Patent Application
20110295263
This application is based on and claims Convention priority to Japanese patent applications No. 2009-032882, filed Feb. 16, 2009, and No. 2009-033667, filed Feb. 17, 2009, the entire disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference as a part of this application.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation system for a remote controlled actuator of a kind, which is used in medical and mechanical processing applications and capable of altering the attitude of a machine tool by remote control.
2. Description of Related Art
Remote controlled actuators are currently available; some are used in the medical field for osteo treatment and some are used in the mechanical processing field for drilling and cutting a bone. Any of those remote controlled actuators controls by remote control a machine tool fitted to a distal end of an elongated pipe of a linear or curved configuration. However, since the conventional remote controlled actuator is designed solely to control only the rotation of the machine tool by remote control, difficulties have been encountered in processing of a complicated shape and processing at a site difficult to view with eyes from the outside in the medical field. Also, in the drilling process, the capability of processing not only the linear line, but also the curved configuration is often required. In addition, in the cutting process, the capability is required to perform the process at a site deep in grooves. In the following description, conventional art and problems inherent in the remote controlled actuator will be discussed with reference to the medical field.
In the orthopedic field, the artificial joint replacement is well known, in which a joint, of which bone has been abraded by due to bone deterioration, is replaced with an artificial joint. The joint replacement surgery requires a living bone of a patient to be processed to enable an artificial joint to be implanted. In order to enhance the strength of postoperative adhesion between the living bone and the artificial joint, such processing is required to be performed precisely and accurately in conformity to the shape of the artificial joint.
By way of example, during the hip join replacement surgery, a thigh bone is opened to secure access of an artificial joint into the femoral marrow cavity. In order to secure a strength of contact between the artificial joint and the bone, surfaces of contact of the artificial joint and the bore must be large and so the opening for insertion of the artificial joint is processed to represent an elongated shape extending deep into the bone. As a medical actuator used in cutting the bone in a manner described above, the actuator is known, in which a tool is rotatably provided in a distal end of an elongated pipe and, on the other hand, a drive source such as, for example, a motor is mounted on a proximal end of the pipe so that the tool can be driven through a rotary shaft disposed inside the elongated pipe. (See, for example, the Patent Document 1 listed below.) Since in this type of medical actuator a rotatable element that is exposed bare to the outside is only the tool at the distal end of the elongated pipe, the tool can be inserted deep into the bone.
The surgical operation for artificial joint replacement generally accompanies skin incision and muscular scission. In other words, the human body must be invaded. In order to minimize the postoperative trace, it is quite often desirable that the elongated pipe referred to above is not necessarily straight, but is moderately curved. To meet with this desire, the following technique has hitherto been suggested. For example, the Patent Document 2 listed below discloses the elongated pipe having its intermediate portion curved double to displace an axial position of the distal end of the pipe relative to the longitudinal axis of the proximal end of the same pipe. To make the axial position of the distal end of the pipe relative to the longitudinal axis of the proximal end of the same pipe is also known from other publications. Also, the Patent Document 3 listed below discloses the elongated pipe rotated 180°.
If in a condition, in which the artificial joint is inserted into an artificial joint insertion hole formed in the living bone, a large gap exist between the living bone and the artificial joint, a large length of time is required to accomplish the postoperative adhesion between the living bone and the artificial joint and, therefore, it is considered desirable that the gap should be as small as possible. Also, it is important that respective surfaces of contact between the living bone and the artificial joint be smooth, and accordingly, a high precision is required in processing the artificial joint insertion hole. Whatever the pipe take any shape, the working range of the tool is limited by the shape of the pipe and, therefore, it is difficult to widen the working range of the tool to process the artificial joint insertion hole so that the living bone and the artificial joint may can have smooth contact surfaces and, yet, the gap between the living bone and the artificial joint may be small while skin incision and muscular scission are minimized at the same time.
In general, it is quite often that the patient's bone, where an artificial joint is to be implanted, exhibits a strength lowered as a result of aging and, in a certain case, the bone itself is deformed. Accordingly, the processing of the artificial joint insertion hole is more difficult to achieve than generally considered.
