Johns Hopkins University

The University of Texas System

Clearcam Inc.

Farshid Alambeigi

Mehran Armand

Christopher Robert Idelson

Christopher Rylander

Alexander Ross Cohen

Chad R Gordon

Ryan J Murphy

Shahriar Sefati

Reza Seifabadi

Shuya Liu

Alexander Cohen

Yang Liu

A fully steerable flexible curved drilling robot device comprises a first flexible tube including a concentric through hole centered on a longitudinal axis, a second flexible tube including an eccentric through hole, wherein the second flexible tube is positioned in the concentric though hole of the first flexible tube, and configured to move translationally along the longitudinal axis and rotationally about the longitudinal axis, and a drill bit connected via a bearing to a flexible drive shaft, the drill bit positioned at a distal end of the first flexible tube, and wherein the flexible drive shaft extends through the eccentric through hole of the second flexible tube and is configured to provide a rotational torque to the drill bit. A steerable flexible curved drilling robot system and drilling method are also disclosed.

Fully steerable flexible curved-drilling robot device, system and method

Disclosed herein are technological solutions that are configured to limit sub-optimal visualization of the surgical field during robotic and manual laparoscopic surgery. Such technological solutions are configured to systematically assess cleanliness of an imaging element of a laparoscope (or other type of similar imaging apparatus) and take action for enabling or causing the imaging element to be cleaned. In preferred embodiments, assessment of the cleanliness of the imaging element provides information that can be used for enabling or causing cleaning of the imaging element to be performed in-vivo in either a manual, semi-autonomous or autonomous manner. In this manner such technological solutions advantageously enable the surgical field during surgery to be more efficiently and consistently maintained in an optimal condition.

Methods, systems and controllers for facilitating cleaning of an imaging element of an imaging device

A clutch system is provided. The clutch system includes an outer unit having a surface defining an aperture in the outer unit; an inner unit disposed in the aperture, wherein a shape of the inner unit matches a shape of the aperture; a low melting point material disposed in the aperture between the inner unit and the surface of the outer unit; a heating element; a temperature sensor; and a processor in electronic communication with the heating element and the temperature sensor. The processor is configured to control the heating element thereby changing the low melting point material between a soft state and a rigid state.

Clutch system with phase changing materials

A continuum device/manipulator includes a first flexible tube, a low melting point (LMP) alloy disposed within the first flexible tube, and a temperature adjustment element that applies heat or cooling to change a phase of the LMP alloy. Changing the phase of the LMP alloy controls a flexibility of the first flexible tube.

Devices with low melting point alloy for control of device flexibility

An embodiment in accordance with the present invention provides a continuum dexterous manipulator (CDM) with a specially designed flexible tool, to be used as a handheld or robotic steerable device for treatment of hard-tissue-related diseases. The CDM of the present invention works well in treatment of soft and sticky material (similar to a lesion) as well as milling the hard tissues (e.g. sclerotic liner of osteolytic lesions) and bone tumors. The present invention is also directed to flexible drilling tools as well as characterization and evaluation of integrating these tools with the CDM in curved-drilling of hard bone towards treatment of hard tissue related diseases (e.g. osteonecrosis or pelvic fracture). The present invention can also include use of various types of drill geometries, aspiration and irrigation, and endoscope view in curved-drilling and trajectory planning.

Steerable drill for minimally-invasive surgery

Provided is a method for forming an implant with an autonomous manufacturing device. The method includes accessing a first computer-readable reconstruction of a being's anatomy; accessing a second computer-readable reconstruction of an implant; accessing a third computer-readable reconstruction comprising the first computer-readable reconstruction superimposed with the second computer readable reconstruction; generating at least one computer-readable trace from a point cloud; and forming an implant with an autonomous manufacturing device, wherein the autonomous manufacturing device forms the implant into a shape defined by at least one dimension of the computer-readable trace.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Farshid Alambeigi