BE1030792B1 - A MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL ROBOT AND SYSTEM USING SYNERGIC TORSION WITH FLEXIBLE AXIAL TRACTION - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a minimally invasive surgical robot and a flexible shaft torsion coordinated control system, comprising a hybrid mechanical arm which is both rigid and flexible. This hybrid mechanical arm comprises flexible and rigid joints. The flexible joints comprise elastic support rods, several dividing disks, the elastic support rods pass through the centers of the dividing disks to the base of the rigid joints. The dividing disks are equidistantly distributed along the axis of the elastic support rods and fixed thereon. Two flexible joints, called flexible joint I and flexible joint II, are installed, with six flexible shafts distributed in a circular manner. Three of these flexible shafts, distributed in a circle, are fixed to the intermediate disk of flexible joint I, while the other three pass through the dividing disks of flexible joints I and II.

Description

DESCRIPTION

A MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL ROBOT AND SYSTEM

USING AXIAL TENSILE SYNERGIC TORSION

FLEXIBLE

TECHNICAL AREA

This invention relates to the field of medical device technology, in particular to a minimally invasive surgical robot and system using flexible axial traction synergistic torsion.

BACKGROUND

The important organs of the neck and head are concentrated and have complex anatomical relationships, which makes the working space for head and neck tumor removal narrow and the operation difficult.

According to reports from international epidemiological institutes, head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world, with more than 500,000 new cases each year. In recent years, the annual incidence rate of head and neck tumors in China is about 15.22 per 100,000 people, accounting for 4.45% of all malignant cancers. Surgical excision is one of the main ways to treat head and neck tumors. However, the precise internal structure of the human head and neck and complex anatomical relationships make traditional open surgery traumatic and affect the aesthetic appearance of patients. Minimally invasive approaches require avoiding surrounding vital organs, and the required surgical skills are high.

To reduce surgical trauma in patients with head and neck tumors and to ease the workload of physicians, using natural pathways such as the oral cavity to transport surgical instruments to the tumor area for tissue resection is an important research direction in head and neck tumor surgery.

Many studies have been conducted on minimally invasive surgical robot systems, mainly in the following areas: (1) design of dexterous structures for surgical instruments, (2) perception of interactive information for surgical operations, (3) control of actuators from the main console.

Many research findings have been beneficial for the development of surgical robot systems using oral access approaches.

However, actuators at the end of these minimally invasive surgical robot systems face challenges in terms of compatibility between flexibility and rigidity in narrow spaces.

During actual surgical operations, the orientation and load dynamics of the mechanical arm tip change, requiring dynamic adjustment capability of the flexibility and stiffness of the mechanical arm.

Therefore, there is still a large space for improving the dimensions and flexibility of surgical robot systems using oral access approaches.

SUMMARY

The objective of the present invention is to provide a minimally invasive surgical robot and system using coordinated flexible axis traction and torsion driving to improve the flexibility and dynamic stiffness adjustment capability of the mechanical arm.

To achieve this objective, the invention relates to a minimally invasive surgical robot and a system using coordinated flexible axis traction and torsion driving, according to the following technical diagram:

A minimally invasive surgical robot using coordinated soft-axis traction and torsion driving comprises a rigid-flexible hybrid mechanical arm. This rigid-flexible hybrid mechanical arm comprises soft joints and rigid joints. The soft joints comprise elastic support rods and multiple split disks.

The elastic support rods pass through the center of several split disks to the base of the rigid joints. The split disks are uniformly distributed along the axis of the elastic support rods and are fixed on these rods. Two flexible joints, namely flexible joint | and flexible joint II, are set up. Six flexible axes are uniformly distributed around the circle and pass through the split disks of flexible joint |. Among them, three uniformly distributed flexible axes are fixed to the center disk, and the other three uniformly distributed flexible axes pass through the split disks of flexible joint |, the center disk, and the split disks of flexible joint II to connect to the connecting block of the base of the rigid joint.

