Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.

Other

David W Weir

Kevin Durant

Patrick Flanagan

Melody Wu

Grant Duque

David W Robinson

Gabriel Francis Brisson

John W Zabinski

Matthew Aaron Wixey

William A Burbank

Margaret M Nixon

Pushkar Hingwe

Amir Hossein Chaghajerdi

Donald Frank Wilson, Jr

Andrew D Wilson

David W Bailey

Michael Lee Hanuschik

Paul Millman

Randal P Goldberg

Julie L Berry

Daniel P Saraliev

Melissa D Lippiatt

Paul W Mohr

Nicola Diolaiti

Niels Smaby

Nicholas H Ragosta

Ashley Lynne Wellman

Joseph M Arsanious

Michael Waldo

Emily Cooper

Dimitrios Chatzigeorgiou

Bruce M Schena

Gregory William Dachs, Ii

Thomas R Nixon

Alan Eton Loh

Robert C Reid

Deepak Ramesh Kapoor

Salvatore J Brogna

Henry Hazebrouck

Maggie Nixon

David Robinson

Donald F Wilson Jr

Andrew Wilson

Techniques for reducing blade exposures include a computer-assisted device having one or more processors and a drive system comprising one or more drive units configured to be coupled to a cutting instrument. The one or more processors are configured to: measure, using one or more first sensors, a jaw angle between gripping jaws of the cutting instrument; measure, using one or more second sensors, a roll of a shaft of the cutting instrument; correct the jaw angle based on the roll of the shaft; determine a restriction on a cutting operation to be performed using the instrument based on the corrected jaw angle; and perform or prevent the cutting operation according to the restriction.

System and method for reducing blade exposures

A computer-assisted device include an actuator and one or more processors. The computer-assisted device is configured to support an instrument having an end effector located at a distal end. To perform an operation with the instrument, the one or more processors are configured to operate the end effector according to a state machine having a first state and a second state. In the first state a velocity set point of the actuator is set to a first velocity. In the second state the velocity set point of the actuator is set to a second velocity lower than the first velocity. The state machine transitions from the first state to the second state when a force or torque applied by the actuator is above a first threshold and transitions from the second state to the first state when the force or torque applied by the actuator is below a second threshold.

System and method for variable velocity surgical instrument

A surgical system includes a surgical arm a control system, and a motor assembly. The surgical arm is configured to removably couple an instrument to the surgical system. The surgical arm is adjustable to different configurations to change a position of an instrument coupled to the surgical arm. The motor assembly is separate from the control system and includes a motor, a memory to store calibrated parameters of the motor, and electronics coupled to the memory and the motor. The electronics are configured to retrieve the calibrated parameters of the motor from the memory, provide the calibrated parameters of the motor to the control system, receive an instruction for driving the motor from the control system, and send a control signal to the motor based on the instruction. The instruction is based on the calibrated parameters of the motor.

Motor assembly

Systems and methods for operating an end effector include an end effector for grasping a material, a drive system coupled to the end effector, a user interface, and a processor. The processor is configured to actuate the drive system to clamp the material using the end effector and in response to detecting successful clamping of the material, display a timer on the user interface. The timer provides an indication of when conditions will be safe to proceed with stapling of the material clamped by the end effector.

Systems and methods for operating an end effector

Systems and methods for controlling staple firing include a manipulator, a drive system, and a processor. The manipulator is configured to be releasably coupled to an instrument. The instrument has an end effector comprising a first jaw and a second jaw. The drive system is configured to apply a force or torque to the instrument to cause staple firing to occur using the end effector. The processor is configured to monitor a force or torque applied by the drive system to cause staple firing to occur and in response to determining that the applied force or torque is outside of an acceptable range of force or torque, maintain application of clamping by the first jaw and the second jaw while suspending application of the force or torque that causes the staple firing to occur.

Methods and systems for controlling staple firing

A medical instrument system includes actuators, a medical instrument, and a control system operably connected to the actuators. The medical instrument includes an end portion and transmission systems, each of which couples the end portion to an actuator of the actuators such that the actuators are operable to drive the transmission systems to move the end portion. The control system is configured to execute operations including determining a difference between a current configuration of the end portion and a desired configuration of the end portion, and operating the actuators to apply tensions to the transmission systems based on the difference and based on constant offset tensions. The constant offset tensions are independent of current tensions experienced by the transmission systems.

Tension control in actuation of jointed instruments

In some embodiments, torque compensation in a clamping instrument includes control electronics obtaining an initial torque limit for the clamping instrument, adjusting the initial torque limit based on a temperature of a motor assembly used to operate the clamping instrument, and clamping the clamping instrument according to the adjusted torque limit. The adjusted torque limit corresponds to a maximum torque that may be applied by the clamping instrument to perform the clamping. In some embodiments, torque compensation in a stapling instrument includes control electronics obtaining an initial torque limit for the stapling instrument, adjusting the initial torque limit based on a number of times the stapling instrument has been fired, and firing the stapling instrument according to the adjusted torque limit. The adjusted torque limit corresponds to a maximum torque that may be applied by the stapling instrument to perform the firing.

