JP2001276091A - Medical manipulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical manipulator which is improved in operability by adding multiple degrees of freedom to forceps to enhance their function. SOLUTION: This medical manipulator has a moving section having >=2 degrees of freedom at the front end 10 of the forceps and a rear end 5 of the forceps has its control section. The control section has the first control section 60 for positioning and the second control section 70 for positioning the front end of the forceps. Since the positioning control and the control to determine the posture of the front end are carried out by the separate control, the influence of the interference by each other's control is small and the fine control is made easy. The medical manipulator having high reliability and safety can be provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a medical manipulator, and more particularly to a medical manipulator provided with surgical forceps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in laparoscopic surgery such as gallbladder removal surgery, small holes 151, 152 and 153 are made in the abdomen of a patient 150 at several places as shown in FIG. The endoscope 161, forceps 171, 172, and the like are inserted into those holes, and an operator (usually a surgeon) 160 performs an operation while viewing the image of the endoscope 161 on the monitor 162.

[0003] Since such an operation does not require laparotomy, the burden on the patient is small, the number of days required for postoperative recovery and discharge to the hospital is greatly reduced, and this is a surgical method that is expected to expand its field of application in the future.

[0004]

However, the conventional laparoscopic surgery as described above is an excellent surgical method with a small burden on the patient 150, but the surgeon 160 cannot actually see the surgical site. Since the forceps 171 and 172 are provided only with grips that normally open and close, the posture (direction) of the grips other than the opening / closing operation of the grips cannot be changed, and the operability may be deteriorated. .

[0005] Due to such factors, there are problems that the number of operators who can perform appropriate treatment by the above-mentioned operation method is limited, and that it takes time to become skilled.

[0006] In order to solve such problems, some applications of remote control robot technology such as a master-slave manipulator have been studied. However, these are robot systems in which a master arm operated by an operator and a slave arm performing surgery are completely separated, and a command value of the master arm is transmitted to the slave arm as an electric signal.

Therefore, the master and the slave usually have more than six degrees of freedom in the number of joints and the structure is complicated.
There is a possibility that the reliability may be reduced because the system becomes a complicated system with an increased number of wirings and control systems.

[0008] Further, the apparatus itself becomes large-scale, and the purchase cost and the maintenance cost also increase.

[0009] Furthermore, since the surgeon operates from a remote place, there is a possibility that a problem may occur that the patient cannot be treated immediately in case of emergency such as bleeding.

In view of the above, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a structure in which the working unit has at least two degrees of freedom and has a plurality of degrees of freedom, and the position and orientation of the working unit are operated by the operating unit. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a medical manipulator with improved operability of a working unit.

[0011]

A medical manipulator of the present invention for attaining the above object has at least two degrees of freedom and has a working part which comes into contact with a work object, and the working part is provided at one end. And an operation unit having, at the other end, a first operation unit that positions the work unit with respect to the work object and a second operation unit that determines the attitude of the work unit.

According to the present invention, the working section has a structure having at least two degrees of freedom, so that operability can be improved and high performance can be achieved. The required degree of freedom is greatly reduced and the mechanism is simplified, thereby improving reliability and reducing costs. In an emergency, the surgeon is present near the patient, so that the patient can be quickly treated and a highly safe operation can be realized. In addition, the operation that could only be performed by a skilled physician can be easily and safely performed.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medical manipulator according to the present invention.

FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic structural views showing a medical manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The medical manipulator of the present invention is assumed to be a forceps.

In the medical manipulator, a forceps tip 10 which is a working part has a first rotary joint 20 rotatable in the direction of an arrow and an arrow having a phase shifted by 90 degrees relative to the first rotary joint 20. A second rotating joint 30 rotatable in the direction and a grip opening / closing section 40 capable of gripping and opening / closing the work object, and a forceps rear end 50 provided with a first grippable portion for the operator to hold. Joystick 70, which is a second operating unit for operating the operating rod 60 and two rotating joints,
, And a lever 80 for opening and closing. In addition, medical manipulators
A cord (not shown) connected to a control unit or a power supply for controlling the operation of the medical manipulator is provided.

The operation of the first embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

The joystick 70 is provided with an angle detector such as a potentiometer, and detects up, down, left, and right movements. The detected angle is electrically transmitted to a control device (not shown). Similarly, a lever for operating the opening / closing unit has a displacement detector. The two rotating joints and the opening / closing portion at the tip of the forceps are driven by drive signals from the control device via wires, pulleys, gears, and the like by motors 90, 91, and 92 installed on the rear end side.

