Robotic system and method for spinal and other surgeries

1. A robotic surgical system for assisting a surgeon in preparing a hole in a spine of a patient and placing a screw in the hole during an operation, the system comprising:

a robot comprising an end-effector for holding a surgical tool for use in drilling the hole and placing the screw in a vertebra of the patient;

a controller for controlling the position of the end-effector, wherein the end-effector can be manually and freely positioned by the surgeon during the operation; and

a measurement system with a computer processor for:

measuring a position of the surgical tool held by the end effector and a position of the vertebra of the patient;

determining a change in the position of the vertebra; and

automatically adjusting the position of the end effector holding the surgical tool based at least in part on a change in the position of the vertebra to maintain a planned screw trajectory such that a spatial relationship between the end effector and the vertebra defined by the planned screw trajectory remains substantially unaltered as the operation is performed, thereby ensuring the surgical tool remains aligned with the planned screw trajectory as a hole in the vertebra is prepared and a screw is placed in the hole,

wherein the computer processor is configured to store a location of the target volume to be removed, wherein a stay-in zone is defined based at least in part on the target volume,

wherein the processor is configured to control a position of the robot such that the surgical tool enters the target volume and remains in the stay-in zone.

2. The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein based on a position of the tool in the target volume, a repulsive/wall-like force is provided to a surgeon manipulating the surgical tool to inform the surgeon of the position of the surgical instrument inside the stay-in zone.

3. The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the surgical instrument is a drill.

4. The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to prevent removal of a portion of the surgical instrument from the target volume thereby keeping the portion of the surgical instrument within the target volume until the surgeon explicitly wants to leave the target volume.

5. The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to store a location of a second volume to protect from removal, wherein the location of the second volume defines a “no-go zone”.

6. The robotic surgical system of claim 5 , wherein the target volume and the second volume are defined preoperatively.

7. The robotic surgical system of claim 6 , wherein the target volume and the second volume are defined intra-operatively.

8. The robotic surgical system of claim 5 , wherein the repulsive/wall-like force prevents the surgeon from moving a position of the surgical tool into the second volume.

9. The robotic surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to adjust the position of the surgical tool based at least in part upon a position of a haptic device controlled by a surgeon.

10. The robotic surgical system of claim 9 , wherein a coupling between the position of the haptic device and the position of the surgical instrument is definable such that a user may make small movements with high precision or large movements with high speed.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robot allows positioning of the surgical tool by the surgeon with at least four degrees of freedom.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the position of the vertebra is a position of a marker placed in spatial relation to the vertebra.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the measurement system is an optical tracking system comprising a camera, an electro-magnetic tracking system, fixed measurement system, or template-based tracking system.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the measurement system comprises a first marker attached to the robotic surgical system and a second marker attached to the patient.

15. The system of claim 1 , comprising a force sensor for measuring forces on the surgical tool.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the force sensor is mounted on the end-effector.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robotic surgical system comprises a display for providing graphical feedback to the surgeon.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the surgical tool is a tube.

19. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a passive structure directly coupled to the robot and rigidly holding the robot in place,

a camera, configured to optically track the robot and the patient, directly coupled to the passive structure.