Torque compensation

A system and method of variable velocity control of an instrument by a computer-assisted device includes a computer-assisted device that includes an actuator and one or more processors. To perform an operation with an instrument coupled to the computer-assisted device, the one or more processors are configured to set a velocity set point of the actuator to an initial velocity, monitor force or torque applied by the actuator to actuate the instrument, when the applied force or torque is above a first force or torque limit, determine whether a total duration of a set of pauses occurring during the operation of the instrument is below a maximum pause threshold, and in response to determining that the total duration is below the maximum pause threshold, pause the operation of the instrument.

System and method for variable velocity instrument

A system and method of force or torque limit compensation includes a surgical instrument for use with a computer-assisted medical device. The surgical instrument includes an end effector located at a distal end of the instrument, a drive unit for operating a degree of freedom of the instrument, a shaft coupled to the drive unit, and one or more drive mechanisms in the shaft for coupling force or torque from the drive unit to the end effector and the articulated wrist. To control the degree of freedom, the instrument is configured to determine a current position of the degree of freedom, determine a force or torque limit compensation based on the current position, alter one or more force or torque limits based on the force or torque limit compensation, and adjust the degree of freedom subject to the one or more force or torque limits.

System and method for force or torque limit compensation

Disclosed are techniques for stapler reload detection and identification. A manipulator is configured to have an instrument mounted thereto. The instrument includes an end effector configured for mounting of a replaceable stapler cartridge and a pusher member configured to articulate a staple pushing shuttle of the stapler cartridge to deploy staples from the stapler cartridge. An actuation mechanism is drivingly coupled with the pusher member. A control unit is configured to control operation of the actuation mechanism to move the pusher member from a first position to a second position, wherein at the second position, the pusher member makes contact with a portion of the staple cartridge or a portion of the end effector; determine a distance of movement of the pusher member from the first position to the second position; and determine, based on the distance of movement, an operational status of the instrument relating to the stapler cartridge.

Stapler reload detection and identification

Systems and methods for operating an end effector include an end effector for grasping a material, a drive system coupled to the end effector, and a processor. The processor is configured to use the drive system to grasp a material using the end effector, determine a grasping separation parameter of the end effector, determine, based on the determined grasping separation parameter, a prediction of success or failure in configuring the end effector for firing a staple through the material, and based on the determined grasping separation parameter, output an indicator of whether it is safe to proceed with stapling of the material grasped by the end effector.

Surgical systems configured to determine whether a surgical cartridge is present and unfired. A surgical system includes a surgical instrument, a drive source, a sensor and a controller. The surgical instrument is configured to receive and support a surgical cartridge. The drive source is drivingly coupled with an actuation output. The sensor is configured to generate a sensor output indicative of movement of the actuation output. The controller controls the drive source to attempt to actuate the actuation output opposite to the firing direction by a predetermined amount. The controller determines that the surgical cartridge is present and unfired when the resulting actuation amount of the actuation output is less than a threshold actuation amount.

Cartridge status and presence detection

Techniques for grasp adjustment include a computer-assisted device comprising a repositionable structure configured to support an end effector and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to receive one or more images of the end effector; determine, based on the one or more images, at least one of a first length between a proximal end of jaws of the end effector and a proximal end of a grasping zone, a second length corresponding to a length of the grasping zone, a third length between a distal end of the grasping zone and the distal end of the at least one jaw; or an angle between the jaws of the end effector; and adjust a force or a torque magnitude limit used to limit actuation of the end effector based on at least one of the first length, the second length, the third length, or the angle.

Systems and methods for grasp adjustment based on grasp properties

A system comprises a surgical instrument comprising an end effector comprising a first jaw member and a second jaw member, the second jaw member comprising or being configured to receive a plurality of staples; and an actuation mechanism operably coupled to the end effector to actuate the end effector to perform at least one of a clamping procedure or a staple firing procedure. The system further comprises a drive system configured to drive the actuation mechanism, a controller operably coupled to the drive system, and a user interface operably coupled to the controller, which is configured to determine the clamping procedure or the staple firing procedure has failed based on a magnitude of an actuation force applied by the drive system to the actuation mechanism; and cause the user interface to output a failure indication indicative of the failure.

Methods and systems for detecting staple cartridge misfire or failure

A system and method of operating a minimally invasive cutting instrument includes a surgical cutting instrument. The surgical cutting instrument includes a drive unit, an end effector located at a distal end of the instrument, and a garage for housing the cutting blade when the cutting blade is not in use. The end effector includes gripping jaws and a cutting blade. To perform a cutting operation, the instrument extends the cutting blade from a first position to a second position, retracts the cutting blade from the second position to a third position between the first and second positions, and further retracts the cutting blade to the first position. While the cutting blade is not in use, the cutting blade is maintained in the first position using a restraining mechanism in the drive unit, force or torque applied by a motor or other active actuator to the drive unit, or both.

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Emerald Hills, CA, United States of America

David W Weir