Surgical robotic arm with proximity skin sensing
A robotized computer-assisted surgery system may include a processing unit and a non-transitory computer-readable memory communicatively coupled to the processing unit and comprising computer-readable program instructions executable by the processing unit for obtaining readings from some capacitive sensors representative of at least one object within range; generating a surface model of the at least one object from the readings; and continuously tracking and outputting the position and orientation of the at least one object relative to the robot arm, using the readings and the surface model.
1 . A robotized computer-assisted surgery system, comprising:
a robot arm;
an in-robot sensor system in the robot arm, the in-robot robot system having a plurality of capacitive sensors;
a processing unit; and
a non-transitory computer-readable memory communicatively coupled to the processing unit and comprising computer-readable program instructions executable by the processing unit for:
obtaining readings from at least some of the plurality of capacitive sensors representative of at least one object within range;
generating a surface model of the at least one object from the readings; and
continuously tracking and outputting the position and orientation of the at least one object relative to the robot arm, using the readings and the surface model.
2 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for controlling movements of the robot arm as a function of a position and orientation of the surface model of the at least one object.
3 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the surgery system is configured to perform the continuously tracking and outputting the position and orientation solely with the in-robot sensor system.
4 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the surgery system includes a tracker device for optically tracking the at least one object and the robot arm, the surgery system is configured to perform the continuously tracking and outputting the position and orientation with the in-robot sensor system and with readings from the tracker device.
5 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of capacitive sensors are concealed within the robot arm.
6 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one object is at least one anatomical part of a patient.
7 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the surgery system is configured to block movement of the robot arm to avoid contact with the at least one object, using the tracking of the at least one object.
8 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 1 , wherein the surgery system is configured to output an image of the surface model of the at least one object.
9 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 8 , wherein the surgery system is configured to output an image of a tool supported by the robot arm relative to the image of the surface model of the at least one object.
10 . A robotized computer-assisted surgery system, comprising:
a robot arm;
an in-robot sensor system in the robot arm, the in-robot robot system having a plurality of capacitive sensors, the plurality of capacitive sensors are concealed within the robot arm;
a processing unit; and
a non-transitory computer-readable memory communicatively coupled to the processing unit and comprising computer-readable program instructions executable by the processing unit for:
obtaining readings from at least some of the capacitive sensors representative of at least one object within range of the capacitive sensors;
processing the readings to determine a location of the at least one object relative to the robot arm; and
triggering a user interaction with the robotized computer-assisted surgery system when the at least one object is at a given location relative to the robot arm.
11 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 10 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for triggering the user interaction by activating a collaborative mode, in which the robot arm is configured to move based on movements of the user as detected by some of the plurality of capacitive sensors.
12 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 10 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for triggering the user interaction as a movement of a mouse on a pad by the at least one object moving relative to a given zone of the robot arm.
13 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one object is a user's hand.
14 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 10 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for triggering the user interaction with the robotized computer-assisted surgery system when the at least one object is within a proximity distance of part of the robot arm.
15 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 14 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for triggering the user interaction when the at least one object is within a proximity distance to a passive visual indicator on the robot arm.
16 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 15 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for triggering the user interaction when the at least one object touches the passive visual indicator on the robot arm.
17 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 15 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for associating a type of interaction associated with the passive virtual indicator.
18 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 15 , including at least two of the passive visual indicator.
19 . The robotized computer-assisted surgery system according to claim 18 , wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the processing unit for triggering the user interaction of a first type when the at least one object is within a proximity distance to a first of the at least two passive visual indicators, and for triggering the user interaction of a second type when the at least one object is within a proximity distance to a second of the at least two passive visual indicators.