Laser-assisted surgical alignment

1. A robotic surgery system comprising:

a positioning stage; and

at least one manipulator arm mounted to the positioning stage,

wherein the manipulator arm includes a track and a tool carriage moveably mounted to the track, and

wherein the tool carriage includes:

a base,

a pair of light emitting devices mounted to the base, and

a tool holder configured to secure a surgical tool to the base in a fixed and calibrated position together with the pair of light emitting devices.

2. The robotic surgery system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of light emitting devices are a pair of lasers.

3. The robotic surgery system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of light emitting devices are angled relative to the base such that optical axes of the pair of light emitting devices intersect at a remote center of motion of the manipulator arm.

4. The robotic surgery system of claim 3 , wherein the tool holder is mounted to the base, and the pair of light emitting devices are mounted to the base on opposite sides of the tool holder.

5. The robotic surgery system of claim 4 , wherein the tool holder is configured to secure the surgical tool, such that an axis of the surgical tool extends through the remote center of motion.

6. A robotic surgery system comprising:

a positioning stage; and

at least one manipulator arm mounted to the positioning stage,

wherein the manipulator arm includes a track and a tool carriage moveably mounted to the track, and

wherein the tool carriage includes:

a base,

a pair of light emitting devices mounted to the base,

a tool holder mounted to the base, wherein the pair of light emitting devices are mounted to the base on opposite sides of the tool holder, and

a pair of supports mounted to the base,

wherein the pair of light emitting devices are mounted to the base via respective ones of the pair of supports, and

wherein the pair of light emitting devices are angled relative to the base such that optical axes of the pair of light emitting devices intersect at a remote center of motion of the manipulator arm, and

wherein the tool holder is configured to secure the surgical tool, such that an axis of the surgical tool extends through the remote center of motion.

7. The robotic surgery system of claim 6 , wherein each of the pair of supports includes an adjustment mechanism to change emission angles about two different axes.

8. The robotic surgery system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of light emitting devices are a first light emitting device and a second light emitting device, the robotic surgery system further comprises a controller connected to the positioning stage, and the controller is configured to:

(a) receive, as an input, a location of a surgical incision site on a surface;

(b) direct the positioning stage to move such that a first light spot emitted by the first light emitting device is aligned with the surgical incision site on the surface; and

(c) direct the positioning stage to move such that a second light spot emitted by the second light emitting device is aligned with the first light spot on the surface.

9. The robotic surgery system of claim 8 , wherein the controller in (b) is configured to determine an orientation of an optical axis of the first light emitting device such that the first light spot emitted by the first light emitting device is aligned with the surgical incision site, and the controller in (c) is configured to direct the positioning stage to move along the optical axis of the first light emitting device.

10. The robotic surgery system of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to direct the positioning stage to move based on visual feedback from a set of images acquired of the surface.

11. The robotic surgery system of claim 8 , wherein the controller in (c) is configured to determine alignment of the first light spot and the second light spot based on reducing a total area of the first light spot and the second light spot incident on the surface.

12. A laser-assisted alignment method comprising:

(1) providing a robotic manipulator including a first laser and a second laser, wherein an optical axis of the first laser and an optical axis of the second laser intersect at a remote center of motion of the robotic manipulator;

(2) assigning a location of a target site on a surface in a first step;

(3) moving the robotic manipulator in a second step subsequent to the first step such that a first laser spot emitted by the first laser is incident on the target site on the surface that was assigned in the first step; and

(4) moving the robotic manipulator in a third step subsequent to the second step such that a second laser spot emitted by the second laser is incident on the first laser spot on the surface that was emitted in the second step.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the robotic manipulator is configured to constrain motion of a tool mounted to the robotic manipulator such that an axis of the tool extends through the remote center of motion.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein moving the robotic manipulator in (3) includes determining an orientation of the optical axis of the first laser such that the first laser spot emitted by the first laser is incident on the target site, and moving the robotic manipulator in (4) includes moving the robotic manipulator along the optical axis of the first laser.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein moving the robotic manipulator in (4) includes determining alignment of the first laser spot and the second laser spot based on reducing a total area of the first laser spot and the second laser spot incident on the surface.