movement sensor <NUM> when the ball pressure sensor is activated. Furthermore, the processor <NUM> is also configured to communicate the control data to the surgical instrument <NUM> via a communications link <NUM>. In an example implementation, the communications link may be wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, ultrawide band (UWB), Bluetooth®, etc.), although a wired connection to the surgical instrument <NUM> may be used in some embodiments.

In this regard, the processor <NUM> may further include (or have associated therewith) a transmitter or transceiver (e.g., Wi-Fi, UWB, Bluetooth®, etc.) to communicate measurements from one or more of the sensors <NUM>-<NUM> to the controller for the surgical instrument <NUM>. Based upon this output, a controller at the surgical instrument <NUM> may control various operating parameters or functions. That is, the control data sent by the processor <NUM> may take the form of measurements, which the surgical instrument <NUM> controller interprets as different commands for functions to be performed by the surgical instrument. In other embodiments, the processor <NUM> may interpret the measurements from the sensors and supply the associated commands to the controller of the surgical instrument <NUM>. In the case of a surgical microscope, these functions may include both the movement and the focus of the microscope, pan, tilt, zoom, illumination and in some cases image (video) recording using the microscope. For wireless implementations, a battery(ies) may also be carried by the body <NUM> for powering the processor <NUM> and sensor <NUM>-<NUM>, and for wired implementations power may be supplied by batteries and/or the wired connection to the surgical instrument <NUM>. Other example surgical instruments which may be controlled by the wearable foot controller <NUM> include phacoemulsification devices, cautery devices, vitrectomy devices, and indirect laser ophthalmoscopy (these devices are handheld and used by the surgeon, but each has a foot controller for utilization of these technologies). Being able to further adjust their settings and augment their power configurations with a foot controller (rather than requiring a human technician to press the buttons) may be advantageous in various implementations.

Referring additionally to <FIG>, in an example implementation the body <NUM> takes the form factor of a crampon with a heel strap <NUM> to fit over a shoe <NUM>. In other embodiments, the body <NUM> may take the form of a sleeve/sock that fits on the user's foot, or it may have a form factor that resembles a sandal that can similarly fit on the foot or over the user's shoe. In other words, the body <NUM> may generally take the form of a relatively lightweight surgical foot controller that may be attached to or worn on the user's foot or over a shoe.

By way of example, the movement or motion sensors <NUM>, <NUM> may include one or more of accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc., and the pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM> may take the form of pressure sensitive switches/touch pads. For example, touch pad pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM> may be located on the bottom of the body <NUM> (see <FIG> and <FIG>) to detect when a portion of the body is pressed against the floor. In the illustrated example where respective movement sensors <NUM>, <NUM> and touch pad pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM> are associated with the heel and the ball/toe of the user's foot, detection of whether the user has the heel and/or ball of his or her foot on the ground, and whether the heel and/or ball is being moved, can be determined to provide enhanced control capabilities, as will be discussed further below.

By way of example, the following is a list of how foot movements detected by the motion sensors <NUM>, <NUM> and touch pad pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM> may correlate with corresponding adjustments of a microscope:.

In some embodiments, activation of the pressure sensor <NUM> at the ball of the foot may activate the corresponding sensor(s) <NUM> (e.g., accelerometer/gyroscopes) on the heel and suppresses (or deactivates) the sensor(s) <NUM> at the toe, and vice-versa. That is, to avoid potential interference or contradictory input from the heel and toe sensors, the processor <NUM> may utilize input from one of the touch/pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM> as a trigger to block or ignore input from sensors <NUM>, <NUM> on the same end of the wearable foot controller <NUM>.

In some example implementations, such as in training institutions, a plurality of wearable foot controllers <NUM> may be used with the surgical instrument <NUM>. For example, an "attending physician" wearable foot controller <NUM> may be used, in addition to a wearable foot controller for residents, for training of the residents. In this way, a supervisor may take over control of the surgical instrument <NUM> (e.g., microscope) during a training session, such as to reorient the trainee's microscope if the trainee gets into trouble. For such an application, the system would allow one of the wearable foot controllers <NUM> to be designated as the trainee device, and the other as the instructor device such that it is given priority over the trainee device when it provides input to the microscope. Both wearable foot controllers <NUM> would include their own respective sensors <NUM>-<NUM> and processor <NUM>, as discussed further above, and a controller at the microscope will interface with both and assign priority to the movements from the instructor wearable when appropriate. In some embodiments, the surgical instrument <NUM> controller may be integrated in the surgical instrument, and in other embodiments it may be a separate controller that connects to an input(s) of the surgical instrument and is configured to interface with the wearable foot controller <NUM>, as noted above.

