Hooked surgery camera
A hooked surgery camera for use in surgical robotic systems includes a hook coupled to a side or end of a camera body, for attaching the camera to tissue during a surgery. The camera also includes a lens on another end of the camera body, and electronic components inside the camera body. The electronic components include a battery, a digital camera module and a wireless data transmitter. The hooked surgery camera provides a supplementary view of the surgical site, that is from a different perspective than the view provided by an endoscope, during laparoscopic surgeries. Other aspects are also described and claimed.
1. A hooked surgery camera for use as part of a surgical robotic system, the hooked surgery camera comprising:
a camera body extending from a proximal end to a side and then to a distal end;
a hook having one end coupled to the side or to the proximal end of the camera body, and another end to be attached to patient tissue;
a camera lens mounted at the distal end of the camera body;
a digital camera module in the camera body, the digital camera module configured to capture images through the camera lens;
a wireless data transmitter in the camera body and communicatively coupled to the camera module to send the captured images to an external device;
a light source in the camera body to illuminate a scene in a field of view of the camera lens; and
a battery in the camera body to provide power to the transmitter and the digital camera module.
2. The camera of claim 1 further comprising a polycarbonate shell that seals off an outside surface of the camera body.
3. The camera of claim 1 wherein the hook is coupled to the proximal end and not the side of the camera body, and the camera body is configured to be bendable by a user's hand into a bent position and holds the bent position when the user lets go of the camera.
4. The camera of claim 1 wherein the hook is coupled to the proximal end and not the side of the camera body, and the camera body comprises a bending shell, one or more bending disks, and an actuator that can be signaled to pull the bending disk thereby forcing the bending shell into a bent position.
5. The camera of claim 1 , wherein the camera lens has a focal length of 20 mm or smaller for a full frame camera module.
6. The camera of claim 1 wherein the external device is a surgical robotic system surgeon user console display.
7. The camera of claim 1 wherein the camera body and the camera lens form a capsule, the distal end being one end of the capsule and the proximal end being another end.
8. The camera of claim 1 further comprising a string coupled to the camera body or to the hook at one end, and to be clamped to a surgical drape at another end.
9. A hooked surgery camera for use as part of a surgical robotic system, the hooked surgery camera comprising:
a camera body;
a hook having one end coupled to the camera body, and another end to be attached to patient tissue;
a camera lens mounted to the camera body, wherein the camera body and the camera lens form a capsule;
a digital camera module in the camera body, the digital camera module configured to capture images through the camera lens;
a wireless data transmitter in the camera body and communicatively coupled to the camera module to send the captured images to an external device; and
a battery in the camera body to provide power to the wireless data transmitter and the digital camera module.
10. The camera of claim 9 wherein the camera body is configured to be bendable by a user's hand so that an angle between i) an outward directed normal at a location where the hook is joined to the camera body and ii) an imaging axis through the camera lens, can be changed into a bent position, and to hold the bent position when the user lets go of the camera.
11. The camera of claim 9 wherein the camera body comprises a bending shell, one or more bending disks, and an actuator that can be signaled to pull the bending disk thereby forcing the bending shell into a bent position.
12. The camera of claim 9 , wherein the camera lens has a focal length of 20 mm or smaller for a full frame camera module.
13. The camera of claim 9 further comprising a light source in the camera body to illuminate a scene in a field of view of the camera.
14. The camera of claim 9 wherein the external device is a surgical robotic system surgeon user console display on which the captured images are being displayed at the same time as an endoscope view is being displayed.
15. A hooked surgery camera for use as part of a surgical robotic system, the hooked surgery camera comprising:
a camera body;
a hook having one end coupled to the camera body, and another end to be attached to a patient tissue;
a camera lens mounted to the camera body;
a digital camera module in the camera body, configured to capture images through the camera lens;
a wireless data transmitter in the camera body and communicatively coupled to the camera module to send the captured images to an external device;
a battery in the camera body to provide power to the wireless data transmitter and the digital camera module; and
a string coupled to the camera body or to the hook at one end, and to be clamped to a surgical drape at another end.
16. A hooked surgery camera for use as part of a surgical robotic system, the hooked surgery camera comprising:
a camera body;
a hook having one end coupled to the camera body, and another end to be attached to a patient tissue;
a camera lens mounted to the camera body;
a digital camera module in the camera body, configured to capture images through the camera lens;
a wireless data transmitter in the camera body and communicatively coupled to the camera module to send the captured images to an external device;
a battery in the camera body to provide power to the wireless data transmitter and the digital camera module; and
a shell that seals off the camera body and the camera lens.
17. A hooked surgery camera for use as part of a surgical robotic system, the hooked surgery camera comprising:
a camera body;
a hook having one end coupled to the camera body, and another end to be attached to patient tissue;
a camera lens mounted to the camera body, wherein the camera lens is a wide-angle lens;
a digital camera module in the camera body, the digital camera module configured to capture images through the camera lens;
a wireless data transmitter in the camera body and communicatively coupled to the camera module to send the captured images to an external device; and
a battery in the camera body to provide power to the wireless data transmitter and the digital camera module.
18. The camera of claim 17 wherein the wide-angle lens is a fisheye lens.
19. The camera of claim 17 wherein the wide-angle lens has a focal length of 20 millimeters or smaller that produces a full image frame captured by the digital camera module.
20. A hooked surgery camera for use as part of a surgical robotic system, the hooked surgery camera comprising:
a camera body;
a hook having one end coupled to the camera body, and another end to be attached to patient tissue;
a camera lens mounted to the camera body;
a digital camera module in the camera body, the digital camera module configured to capture images through the camera lens;
a wireless data transmitter in the camera body and communicatively coupled to the camera module to send the captured images to an external device; and
a battery in the camera body to provide power to the wireless data transmitter and the digital camera module, wherein the camera body is configured to be inserted into a patient's body through a trocar port.
21. The camera of claim 20 wherein the camera body is to be inserted into the patient's body and is to be maneuvered to show a view of an assistant port.