Cmr Surgical Limited

Ethicon Endo-surgery, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

Cilag International Gmbh

Dover Europe Sarl

Markem-imaje Industries Limited

Iti Scotland Limited

Phase Focus Limited

Paul Christopher Roberts

Edward John Mottram

Gordon Thomas Deane

Alan Edward Green

David Ian Ruddenklau

Keith Marshall

Luke David Ronald Hares

Graham John Veitch

Gavin Martin Monson

Simon Starkey

Phillip Lakin

Gordon J Leather

Christopher James Roach

Rupert Menzies

Jonathan Michael Gloag

Steven James Randle

Simon Schofield

Edward Tucker

John Hefin Bowen Evans

Gregory A Trees

Thomas Bates Jackson

Ricardo Michael Henderson Da Silva

David John Stocks

Robin Michael Lee

Mark David Tuckwell

Peter Ralph Bonham

Paulo Alexandre Da Torre Pinheiro

Clive Styler

Daniel W Price

Gregory W Johnson

Nikki Priyam Su-Ling Phoolchund

Peter John Kelly

Andrew Maiden

Andrew Murray Scholan

Edward James Wildin Tucker

Mark Wilds

Mark Clifford Slack

Dan Timson

Edward James Mottram

David A Snowdon

Philip Lakin

Alan E Green

Thomas Jackson

Wai Chan

Christopher E Daily

A robot arm comprising: a first link connected to a second link by a joint, the joint permitting the second link to move relative to the first link; a motor for driving the joint; and a controller for controlling the motor. The controller is configured to electrically brake the motor in response to detection of a fault in the robot arm by applying a braking current to the motor so as to maintain the position of the joint against gravity. The controller only performs this electrical braking if the joint is in a configuration in which the robot arm will droop under gravity if the joint is not actively driven.

Fault detection response in a robot arm

A control system for a surgical robotic system, the surgical robotic system comprising a remote surgeon console and an articulated surgical robot arm comprising a series of joints extending from a base to a terminal end for attaching to an articulated surgical instrument. The control system comprises a central controller communicatively coupled to and remotely located from an arm controller of the surgical robot arm, the central controller also communicatively coupled to a surgeon input device of the surgeon console. The central controller is configured to: receive a command from the surgeon input device indicating a desired position of a distal end of the surgical instrument; transform the desired position of the distal end to (i) a desired wrist position of a wrist of the surgical robot arm, and (ii) desired instrument drive joint positions for those joints of the surgical robot arm which drive joints of the articulated surgical instrument; and transmit the desired wrist position and desired instrument drive joint positions to the arm controller.

Controlling movement of a surgical robot arm

An electrosurgical connection unit for a surgical robot arm to connect an electrosurgical instrument attached to the arm to an electrosurgical generator. The electrosurgical connection unit includes an input port connectable to the electrosurgical generator, the input port configured to receive a driving electrosurgical signal and output one or more activation signals; an output port connectable to the electrosurgical instrument, the output port configured to output the driving electrosurgical signal received on the input port; one or more activation switch units, wherein activation of an activation switch unit causes an activation signal to be output from the input port indicating a driving electrosurgical signal with a desired waveform is to be activated; and a control unit configured to selectively activate one of the one or more activation switch units in response to a control signal.

Electrosurgical connection unit

A system for providing assistance to a user of a surgical robot system, the system comprising: a surgical robot system comprising at least one surgical robot having a base, and an arm extending from the base to an attachment for an instrument, the arm comprising a plurality of joints whereby the configuration of the arm can be altered; and an assistance module comprising a list of steps of a task for which procedural assistance can be provided, the assistance module being configured to: receive, while the surgical robot system is being used to perform the task, status data indicating a status of the surgical robot system; determine, from the status data, whether the surgical robot system is in a procedural assistance state, the surgical robot system being in a procedural assistance state when the surgical robot system is being, or, is about to be, used to perform one of the steps of the task for which procedural assistance can be provided; and in response to determining that the surgical robot system is in a procedural assistance state, cause the surgical robot system to provide procedural assistance to the user in performing the step of the task while the surgical robot system is being used to perform the task.

