Surgical system for cutting an anatomical structure according to at least one target plane

1. A surgical system, comprising:

a cutting tool having an attached tracker;

a passive planar mechanism having a first end connected to the cutting tool;

an actuation unit connected to a second end of the planar mechanism, the actuation unit for adjusting a position and orientation of the cutting tool, wherein the actuation unit has a serial architecture and at least three motorized degrees of freedom, wherein the actuation unit has at least two rotational degrees of freedom about respective rotational axes that are substantially orthogonal to each other;

a passive articulated lockable holding arm connected to the actuation unit; and

a control unit configured to:

determine a pose of the cutting tool using data from sensing of the tracker;

determine a cutting plane based on the pose of the cutting tool;

detect whether the cutting plane can be aligned with a target plane for an anatomical structure of a patient; and

if the cutting plane can be aligned with the target plane, control the actuation unit to bring the cutting plane into alignment with the target plane.

2. The surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the actuation unit has three rotational degrees of freedom.

3. The surgical system of claim 1 , further comprising a locking system adapted for locking the planar mechanism once the cutting plane has been aligned with the target plane.

4. The surgical system of claim 1 , further comprising a support unit configured to provide a partial mechanical link between the anatomical structure and the actuation unit and/or the holding arm.

5. The surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to allow actuation of the cutting tool only when the cutting plane is aligned with the target plane.

6. The surgical system of claim 1 , wherein the planar mechanism comprises a plurality of linked segments.

7. The surgical system of claim 6 , wherein the linked segments have parallel rotational axes.

8. The surgical system of claim 7 , wherein the parallel rotational axes are orthogonal to the cutting plane.

9. A surgical system, comprising:

a cutting tool having an attached tracker;

a passive planar mechanism having a first end connected to the cutting tool, wherein the planar mechanism comprises a plurality of linked segments;

an actuation unit connected to a second end of the planar mechanism, the actuation unit for adjusting a position and orientation of the cutting tool, wherein the actuation unit has a serial architecture and at least three motorized degrees of freedom;

a passive articulated lockable holding arm connected to the actuation unit; and

a control unit configured to:

determine a pose of the cutting tool using data from sensing of the tracker;

determine a cutting plane based on the pose of the cutting tool;

detect whether the cutting plane can be aligned with a target plane for an anatomical structure of a patient; and

if the cutting plane can be aligned with the target plane, control the actuation unit to bring the cutting plane into alignment with the target plane.

10. The surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the linked segments have parallel rotational axes.

11. The surgical system of claim 10 , wherein the parallel rotational axes are orthogonal to the cutting plane.

12. The surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the control unit is configured to activate the actuation unit to displace a plane defined by the planar mechanism in a direction orthogonal to said plane as long as the cutting plane is aligned with the target plane.

13. The surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the cutting tool rests on the planar mechanism via an interface.

14. The surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the actuation unit has at least two rotational degrees of freedom about respective rotational axes that are substantially orthogonal to each other.

15. The surgical system of claim 9 , further comprising a locking system adapted for locking the planar mechanism once the cutting plane has been aligned with the target plane.

16. The surgical system of claim 9 , wherein the control unit is configured to allow actuation of the cutting tool only when the cutting plane is aligned with the target plane.

17. The surgical system of claim 16 , wherein the linked segments have parallel rotational axes.

18. A surgical system, comprising:

a cutting tool having an attached tracker;

a passive planar mechanism having a first end connected to the cutting tool;

an actuation unit connected to a second end of the planar mechanism, the actuation unit for adjusting a position and orientation of the cutting tool, wherein the actuation unit has a serial architecture and at least three motorized degrees of freedom;

a passive articulated lockable holding arm connected to the actuation unit; and

a control unit configured to:

determine a pose of the cutting tool using data from sensing of the tracker;

determine a cutting plane based on the pose of the cutting tool;

detect whether the cutting plane can be aligned with a target plane for an anatomical structure of a patient;

if the cutting plane can be aligned with the target plane, control the actuation unit to bring the cutting plane into alignment with the target plane;

compute a theoretical pose of the planar mechanism and a deviation between a plane defined by the pose of the planar mechanism and one or more of the cutting plane or the target plane; and

if said deviation is less than a threshold, allow operation of the cutting tool; and

if said deviation is greater than or equal to said threshold, activate motors of the actuation unit to move the actuation unit.

19. The surgical system of claim 18 , wherein the planar mechanism comprises a plurality of linked segments.

20. The surgical system of claim 19 , wherein the parallel rotational axes are orthogonal to the cutting plane.