Optionally, the hybrid rigid-flexible mechanical arm is arranged on a linear drive unit.

Optionally, the six flexible axes are connected to a flexible axis drive unit, allowing this unit to adjust the pulling and twisting motion of the six flexible axes.

Optionally, the rigid-flexible hybrid mechanical arm has eight degrees of freedom: a linear motion unit drives the back-and-forth linear motion of the rigid-flexible hybrid mechanical arm, which constitutes one degree of freedom.

The linear motion unit drives the rigid-flexible hybrid manipulator to realize linear reciprocating motion to achieve one degree of freedom; through the tensile motion Tn (n = 1, 2, 3) of the flexible shaft, the flexible joint | realizes two degrees of bending. of freedom on the orthogonal plane;

The two degrees of freedom of bending of the flexible joint II on the orthogonal plane are achieved by the tensile movement Tn (n=4,5,6) of the flexible shaft;

The rigid joint adopts a differential mechanism. The torsional motion of the flexible shaft J4 drives the rotation of the spur gear C+.

Spur gear C1 meshes with spur gear C2. Spur gear

C» and the bevel gear Cs are fixed coaxially. When J4 is input, the gear chain C1-C2 -C3-C4-Cs-C10 will drive the gear C11 to rotate; the torsional motion of the flexible shaft J5 drives the bevel gear Ce to rotate. When Js is input, the gear chain Ce-C7-Cs-Cs will drive the gear cm to rotate.

When J4 and Js etc. When the values are in the same direction, the gear chain C1-C2-C3-C4Cs5-C1 and the gear chain

Cs-C7-Cs-Cs will have equal and opposite driving forces acting on gear C1, causing gear C1 to lock and be unable to rotate on itself. The axis rotates, thus causing the manipulator's front gripper to rotate around the S axis. perform a pitching motion, achieving a certain degree of freedom;

When J4 and Js are equal and reversed, the driving force of gear chain C1-C7C3C4Cs-Cio and gear chain 5 Ce-C7-Cs-Cs will act on gear C11 in the same direction, thereby driving the front end of the manipulator. The gripper rotates to achieve one degree of freedom;

The twisting motion J6 of the flexible shaft will drive the rotating motion J7 of the flexible shaft, and the opening and closing of the gripper at the front end of the manipulator is realized through the nut and screw mechanism, thereby achieving one degree of freedom.

As a preferred method, the pulling motion Tn (n=1,2,3,..6) and the twisting motion Jn (n=4,5,6) of the six flexible axes are adjusted to flexibly control the position and posture of the front end of the minimally invasive surgical manipulator.

Preferably, the rigidity of the flexible joint is adjusted by adjusting the tensile preload of the six flexible shafts.

The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention proposes to utilize the characteristics of the flexible shaft to perform traction and torsion drive at the same time, innovatively develops a multi-degree-of-freedom minimally invasive surgical robot mechanism driven by traction and torsion, and provides new research ideas and solutions on transstenotic tumor removal surgery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In order to more clearly explain the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the drawings which are to be used in the description of the specific implementations or the prior art will be briefly presented below.

Throughout the drawings, similar elements or parts are generally identified by similar reference numbers. In the drawings, elements or parts are not necessarily drawn to actual scale.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the degree of freedom distribution of a minimally invasive surgical robot and a system driven by a flexible shaft tension and torsion cooperative drive according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a structural diagram of a manipulator of a minimally invasive surgical robot and a system driven by a flexible shaft tension and torsion coordination according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following describes embodiments of the present invention through specific examples. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this description. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments. Various details of this description can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that, as long as there is no conflict,

the following embodiments and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other.

In describing the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, plurality means two or more; the terms upper, lower, left, right, inner, outer, front end, rear end, head, tail, etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are intended solely for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than Any indication or implication that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed, and operate in a specific orientation should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, the terms first, second, third, etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In describing the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly and limitedly indicated, the terms connected and connected" are to be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection. connection or an integrated connection. Connection to ground; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be a direct connection or an indirect connection via an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention may be understood on a case-by-case basis.

