Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.

Peter M Herzlinger

Dominique Brichard

David D Scott

David C Shafer

Willard Curtis Lomax

William Jason Culman

Jaime G Blackstad

David Q Larkin

Vincent Duindam

Giuseppe Maria Prisco

Govinda Payyavula

Brian Edward Miller

Klaus R Zietlow

Dominique D Brichard

A surgical apparatus includes a housing, a test port retainer, a pressure test chamber, and an image capture assembly. The housing includes a pressure test port. The test port retainer includes a test port retainer housing, a probe seal, and a liquid exclusion barrier. In one aspect, the test port retainer also includes a hydrophobic membrane mounted within the test port retainer housing. The pressure test chamber includes a manifold and a central tube. The first end of the central tube is affixed to the image capture assembly to form a pressure seal, and the second end of the central tube is coupled to the test port retainer so that the pressure test port communicates with the interior volume of the central tube through the test port retainer.

Pressure test port contained within a body of surgical instrument

An endoscopic system for sensing one or more characteristics at an environment of a worksite comprises a shaft comprising a proximal end portion and a distal end portion; an electrically active sensor system comprising a sensor positioned to sense at least one characteristic of an environment in which the distal end portion of the shaft is located; an electrical power transmission line electrically coupled to the sensor and extending along the shaft, the electrical power transmission line configured to transmit power to the sensor; and a floating ground element electrically isolated from an earth ground and operably coupled to the electrically active sensor system. An overall capacitance between the electrical power transmission line and the floating ground element is greater than an overall capacitance between the floating ground element and earth ground.

Low capacitance endoscope system

An endoscope system comprises an endoscope and a display to display image content captured by the endoscope. The endoscope system also comprises one or more sensors located in a headrest and configured to detect an input at the headrest. The endoscope system also comprises a control module configured to receive one or more sensor signals from the one or more sensors. The one or more sensor signals indicate movement of the headrest with respect to a support on which the headrest is mounted or pressure applied to the headrest. The control module is also configured to adjust the image content displayed by the display in response to the one or more sensor signals.

Endoscope control system

An endoscope includes a first subassembly, a second subassembly, a third subassembly, and a fourth subassembly, which are sequentially assembled and tested in making the endoscope. The first subassembly includes a pressure-sealed electrical cable connected to an image capture unit. The second subassembly includes the first subassembly, a shell, a light pipe, and a lid. The third subassembly includes the second subassembly, a central tube, and a flange. The fourth subassembly includes the third subassembly, a base, a shaft, and optionally an articulating assembly.

Endoscope including a plurality of individually testable subassemblies

In one embodiment, a method for a stereo endoscope includes receiving electromagnetic radiation through an inner protective window; focusing the electromagnetic radiation with a left optical component toward a left pixel array of a stereo image sensor along an optical axis of the left optical component parallel with but offset from a center axis of the left pixel array; and focusing the electromagnetic radiation with a right optical component toward a right pixel array of the stereo image sensor along an optical axis of the right optical component parallel with but offset from a center axis of the right pixel array. The left pixel array and the right pixel array are offset from the center optical axis of the stereo endoscope to provide stereo image convergence.

Hermetically sealed stereo endoscope of a minimally invasive surgical system

Vision systems on catheters, cannulas, or similar devices with guiding lumens include receptors distributed in annular areas around respective lumens. Each of the receptors has a field of view covering only a portion of an object environment, and the field of view of each of the receptors overlaps with at least one of the fields of view of the other receptors. A processing system can receive image data from the receptors of the vision systems and combine the image data to construct a visual representation of the object environment.

Processing images from annular receptor arrays

An endoscopic system can include an endoscope shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, and an electrically active sensor system including at least one sensor mounted proximate the distal end and positioned to sense at least one characteristic of an environment in which the distal end is located. The capacitance of the sensor system relative to earth ground maintains current leakage to a level that meets a cardiac float rating.

Low capacitance endoscopic system

Methods for a hermetically sealed endoscope

An endoscope control system comprises one or more sensors located in a headrest and configured to detect an input at the headrest. The one or more sensors include at least one of an array of pressure sensors positioned adjacent to a forehead rest surface, a joystick controller mounted in the headrest, or a slip plate mounted to the headrest. The endoscope control system further comprises an endoscope control module configured to receive one or more sensor signals from the sensors indicating movement of the headrest or pressure applied to the headrest and providing an indication of intended movement of an image provided by an endoscope. The endoscope control system further comprises an endoscope manipulation module configured to receive the indication of intended movement from the endoscope control module and generate one or more actuation signals to activate one or more actuators configured to cause the intended movement of the image.

In one embodiment, a minimally invasive surgical system includes a patient side manipulator, a hermetically sealed endoscopic camera instrument, a vision cart, and a monitor. The patient side manipulator has a robotic arm. The endoscopic camera instrument has a housing at a proximal end to couple to the robotic arm. The endoscopic camera instrument further has a hermetically sealed camera sensor at a distal end, a shaft coupled to the housing, and a wristed joint coupled between the shaft and the camera sensor. The vision cart has a camera control unit coupled in communication with the hermetically sealed camera sensor to capture the images of the surgical site. The monitor is coupled in communication with the camera control unit to display the captured images of the surgical site.

Surgical system with hermetically sealed endoscope

Control of the endoscope in a surgical system is described. In some embodiments, the endoscope can be controlled by movement of the surgeon's head or face at a surgeon's console. In some embodiments, the endoscope can be controlled using sensors integrated with a surgeon's headrest mounted on the surgeon's console.

Growing community of inventors

Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Peter M Herzlinger