In accordance with another example aspect, a foot gesture may be used to change the wearable foot controller <NUM> from a quiescent state (in which foot movements do not result in surgical instrument <NUM> responses) to an active state (in which foot movements cause corresponding surgical instrument responses). For example, the foot gesture may be to briefly lift one's foot and place it back down. Once activated, the wearable foot controller <NUM> may remain in an active state until the same gesture is repeated or a separate gesture is performed, returning it to the quiescent state. This would enable the user to choose when the surgical instrument <NUM> would respond to foot movements and when it would not.

Use of the above-described wearable foot controller <NUM> to control operation of the surgical instrument <NUM> may provide several benefits. For example, these may include:.

Method aspects associated with controlling the surgical instrument <NUM> using the wearable foot controller <NUM> are now further described with reference to the flow diagrams <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> of <FIG>, respectively. Beginning at Block <NUM>, the processor <NUM> receives input from the heel and ball pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM> (Block <NUM>). Upon detection of activation of the heel pressure sensor <NUM> (Block <NUM>), the processor <NUM> generates control data for the surgical instrument <NUM> based upon the ball movement sensor <NUM>, at Block <NUM>. For example, left/right movement detected by the ball movement sensor <NUM> may result in pan left/right control commands being sent to the surgical instrument <NUM> (or left/right measurements in embodiments where the surgical instrument <NUM> interprets the measurements and generates the pan commands). Similarly, when the processor <NUM> detects activation of the ball pressure sensor <NUM> (Block <NUM>), it generates control data for the surgical instrument <NUM> based upon the heel movement sensor <NUM>, at Block <NUM>. For example, left/right movement detected by the heel movement sensor <NUM> may result in "focus out" and "focus in" control commands being sent to the surgical instrument <NUM> (or left/right measurements in embodiments where the surgical instrument <NUM> interprets the measurements and generates the focus commands). The processor <NUM> communicates the control data signals to the surgical instrument <NUM> via the communications link <NUM>, as noted above, which may be done in real or near-real time, at Block <NUM>. The method of <FIG> illustratively concludes at Block <NUM>.

In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the processor <NUM> may further activate the ball movement sensor <NUM> responsive to activation of the heel pressure sensor <NUM> (Block <NUM>), and activate the heel movement sensor <NUM> responsive to activation of the ball pressure sensor <NUM> (Block <NUM>). This feature may be helpful for battery power savings, for example. Similarly, the heel and ball movement sensors <NUM>, <NUM> may instead be activated responsive to deactivation of the heel and ball pressure sensors <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively (Blocks <NUM> and <NUM> of <FIG>), which again may be beneficial for battery power savings, for example.

Furthermore, the processor <NUM> may be operable in a learning mode to associate one or more movements detected from the heel and/or ball movement sensors with a given control command, at Blocks <NUM>-<NUM>. This may allow the user to define "macros" to perform a series of steps with less movements or at the same time, such as to zoom in a focus the microscope together. In some configurations, the processor <NUM> may be further configured to change a weight associated with the control data based upon an adjustable sensitivity ratio, at Blocks <NUM>-<NUM>. More particularly, this may allow the user to adjust the granularity or sensitivity of movement he or she wishes to use to generate function commands for the surgical instrument <NUM> to personalize the user experience.

Claim 1:
A wearable foot controller (<NUM>) for a surgical instrument (<NUM>) comprising:
a body (<NUM>) configured to be worn on a foot (<NUM>) and including a heel portion (<NUM>) and a ball portion (<NUM>) on an opposite end of the body from the heel portion;
a heel pressure sensor (<NUM>) coupled to the heel portion of the body;
a ball pressure sensor (<NUM>) coupled to the ball portion of the body;
a heel movement sensor (<NUM>) coupled to the heel portion of the body;
a ball movement sensor (<NUM>) coupled to the ball portion of the body; and
a processor (<NUM>) coupled to the body and configured to
detect activation of the heel pressure sensor and generate control data for the surgical instrument based upon the ball movement sensor when the heel pressure sensor is activated,
detect activation of the ball pressure sensor and generate control data for the surgical instrument based upon the heel movement sensor when the ball pressure sensor is activated, and
communicate the control data to the surgical instrument via a communications link (<NUM>).