Methods and systems for providing assistance to a user of a surgical robot system

A surgical robotic system comprising: a surgical robot; a user interface console coupled to the surgical robot whereby a user can control motion of the surgical robot; a data logger for logging data from a surgical procedure performed by means of the robot; and a portable user terminal; the system further comprising: a display controllable by one of the data logger and the user terminal, that one of the data logger and the user terminal being configured for displaying a machine-readable code whereby the data logger or a user of the user terminal can be identified; and a camera coupled to the other of the data logger and the user terminal; the said other of the data logger and the user terminal being configured to, on receiving from the camera an image of a machine-readable code, decode that code to identify the data logger or a user of the user terminal and to cause the identified entity to be logged in association with a procedure performed by means of the robot.

Device interoperation

A method for controlling a mechanical system having a plurality of components interlinked by a plurality of driven joints, the method comprising: measuring torques or forces about or at the driven joints and forming a load signal representing the measured torques or forces; receiving a motion demand signal representing a desired state of the system; implementing an impedance control algorithm in dependence on the motion demand signal and the load signal to form a target signal indicating a target configuration for each of the driven joints; measuring the configuration of each of the driven joints and forming a state signal representing the measured configurations; and forming a set of drive signals for the joints by, for each joint, comparing the target configuration of that joint as indicated by the target signal to the measured configuration of that joint as indicated by the state signal.

Robot control

Token-based electrosurgical instrument activation

A circuit for sensing the driving current of a motor, the circuit comprising: a driver configured to generate a driving current for each phase of a multiple-phase motor, the instantaneous sum of all the driving currents being zero; a current sensor for each phase of the multiple-phase motor, each current sensor configured to measure the driving current of that phase and comprising a plurality of current sensor elements arranged with respect to each other such that each current sensor element has the same magnitude of driving current systematic error due to magnetic fields external to the driving current to be measured; and a controller configured to, for each phase of the multiple-phase motor, generate an estimate of the driving current of that phase to be the measured driving current of that phase minus 1/n of the total of the measured driving currents for all phases, n being the number of phases of the multiple-phase motor.

Sensing motor current

A device for sensing the relative rotary position of first and second parts about a rotation axis, the device comprising a follower constrained to move on a first track fast with the first part and on a second track fast with the second part, the first track being linear and the second track comprising a plurality of circular arcs and at least one transition section connecting one of the circular arcs to another, the tracks being arranged so as to convert relative rotation of the parts into linear motion of the follower, wherein the second track is generally spiral, each circular arc is of constant radius about the rotation axis and the first track is perpendicular to the rotation axis.

Rotary encoder

A method of correcting a position reading from a position sensing arrangement. The position sensing arrangement is suitable for sensing the position of a revolute joint of an articulated structure, and comprises a disc having a magnetic ring with magnetic pole pairs and a magnetic sensor assembly comprising a magnetic sensor array for detecting the magnetic pole pairs of the magnetic ring. The method comprises: for each pole pair of the magnetic ring, taking a calibration pole pair position reading with the magnetic sensor array, and generating a pole pair correcting function by comparing the calibration pole pair position reading with a model pole pair position reading; averaging the pole pair correcting functions of the pole pairs of the magnetic ring to generate an average pole pair correcting function for the magnetic ring; taking a position reading with the magnetic sensor array, the position reading comprising a plurality of pole pair position readings; and generating a corrected position reading by deducting the average pole pair correcting function from each pole pair position reading.

Calibrating position sensor readings

Aspects of the disclosure include a torque sensor arrangement configured to attach between a first part and a second part to sense torque therebetween, the torque sensor arrangement comprising an interface member having on its exterior an engagement configuration configured to rotationally engage the first part, a torsion member comprising a deflectable body attached at one end thereof to the interface member and comprising, at the other end of the deflectable body, an engagement configuration configured to fixedly engage the second part, and a deflection sensor attached to the deflectable body, wherein the interface member defines a rigid sleeve extending around the deflectable body and the torque sensor arrangement further comprises a bushing located between and in contact with both the sleeve and the deflectable body.

Torque sensor

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Paul Christopher Roberts