The operator grasps the operation rod 60, puts the thumb on the joystick (flat portion), and moves the thumb up, down, left and right, and reads the operation amount with an angle detector. The two rotating joints are driven according to the operation amounts. Similarly, the position of the lever 80 is detected to control the opening / closing amount of the forceps tip 10. Other operations are the same as those of the conventional forceps.

Accordingly, the direction of the forceps tip can be freely changed only by the operation of the fingertip, and more delicate surgical operations such as suturing operation can be easily performed, because the two rotary joints are provided at the distal end. it can. Further, the operation of positioning the forceps is performed by grasping and moving the operation rod 60, and the posture of the distal end portion is performed by the operation of the thumb, so that the operation of the operator becomes easy.

The actuator may be a shape memory alloy, an electrostatic actuator or the like in addition to the electromagnetic force motor.
Also, by providing an actuator on the operation side, it is possible to return the force of the tip to the operator. For example, the force applied to the grip is detected by a force sensor such as a strain gauge,
By generating a force corresponding to the detected force on the finger with the lever on the operation side, the operator can feel the holding force. The same applies to the two rotating joints 20 and 30. Further, the opening and closing operation of the forceps distal end portion 10 may be performed by providing a switch that functions by pressing the joystick 70 from above without using a lever.
For example, if the joystick 70 is pressed once, the forceps tip 1
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which 0 is closed and opened by pressing again.

Further, the joystick 70 detects a force acting in a direction in which the operator wants to move by using a force sensor capable of detecting a force in a multi-axial direction, not a displacement amount such as translation or tilt. The forceps tip 10 can also be moved in the direction.

The operating rod 60 may be mounted in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 1, may be mounted in the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. May be attached. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, a rotation shaft 100 is provided between the rear end portion 50 of the forceps and the operation rod 60, and the operator can set the rotation shaft 100 to an arbitrary angle. The operability is improved by using the operation contents and an angle that is easy for the operator to use.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4A, a switch 200 may be used in place of the joystick 70. For example, there are four button switches of left 210, right 220, upper 230, and lower 240. It is also possible to perform an operation such that the tip of the forceps moves only during the operation. Alternatively, the dials 250 and 260 may be used as shown in FIG. 4B, or a trackball 270 used in a mouse of a personal computer may be attached and operated as shown in FIG. 4C.

In the first embodiment as described above,
The operability of the working unit can be improved by configuring the working unit to have at least two or more degrees of freedom and operating the position and orientation of the working unit with the operating unit.

When operating the working unit, the joystick 70 and the lever 80 are used, so that the operator can change the position or posture without releasing the forceps, and rotate or bend the operator's wrist. Since it is possible to change the position or the posture without performing the operation, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the relative displacement between the working unit and the affected part on which the working unit works.

Next, a medical manipulator according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation unit according to the second embodiment.

The operation unit is an operation rod 300 as a first operation unit.
And a knob 310 serving as a second operation unit. When the operation stick 300 is gripped, the finger is applied to the knob 310, and the knob 310 is supported by two orthogonal rotation shafts 320 and 330. The roll shaft 3 at the tip of the forceps with the knob 310
20, the operation of the yaw axis 330 is possible, and the posture operation of the tip is performed by an operation unit different from the positioning operation performed by moving the operation rod 300, so that a fine operation can be realized. Here, the order of the joints supporting the knobs does not matter.

FIG. 6 (a) shows the joint arrangement of FIG. 5, which is connected to the knob 310 in the order of the yaw axis 330a and the roll axis 320a. FIG. 6B shows the joint arrangement in the reverse order, which is connected to the knob 310 in the order of the roll axis 320b and the yaw axis 330b. Both the center of the knob 340
Is a manipulator longitudinal direction 350, a roll axis 320,
This is the point where the yaw axes 330 intersect.

When the roll axis is operated by the knob 310, the angle is detected, the motor is driven via the control unit, and the tip operates at an angle corresponding to the angle. Similarly, when the yaw axis is operated, the yaw axis at the tip moves by a corresponding angle. The joint at the distal end does not necessarily have to correspond to the same joint as the operation unit, and can be freely adjusted so as to improve operability through coordinate transformation.

A push switch 3 is provided on the knob 310.
The forceps gripper is closed when pressed, and the gripper is opened when pressed again. Alternatively, a member into which a finger can be inserted is provided, and by inserting the finger into this portion and opening and closing the finger, the opening / closing amount can be detected, and the grip portion can be opened / closed corresponding to the opening / closing amount.

