MEDICAL MICROINSTRUMENTS, INC.

A manufacturing method by wire electro-erosion comprising the following steps of providing a wire electro-erosion machine having a cutting wire; mounting at least one workpiece to the wire electro-erosion machine; making a surface micro-topography by wire electro-erosion; performing a first through cut on the workpiece according to a cutting path comprising peaks and valleys, thus exposing an exposed portion on the workpiece comprising reliefs and recesses corresponding to said peaks and valleys of the first cutting path. A surgical instrument comprises at least one gripping surface comprising a surface micro-topography.

A sterile adapter for a robotic surgery system includes a frame, a proximal coupling device suitable to form a connection with a non-sterile robotic manipulator system, a distal cavity suitable to form a connection with a surgical instrument suitable to perform robotic surgery to a patient anatomy, and a membrane having a proximal non-sterile side and a distal sterile side opposite to the proximal non-sterile side. The membrane is between the proximal coupling device and the distal cavity, and membrane is stretchable to transmit a plurality of pushing actions from the proximal non-sterile side to the distal sterile side. The frame is rigid to transmit a roll action.

A method is for identifying at least one anomaly condition in using a hand-held, mechanically unconstrained master device to control a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation. The method includes detecting, by sensor(s), the position vector of a point belonging to or integral with the master device, or of a virtual point uniquely and rigidly associated with the master device. A detectable anomaly is identified based on the detected position vector, or based on a component of the detected position vector. The detectable anomalies include at least an incorrect positioning of the master device with respect to a predetermined workspace of the master device. Each of such detectable anomalies is associated with a system state change to be performed if the anomaly is detected, in which the state change includes exiting from the teleoperation state. A robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation performs the method.

An unconstrained master controller device for a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation includes at least one wearable portion having a pair of wearable elements for the fingers of a surgeon and a control gripper for controlling at least one degree of freedom of a slave surgical instrument associable with the master controller device. The master controller device includes at least one internal degree of freedom of orientation which allows reorienting at least one wearable element of the pair.

A robotic surgical assembly includes a slave manipulator with an actuator, a pushing device connected to the actuator, a sensor detecting a contact force on the pushing device, a position sensing system, and a control unit. A surgical instrument is detachable to the slave manipulator and separated from the slave manipulator by a sterile barrier. The surgical instrument includes a frame; an articulated link; a tendon associated with the actuator, having proximal and distal portions secured to the link. A transmission device in contact with the tendon proximal portion exerts a traction action. The transmission device has one degree of freedom of motion relative to the frame. The pushing device releasably and selectively connects with the transmission device to transmit a pushing action to the transmission device through the sterile barrier. An elastic device biases the transmission device to exert a traction action on the tendon.

A manufacturing method by wire electro-erosion includes providing a wire electro-erosion machine having a cutting wire; mounting at least one workpiece to the wire electro-erosion machine; and making a surface micro-topography by wire electro-erosion. The method includes performing a first through cut on the workpiece according to a cutting path having peaks and valleys, thus exposing an exposed portion on the workpiece comprising reliefs and recesses corresponding to the peaks and valleys of the first cutting path. A surgical instrument includes at least one gripping surface having a surface micro-topography.

A method controls a slave device of a robotic system for medical or surgical teleoperation. The robotic system includes a master device movable by an operator, a slave device having a surgical instrument controllable by the master device, and a viewer configured to display to the operator images and/or videos of a viewing space associated with a teleoperation area in which the surgical instrument operates. Position of the surgical instrument is determined with respect to the viewing space, to determine whether the surgical instrument is located inside or outside an allowed space correlated to the viewing space. Movement of the slave device is dependent on the determined position of the surgical instrument with respect to the allowed space correlated to the viewing space, and so that movement of the surgical instrument is allowed only if located inside the viewing space. A robotic system is controllable by the control method.

A surgical instrument includes an articulated end having a first support link, a second link articulated with respect to the first support link about a rotation axis, and a transmission cable fixed to the second link. The first support link has at least one first convex ruled surface with straight generator lines all parallel to each other, and a second convex ruled surface with straight generator lines all parallel to each other. The transmission cable is configured to slide on both the at least one first convex ruled surface and the second convex ruled surface of the first support link when the second link rotates with respect to the first support link. The straight generator lines of the at least one first convex ruled surface are orthogonal to the straight generator lines of the second convex ruled surface.

A surgical instrument includes an articulated end having a first support link, and a second link articulated with respect to the support link about a rotation axis, and a transmission cable fixed to the second link. The first support link includes at least a first convex ruled surface with straight generator lines all parallel to each other, and at least a second convex ruled surface with straight generator lines all parallel to each other. The transmission cable is configured to slide on both the at least a first surface and the second surface of the first support link when the second link rotates with respect to the support link. The straight generator lines of the at least a first convex ruled surface are orthogonal to the straight generator lines of the second convex ruled surface.

A method controls a robotic system slave device for medical/surgical teleoperation. The system includes a hand-held master device movable by an operator and controlling a slave device. If a nominal target pose having an orientation in a rotational space of the slave device is outside a slave device working region, and the nominal or modified target pose inside the working region, are inside the departure region, the slave device orientation is converged to the modified target pose. If the nominal and/or modified target poses are outside the departure region, rotational movement of the slave device is blocked until the nominal and modified target poses enter into the reentry region. When the nominal and modified target poses return to the reentry region, the slave device orientation is converged to the modified target pose, through a teleoperation phase, ending when the slave device orientation converges to the modified target pose.