System and method for ligament balancing using robotically held device
A method of assessing ligament balance in a joint. The method comprising forcing, by motors of joints of an articulated arm of a robotic device, a ligament balancing device to apply a first force to a first bone of the joint in contact with the ligament balancing device, holding the first bone with the first force while allowing manual manipulation of a second bone of the joint and collecting a force measurement, and determining, by a processor in communication with the robotic device, a force applied to one or more ligaments of the joint based on the force measurement.
1 . A method of assessing ligament balance in a joint, comprising:
applying, by motors of joints of an articulated arm of a robotic device and via a ligament balancing device in contact with to a first bone of the joint, a force that holds the first bone in a fixed position while a second bone of the joint is manually manipulated and a force measurement is collected; and
determining, by a processor in communication with the robotic device, a force applied to one or more ligaments of the joint based on the force measurement.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the force is applied with a predetermined amount of force such that the force measurement varies with a second force applied to the second bone.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising tracking a position of the first bone and a position of the second bone using a tracking system during the manual manipulation of the second bone to determine a gap between the first bone and the second bone of the joint.
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising correlating the force measurement and the gap to determine a tissue characteristic of the one or more ligaments of the joint, wherein the tissue characteristic is a stiffness transition point of the one or more ligaments of the joint.
5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising moving, by the articulated arm of the robotic device, the ligament balancing device to a plurality of different positions in the joint.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of different positions in the joint correspond to displacing different areas of the joint.
7 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising providing an indication to adjust an orientation of a prosthetic component based on the gap to achieve a desired joint balance.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing an indication to perform a ligament release to achieve a desired joint balance.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the force measurement is collected using the motors of the joints of the articulated arm.
10 . A device for ligament balancing, comprising:
an articulated arm having a ligament balancer coupled to a distal end of the articulated arm; and
one or more processors configured to generate control signals for controlling the articulated arm and to receive information from the articulated arm, the one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising:
controlling the articulated arm to move the ligament balancer into a plurality of different positions in the joint, including into contact with a first bone of the joint such that the articulated arm applies a distraction force to the joint;
determining a magnitude of the distraction force based on the information from the articulated arm.
11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of the different positions correspond to measuring forces in different areas of the joint.
12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise tracking a position of the first bone and a position of the second bone determine a gap between the first bone and the second bone of the joint.
13 . The device of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise correlating the magnitude of the distraction force and the gap to determine a tissue characteristic of the one or more ligaments of the joint.
14 . The device of claim 13 , wherein the tissue characteristic is a stiffness transition point of the one or more ligaments of the joint.
15 . The device of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise providing an indication to adjust an orientation of a prosthetic component based on the gap to achieve a desired joint balance.
16 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the information comprises a force measurement collected using motors of joints of the articulated arm.
17 . A robotic surgery system, comprising:
a robotic device comprising an articulated arm;
a surgical tool coupled to a distal end of the articulated arm and comprising:
a stem extending from the distal end of the articular arm; and
a surface extending away from the stem in a same direction that the stem extends from the distal end of the articular arm, the surface configured to contact a bone of a joint;
a controller programmed to:
control the articulated arm to move the surgical tool within the joint to a plurality of positions in the joint; and
obtain, from the robotic device, data indicative of different forces associated with the plurality of positions in the joint.
18 . The robotic surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the surface is a fixed distance from the distal end of the articulated arm.
19 . The robotic surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of positions correspond to displacement of different areas of the joint.
20 . The robotic surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the data indicative of the different forces are measurement collected by joints of the articulated arm.