In the second embodiment as described above,
The operability of the working unit can be improved by configuring the working unit to have at least two or more degrees of freedom and operating the position and orientation of the working unit with the operating unit.

By attaching an actuator such as a motor to the joint, the reaction force at the time of operation can be returned to the operator as in the first embodiment, and the operability can be further improved.

In addition, since the operation of the position and the posture of the working unit can be performed by separate operating units, the position operating unit and the posture operating unit are conventionally the same. Is slightly influenced by the influence of the movement, and it is difficult to perform fine work of the distal end portion. However, according to the present embodiment, the operation can be easily performed.

Next, a medical manipulator according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation unit according to the third embodiment.

A wrist (or arm) of the operator is fixed to a rear end portion 400 of the forceps 400 as a first operating portion by a fixing portion 410 such as a belt.
The joystick 420, which is a second operation unit similarly fixed to the rear end portion 400, is operated with a fingertip.
The whole manipulator is moved by moving the wrist, and the posture of the tip of the forceps can be changed by operating the joystick 410 with a fingertip. Further, in such a method, the length becomes longer in the longitudinal direction, and there is a possibility that the operability is deteriorated. By providing the bending joint 430 and fixing it at an arbitrary position, the longitudinal direction becomes shorter and the operation becomes easier. in this case,
The fixing mechanism 440 may be an electromagnetic brake, or may be mechanically fixed with a screw or a lock mechanism. 400a shows a form in which the joint 430 is rotated.

In the third embodiment as described above,
The operability of the working unit can be improved by configuring the working unit to have at least two or more degrees of freedom and operating the position and orientation of the working unit with the operating unit.

Further, since the operator can naturally perform the position operation by moving the arm without being conscious of the operation of gripping the operation rod, the operator can concentrate on the posture operation of the distal end portion and can easily perform fine work. become.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be implemented in various modifications. For example, the case where the degree of freedom of the forceps tip is two degrees of freedom has been described, but the degree of freedom may be three or more degrees of freedom as needed.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the medical field but also to an apparatus for performing precision work.

Although the forceps are supported by the surgeon, it is also possible to provide a supporting means for supporting the forceps as needed.

[0041]

According to the present invention as described above, by separating the operation sections for the positioning operation and the attitude determination operation, the influence of interference between the operations is reduced, the fine operation is facilitated, and the reliability and safety are improved. A highly reliable medical manipulator can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a medical manipulator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an operation unit of the medical manipulator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing another operation unit of the medical manipulator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a posture operation method of the medical manipulator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an operation unit of a medical manipulator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an operation unit of a medical manipulator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing an operation unit of a medical manipulator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional medical manipulator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Forceps front-end | tip part 20 1st rotation axis 30 2nd rotation axis 40 Opening / closing part 50 Forceps rear end part 60 Operation stick 70 Joystick 80 Lever 90 Motor 100 Rotation axis 200 Switch 210,220,230,240 Push button switch 250, 260 Dial 270 Trackball 300 Operation stick 310 Knob section 320, 320a, 320b Roll axis 330, 330a, 330b Yaw axis 340 Center of knob section 350 Manipulator longitudinal direction 360 Push switch 400 Rear end section 410 Fixing section 420 Joystick 430 Rotating axis 440 Fixing Mechanism 400a Rear end after rotation

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F059 AA10 BA02 BA10 CA02 CA06 DA02 DA05 DA08 DB06 EA05 FA03 FA05 FA10 FB01 FB12 FB29 FC02 FC03 FC04 FC14 4C060 GG21 GG40 MM24

Claims (6)

[Claims] A first working part having at least two degrees of freedom and contacting the work object; and a first work part provided at one end and positioning the work part with respect to the work object at the other end. A medical manipulator comprising: an operation unit having an operation unit and a second operation unit for determining a posture of the working unit. 2. The medical device according to claim 1, wherein the first operation unit is fixed to an arm of an operator who operates the medical manipulator, and the second operation unit is operated by a fingertip of the operator. 2. The medical manipulator according to 1. 3. The operation unit according to claim 1, wherein the first operation unit is an operation rod that can be gripped by an operator operating the medical manipulator, and the second operation unit has a degree of freedom necessary for operating the operation unit. The medical manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the manipulator is a supported knob. 4. The medical manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the second operation section is a joystick capable of operating at least two degrees of freedom. 5. The medical manipulator according to claim 3, wherein the knob is supported around two orthogonal axes. 6. The work part has an end capable of gripping the work object, and the grip part can be freely opened and closed by gripping and operating the knob. The medical manipulator according to claim 3.