Robotically Assisted Surgical System and Related Devices and Methods
Disclosed herein are various robotic surgical systems having various robotic devices. Further, disclosed herein are removable coupleable connection ports, each of which can be coupled to a robotic device and a camera assembly that is disposed into and through the robotic device. Also disclosed herein are removable connection ports having at least one of a elongate device body coupling mechanism, a camera assembly coupling mechanism, and/or a presence detection mechanism. Further discussed herein is a camera assembly with at least one actuation mechanism for actuating movement of the steerable distal tip thereof.
1 . A camera assembly for a surgical system, comprising:
(a) an elongate camera shaft;
(b) a camera body coupled to a proximal end of the elongate camera shaft;
(c) a steerable tip at a distal end of the elongate camera shaft;
(d) a first actuation cable and a second actuation cable each operatively coupled between the camera body and the steerable tip;
(e) at least one actuation mechanism disposed within the camera body and configured to selectively change tension in the first and second actuation cables to steer the steerable tip; and
(f) a first force absorption assembly associated with a load path of the first actuation cable and a second force absorption assembly associated with a load path of the second actuation cable, each force absorption assembly comprising:
(i) a member that is linearly movable relative to the camera body; and
(ii) a biasing element urging the member toward a nominal position, such that axial loads applied externally along the respective load path are accommodated by movement of the member against the biasing element and are thereby inhibited from changing tension in the respective actuation cable.
2 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second actuation cables comprises an inner cable and a surrounding cable housing, and wherein the respective force absorption assembly is positioned to receive axial loads transmitted by the cable housing so as to inhibit transfer of those loads to the inner cable.
3 . The camera assembly of claim 2 , wherein each cable housing is operatively coupled to the corresponding linearly movable member, and wherein the inner cable is free to translate within the lumen defined by the linearly movable member.
4 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein each linearly movable member is a slidable body guided for proximal-distal translation within the camera body.
5 . The camera assembly of claim 4 , wherein each slidable body defines a lumen through which the corresponding inner cable is slidably disposed.
6 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein the biasing element of each force absorption assembly comprises a spring configured to move between at least a compressed state and an extended state.
7 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a first tension adjustment mechanism associated with the first force absorption assembly and a second tension adjustment mechanism associated with the second force absorption assembly, each tension adjustment mechanism being operable to adjust baseline tension of the corresponding actuation cable independently of the other.
8 . The camera assembly of claim 6 , wherein each tension adjustment mechanism comprises an adjustable barrel threadably coupled to an adjustment nut to change an effective axial length of the corresponding load path.
9 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuation mechanism is configured to differentially actuate the first and second actuation cables in opposite directions to effect bidirectional steering of the steerable tip.
10 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuation mechanism comprises a motor-driven transmission comprising a lead screw having oppositely handed threads and a first carriage and a second carriage respectively engaged with the opposite-handed threads so that rotation of the lead screw produces substantially equal and opposite linear motion of the first and second carriages.
11 . The camera assembly of claim 10 , wherein the first actuation cable is operatively coupled to the first carriage and the second actuation cable is operatively coupled to the second carriage.
12 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein the steerable tip comprises an imaging sensor and at least one illumination component.
13 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein each force absorption assembly is located proximally of the actuation mechanism along the corresponding load path.
14 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second force absorption assemblies are configured to maintain steerable tip calibration by substantially preventing transient axial loads applied to the camera shaft from altering resting tension in the first and second actuation cables.
15 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuation mechanism is configured to steer the steerable tip in pitch and yaw relative to the elongate camera shaft.
16 . The camera assembly of claim 1 , wherein each force absorption assembly further comprises a bushing fixed relative to the camera body and the linearly movable member is slidably received through the bushing to guide linear motion and react side loads.
17 . A surgical system, comprising:
(a) the camera assembly of claim 1 ; and
(b) a controller in communication with the actuation mechanism and configured to command the actuation mechanism to set tensions in the first and second actuation cables to achieve a desired steering state of the steerable tip.
18 . The surgical system of claim 17 , further comprising a robotic surgical device, wherein the camera body is configured to couple to the robotic surgical device such that the steerable tip extends distally from a distal end of the robotic surgical device.
19 . A method of operating a steerable camera assembly, the method comprising:
providing a camera assembly having an elongate camera shaft, a steerable tip at a distal end of the elongate camera shaft, a first actuation cable and a second actuation cable operatively coupled to the steerable tip, an actuation mechanism within a camera body configured to change tension in the first and second actuation cables, and first and second force absorption assemblies respectively disposed along load paths of the first and second actuation cables;
actuating the actuation mechanism to differentially tension the first and second actuation cables so as to steer the steerable tip; and
accommodating external axial loads applied along at least one of the load paths by permitting linear motion of a linearly movable member of the corresponding force absorption assembly against a biasing element, thereby inhibiting the external axial loads from changing tension in the corresponding actuation cable.
20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising adjusting baseline tension in at least one of the first and second actuation cables using a corresponding tension adjustment mechanism associated with the respective force absorption assembly.