Control system for controlling a surgical robot

{
  "publication_number": "US12186041B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Control system for controlling a surgical robot",
  "abstract": "A control system for controlling a surgical robot by a surgeon console remote from the surgical robot, the control system being configured to: receive one or more state signal associated with a plurality of instruments, each of the plurality of instruments being attachable to the surgical robot, the one or more state signal indicating a selectability of each of the plurality of instruments for control by the surgeon console, and a control mode of each of the plurality of instruments from a group of modes, the group of modes comprising a manipulation mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is controllable by the surgeon console, and a selection mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is selectable for control by the surgeon console; determine a graphical arrangement of icons for display in dependence on the received one or more state signal, where each icon represents a respective one of the plurality of instruments, and output a display signal to cause the graphical arrangement of icons to be displayed; receive a mode change signal.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A control system configured to control a surgical robot by a surgeon console remote from the surgical robot, the control system being configured to: receive one or more state signal associated with a plurality of instruments, each of the plurality of instruments being coupled to the surgical robot; determine a graphical arrangement of icons for display in dependence on the received one or more state signal, where each icon represents a respective one of the plurality of instruments, and output a display signal to cause the graphical arrangement of icons to be displayed; receive a mode change signal indicating a change of mode to a selection mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is selectable for control by the surgeon console; modify, in response to the received mode change signal, the graphical arrangement of icons to permit identification of selectable instruments of the plurality of instruments; receive a select signal from the surgeon console indicating a selection of one of the selectable instruments; modify, in response to the received select signal, the graphical arrangement of icons to permit identification of the selected instrument; and enable control of the selected instrument by the surgeon console.",
    "2. A control system according to claim 1, in which the one or more state signal indicates a selectability of each of the plurality of instruments for control by the surgeon console.",
    "3. A control system according to claim 2, in which the graphical arrangement of icons comprises: a list region in which an icon representing one of the plurality of instruments is caused to be displayed prior to the change of mode to the selection mode, and a selection region in which an icon representing a selectable instrument of the plurality of instruments is caused to be displayed in the selection mode; the list region and the selection region being at least partially non-overlapping.",
    "4. A control system according to claim 3, in which the graphical arrangement of icons comprises an image region for displaying an image of a surgical site, the image region being provided towards a centre of the graphical arrangement of icons, and in which the selection region is provided so as to at least partially overlap the image region.",
    "5. A control system according to claim 4, in which the list region is at least partially non-overlapping with the image region, and/or in which the list region comprises a new instrument region in which an icon representing a newly-added instrument is caused to be displayed, the new instrument region being provided so as to at least partially overlap the image region.",
    "6. A control system according to claim 4, configured to receive an image signal representative of an image from a surgical site, and to cause the display of the image in the image region, the displayed image comprising an instrument image of an instrument at the surgical site, and the control system being configured to modify the instrument image in response to receiving the mode change signal.",
    "7. A control system according to claim 6, configured to modify the instrument image by at least one of overlaying graphics on the image region, modifying graphics overlaid on the image region, and removing graphics overlaid on the image region, and/or configured to modify the instrument image to correspond to the modification to the graphical arrangement of icons permitting identification of the selectable instruments.",
    "8. A control system according to claim 3, in which the list region is provided one of at and towards a periphery of the graphical arrangement of icons.",
    "9. A control system according to claim 3, configured, in response to receiving the mode change signal, to cause a transition of the icon representing the selectable instrument to the selection region to indicate that the respective instrument is selectable, wherein optionally the control system is configured to cause the transition to be a continuous transition.",
    "10. A control system according to claim 3, configured to receive an input signal from each of a plurality of input devices of the surgeon console, the graphical arrangement of icons comprising a plurality of selection regions with each input device being associated with a respective one of the plurality of selection regions, the control system being configured, in response to receiving the mode change signal, to cause icons representing instruments selectable by each input device to be displayed in the respective selection region for that input device.",
    "11. A control system according to claim 3, in which at least one of the list region, the selection region and the new instrument region comprises a border around at least a portion of its periphery, and the control system is configured to modify the border in response to receiving the mode change signal to permit identification of the change of mode.",
    "12. A control system according to claim 1, in which the one or more state signal indicates a control mode of each of the plurality of instruments from a group of modes, the group of modes comprising: a manipulation mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is controllable by the surgeon console; and the selection mode.",
    "13. A control system according to claim 12, configured, in response to receiving the mode change signal, to change to the selection mode from one of the manipulation mode and a setup mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is set up for operative coupling to the surgeon console.",
