Active end effectors for surgical robots
Active end-effectors for guiding an instrument during a robot-assisted surgery. The surgical robot system may include a robot having a robot base, a robot arm coupled to the robot base, and the active end-effector coupled to the robot arm. The active end-effector may have a slide mechanism, which may provide for a greater range of motion of a surgical instrument along a vertical axis.
1 . A method for performing a robotic-assisted surgery, the method comprising:
coupling an active end-effector to a robot arm with a clamp, the active end-effector including a stationary guide rail and a moveable carriage adapted to slidably couple to the guide rail and linearly translatable along the guide rail;
inserting a surgical instrument into an instrument mount coupled to the moveable carriage; and
moving the surgical instrument along a vertical axis due to a sliding movement of the moveable carriage along the guide rail.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the carriage moves via a linear actuator.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising stopping movement of the surgical instrument along the vertical axis with a brake.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the brake acts as a depth stop for the surgical instrument.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the instrument mount includes one or more sensors configured to correspond with one or more markers on the surgical instrument, wherein the one or more sensors (1) checks to see if the surgical instrument is properly attached to the instrument mount; (2) checks to verify the surgical instrument; and (3) allows for release of the brake to allow movement of the carriage.
6 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the instrument mount and the surgical instrument include a security feature.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the security feature is an RFID tag that encodes information about the type of surgical instrument, and when the surgical instrument is inserted into the instrument mount, a proper signal from the RFID allows for release of the brake.
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the security feature is a pair of electrodes with a specific frequency and current, and when the surgical instrument is inserted into the instrument mount, a proper signal from the pair of electrodes allows for release of the brake.
9 . A method for performing a robotic-assisted surgery, the method comprising:
coupling an end-effector to a robot arm, the end-effector including a stationary guide rail and a moveable carriage slidably coupled to the guide rail and linearly translatable along the guide rail;
inserting a surgical instrument into an instrument mount coupled to the moveable carriage; and
moving the surgical instrument along a vertical axis due to a sliding movement of the moveable carriage along the guide rail.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein moving the surgical instrument includes sliding the moveable carriage via a linear actuator.
11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising stopping movement of the surgical instrument along the vertical axis with a brake.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein stopping movement includes stopping surgical instrument movement at a predetermined depth using the brake as a depth stop.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the instrument mount includes one or more sensors configured to correspond with one or more markers on the surgical instrument, wherein the one or more sensors (1) checks to see if the surgical instrument is properly attached to the instrument mount; (2) checks to verify the surgical instrument; and (3) allows for release of the brake to allow movement of the carriage.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the instrument mount and the surgical instrument include a security feature.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the security feature is an RFID tag that encodes information about the type of surgical instrument, and when the surgical instrument is inserted into the instrument mount, a proper signal from the RFID allows for release of the brake.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the security feature is a pair of electrodes with a specific frequency and current, and when the surgical instrument is inserted into the instrument mount, a proper signal from the pair of electrodes allows for release of the brake.