Specific implementations of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

This excerpt describes an exemplary application of the invention, featuring a minimally invasive surgical robot and system using coordinated flexible axis traction and torsional steering. This minimally invasive surgical robot and system include a hybrid rigid-flexible mechanical arm consisting of flexible parallel links and rigid serial links based on a differential mechanism, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Each mechanical arm has eight degrees of freedom.

Degree of freedom #1 involves the linear back-and-forth motion of the rigid-flexible hybrid mechanical arm, driven by a linear motion unit.

The pose at the end of the mechanical arm is adjusted by the flexible joints | and II, as well as the rigid joint Ill. The flexible joints | and II comprise central elastic support rods and several split disks. The flexible joints | and II are connected by the central disk 4, equipped with 3 flexible axes 3 and 3 flexible axes 6. Three of the flexible axes 3, uniformly distributed around the circle, pass through the split disks 2 to fix to the central disk 4, while the other three flexible axes 6 pass through the split disks 2 of the flexible joint |, then pass through the central disk 4 and finally pass through the split disks 5 of the flexible joint II to the connecting block of the rigid joint III. The tensile movements Tn (n=1,2,3) of the flexible axes 3 can obtain the bending degrees of freedom (2) and (3) of the flexible joint | in an orthogonal plane, while the traction movements Tn (n=4,5,6) of the flexible axes 6 make it possible to obtain the degrees of freedom of flexion (4) and (5) of the flexible joint II in an orthogonal plane.

The three flexible axes of the flexible joint section | are only controlled by the tensile motion to complete the bending of the flexible joint | around the X and Y axes. The three flexible axes of the flexible joint section II are controlled by the tensile motion. By bending around the x and y axes, the twisting of the three flexible axes of the flexible joint section II will transmit power to the gear train of the rigid joint.

J6 controls the opening and closing movement of the clamp. When

J4 and Js are in the same direction and have the same size, the rigid clamps of joint Ill perform a pitching motion. When J4 and Js are opposite and have the same size, the clamps of the rigid joint perform a rotational motion.

The rigid joint adopts a differential mechanism. The torsional motion of the flexible shaft J4 drives the rotation of the spur gear C+.

Spur gear C1 meshes with spur gear C2. Spur gear

C» and the bevel gear Cs are coaxially fixed. When J4 is input, the gear chain C1-C2-C3 -C4-Cs-C10 will drive the drive gear C11 to rotate; the twisting motion of the flexible shaft J5 drives the bevel gear Cs to rotate. When Js is input, the gear chain Cs-C7-Cs-Cg will drive the gear C11 to rotate. When J4 and Js are in the same direction, the gear chain C1-C2-C3 -C4-C5-C10 and the gear chain Cs-C7-Cs-C9 will be equal. and reverse the driving force acting on the gear C1, causing the gear C11 to be stuck and unable to rotate, thereby driving the front end of the manipulator. The gripper rotates around the S axis to perform a pitching motion, which is degree of freedom (6);

When J4 and Js are in opposite directions, the driving force of the gear chain C1-C2-C3 -C4-Cs-C10 and the gear chain

Ce-C7-Cs-Cg will act on gear C11 in the same direction, thus driving the front-end gripper of the manipulator to rotate, i.e. degree of freedom (7);

The twisting motion Js of the flexible shaft will drive the rotating motion J7 of the flexible shaft, and the opening and closing of the gripper at the front end of the manipulator is realized through the nut and screw mechanism, that is, the degree of freedom (8).

By adjusting the tensile motion Tn (n=1,2,3,..6) and torsion motion Jn (N=4,5,6) of the six flexible shafts, the position and posture of the front end of the minimally invasive surgical manipulator can be flexibly controlled. At the same time, the rigidity of the flexible joint can be adjusted by adjusting the tensile preload of the six flexible shafts.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, but not to limit it. Those skilled in the art in the relevant technical fields may also make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions are also within the scope of the present invention, and the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall be limited by the claims.