    "14. A control system according to claim 1, configured to receive the mode change signal from at least one of the surgeon console and the surgical robot.",
    "15. A control system according to claim 1, in which the modification to the graphical arrangement of icons permitting identification of the selectable instruments comprises one or more of: changing the colour of an icon, changing the size of the icon, changing the background of the icon, changing the icon from a two-dimensional icon to a three-dimensional icon, changing the icon from a three-dimensional icon to a two-dimensional icon, causing the icon to flash, and causing the icon to flash with a modified frequency.",
    "16. A control system according to claim 1, comprising a kinematics controller configured to determine an interface state in dependence on the one or more state signal associated with the plurality of instruments, the interface state comprising data associated with the graphical arrangement of icons for display.",
    "17. A control system according to claim 16, comprising a visual processor configured to receive the interface state from the kinematics controller and to render the graphical arrangement of icons for display, the kinematics controller being operable at a higher frequency than the visual processor.",
    "18. A control system according to claim 1, in which an icon of the graphical arrangement of icons comprises a cluster of icons.",
    "19. A method for controlling a surgical robot by a surgeon console remote from the surgical robot, the method comprising: receiving one or more state signal associated with a plurality of instruments, each of the plurality of instruments being coupled to the surgical robot; determining a graphical arrangement of icons for display in dependence on the received one or more state signal, where each icon represents a respective one of the plurality of instruments, and outputting a display signal to cause the graphical arrangement of icons to be displayed; receiving a mode change signal indicating a change of mode to a selection mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is selectable for control by the surgeon console; modifying, in response to the received mode change signal, the graphical arrangement of icons to permit identification of selectable instruments of the plurality of instruments; receiving a select signal from the surgeon console indicating a selection of one of the selectable instruments; modifying, in response to the received select signal, the graphical arrangement of icons to permit identification of the selected instrument; and enabling control of the selected instrument by the surgeon console.",
    "20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon machine readable code that, when executed at a computer system, causes the computer system to implement a method for controlling a surgical robot by a surgeon console remote from the surgical robot, the method comprising: receiving one or more state signal associated with a plurality of instruments, each of the plurality of instruments being coupled to the surgical robot; determining a graphical arrangement of icons for display in dependence on the received one or more state signal, where each icon represents a respective one of the plurality of instruments, and outputting a display signal to cause the graphical arrangement of icons to be displayed; receiving a mode change signal indicating a change of mode to a selection mode in which an instrument of the plurality of instruments is selectable for control by the surgeon console; modifying, in response to the received mode change signal, the graphical arrangement of icons to permit identification of selectable instruments of the plurality of instruments; receiving a select signal from the surgeon console indicating a selection of one of the selectable instruments; modifying, in response to the received select signal, the graphical arrangement of icons to permit identification of the selected instrument; and enabling control of the selected instrument by the surgeon console."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This invention relates to control systems for controlling robots, such as surgical robots.\n\nRobots are commonly used for a range of industrial tasks, and also for performing surgery. Robots can operate purely under programmatic control or they can be configured to respond to inputs in real time from a user interface. In the most complex and critical tasks, such as surgery, it is normal for a robot to operate under real-time command of an operator. To achieve this, the operator is presented with a suitable input device. This is typically a physical mechanism that can be moved by the operator in three dimensions. The control system of the robot senses the configuration of the input device. The control system is programmed to cause the robot arm/manipulator to move in response to the sensed configuration of the control mechanism. Additionally, it is normal for the robot to present to the user a visual indication of the state of the robot, to help the operator understand what inputs are required to achieve a certain task. The visual indication may be a video stream captured by a camera on or near the robot arm and presented to the operator on a display screen.\n\nThe robot can include a plurality of arms. Each arm can have an instrument at its distal end which can be operated by the operator to carry out desired tasks.\n\nWhere more than one arm is present, the robot can indicate to the operator which arm is being controlled. For instance, for two arms, the robot can indicate to the operator which arm is being controlled by the operator's left hand (i.e.",
  "cpc": [
    "A61B 34/30",
    "A61B 2017/00199",
    "A61B 2017/00212",
    "A61B 2017/00225",
    "A61B 2034/742",
    "A61B 34/25",
    "A61B 34/35",
    "A61B 34/37",
    "A61B 34/74",
    "B25J 13/04",
    "B25J 9/1689",
    "G05B 19/042",
    "G05B 2219/36076",
    "G05B 2219/45123"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A61B 17/00",
    "A61B 34/00",
    "A61B 34/30",
    "B25J 13/04",
    "B25J 9/16",
    "G05B 19/042"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "CMR Surgical Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Duncan Robinson",
    "Edward James Wildin Tucker",
    "Gordon Thomas Deane",
    "Luke David Ronald Hares",
    "Rachel Marie Garsed",
    "Rebecca Anne Cuthbertson",
    "Ross Hamilton Henrywood"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2022-03-10",
  "publication_date": "2025-01-07",
  "grant_date": "2025-01-07",
  "priority_date": "2017-03-10",
  "application_number": "US-202217654337-A",
  "family_id": "58605391",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
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}