Claims (6)

1. A minimally invasive surgical robot and a flexible shaft torsion coordinated control system, comprising a hybrid rigid-flexible mechanical arm, characterized by the presence of a robotic hand combining flexible and rigid joints; the flexible joints are composed of elastic support rods and a plurality of dividing disks, the elastic support rods pass through the centers of the dividing disks to the base of the rigid joints, the dividing disks being uniformly spaced along the axis of the elastic support rods and fixed thereon; two flexible joints are provided, designated as flexible joint | and flexible joint II; six flexible shafts are uniformly distributed around the circumference, passing through the dividing disks of the flexible joint |; among them, three flexible shafts distributed in a circle are fixed to the intermediate disk, while the other three, also distributed in a circle, pass through the dividing disks of the flexible joints | and II to connect to a connection block of the base of the rigid joint. 2. The minimally invasive surgical robot and flexible shaft torsion coordinated control system according to claim 1, characterized by positioning the hybrid mechanical arm on a linear drive unit. 3. The minimally invasive surgical robot and the flexible shaft torsion coordinated control system according to claim 2, characterized by connecting six flexible shafts to a flexible shaft drive unit, said unit being capable of adjusting the traction and torsion movement of the six flexible shafts. 4. Minimally invasive surgical robot and flexible axis tension and torsion coordination driven system according to claim 3, characterized in that the rigid-flexible hybrid manipulator has eight degrees of freedom: the linear motion unit drives the rigid-flexible hybrid manipulator to realize linear reciprocating motion to achieve one degree of freedom; through the tensile motion Tn (n = 1, 2, 3) of the flexible shaft, the flexible joint | realizes two degrees of freedom bending on the orthogonal plane; the two degrees of freedom of bending of the flexible joint II on the orthogonal plane are achieved thanks to the traction movement Tn (n=4,5,6) of the flexible shaft; the rigid joint adopts a differential mechanism; the torsional motion of the flexible shaft J4 drives the rotation of the spur gear Ci; the spur gear C4 meshes with the spur gear C2; the spur gear C» and the bevel gear Cs are fixed coaxially; when J4 is input, the gear chain C1-C2 -C3-C4-C5-C10 will drive the gear C11 to rotate; the torsional motion of the flexible shaft J5 drives the bevel gear Ce to rotate; when Js is input, the gear chain Ce- C7-Cs-Cs will drive the gear c11 to rotate; when J4 and Js etc; when the values are in the same direction, the gear chain C1-C2-C3-C4-Cs-C1o and the gear chain Ce-C7-Cg-C9 will have equal and opposite driving forces acting on the gear C11, causing the gear C+ to be stuck and unable to rotate on itself; the axis rotates, thereby causing the front gripper of the manipulator to rotate around the S axis; perform a pitching movement, reaching a certain degree of freedom; when J4 and Js are equal and reversed, the driving force of the gear chain C1-C7C3C4Cs-Cio and the gear chain Cs-C7-Cs-Cs will act on the gear C11 in the same direction, thereby driving the front; end of the manipulator; the gripper rotates to achieve one degree of freedom; the twisting motion J6 of the flexible shaft will drive the rotating motion J7 of the flexible shaft, and the opening and closing of the gripper at the front end of the manipulator is realized through the nut and screw mechanism, thereby achieving one degree of freedom. 5. A minimally invasive surgical robot and system driven by flexible shaft tension and torsion coordination according to claim 4, characterized in that the traction motion Tn (n = 1, 2, 3, ..6) and the torsion motion Jn (n = 4, 5, 6) can flexibly control the position and posture of the front end of the minimally invasive surgical manipulator. 6. A minimally invasive surgical robot and flexible shaft tension-torsion synergy driven system according to claim 5, characterized in that the rigidity of the flexible joints is adjusted by adjusting the tension pre-tightening force of the six flexible shafts.