In view of the foregoing, the applicant or assignee of the present invention has attempted to provide a remote control actuator of a type designed to enable the processing of the artificial joint insertion hole to be relatively easily and accurately accomplished. For this purpose the remote controlled actuator of the type referred to above includes an elongated spindle guide section of a pipe-like contour, provided in an actuator main body, and a distal end member provided at a distal end portion of the spindle guide section for rotatably supporting a processing tool in a fashion capable of being altered in attitude so that the distal end member can be altered in attitude by remote control. This is because if the attitude of the tool can be changed, the tool can be maintained at a proper attitude regardless of the shape of the pipe. It is eventually pointed out that although the medical actuator of a type having no elongated pipe such as, for example, the spindle guide section, in which a portion provided with a processing tool is changeable in attitude relative to the grip that is held by hand, is currently available in the medical field (See, for example, the Patent Document 4 listed below), nothing has yet been suggested which has a capability of changing the attitude of the tool by remote control.
Where the artificial joint insertion hole is to be processed in the bone with the use of the remote controlled actuator, it is quite often that the tool cannot be directly viewed with eyes and, therefore, a navigation system is needed in order to grasp the position of the tool. For this type of the navigation system, the following techniques have hitherto been well known in the art.
The Patent Document 5 listed below discloses the navigation system, in which a marker is applied to the bone so that the position of the bone can be measured by the detection of the marker with the use of an optical sensor. Using this technique, when a marker is applied not only to the bone, but also to the body of a remote controlled actuator, which is a stationary portion of such actuator in such case, respective positions of the bone and the actuator main body can be measured.
The Patent Document 6 also listed below discloses the navigation system, in which a marker, which is formed in a specific pattern, not in a dot, is applied to the actuator main body so that both of the position of the marker and the attitude of the actuator main body to which the marker has been applied can be detected by the detection of the pattern of that marker with the use of a marker detecting machine. Once the attitude of the actuator main body is determined, the position of the tool can be estimated from the relative positional relation between the distal end member and the tool and the site of the actuator main body where the marker has been applied. It is, however, to be noted that the relative positional relation between the distal end member and the tool and the site of the actuator main body where the marker has been applied is measured beforehand and is recorded and stored as a positional relational information.
It occurs quite often that the tool is replaced with a different type thereof depending on an object to be processed and/or upon, for example, wear, and, therefore, the positional relational information to be used in estimation of the position of the tool is needed to be updated each time the replacement takes place. As such the Patent Document 6 discloses the use of a switch operatively linked with removal of the tool to provide a piece of information with which the operator of the remote controlled actuator can be informed of the necessity of updating of the positional relational information.
The Patent Document 7 listed below discloses the navigation system, in which a second marker different from a first marker fitted to the actuator main body is prepared for use and in which the tool is brought into contact with the second marker and, using a positional relation between the actuator main body and the second marker then measured, the position of the tool is estimated on the basis of the positional relation between the actuator main body and the first marker measured during the procedure.
The above mentioned navigation system is premised on the tool having been fixed relative to the actuator main body and, therefore, there has been found a problem that such navigation system is inapplicable to the remote controlled actuator of the type having the distal end member that can rotatably support the tool relative to the actuator main body in a fashion capable of altering in attitude thereof.
The present invention is therefore intended to provide a navigation system applicable to a remote controlled actuator of a type, in which the attitude of a distal end member provided at a distal end portion of an elongated spindle guide section of a pipe-like configuration in appearance for supporting a tool can be altered by a remote control, which system is designed to enable the position of the tool to be estimated.
To describe a navigation system for a remote controlled actuator according to the present invention with the aid of reference numerals, used in the accompanying drawings, for facilitating a better understanding thereof, the remote controlled actuator includes an actuator main body 10, in which a base end of a spindle guide section 3 of an elongated configuration is connected with a drive unit housing 4a; a distal end member 2 fitted to a distal end portion of the spindle guide section 3 for pivotal movement about a pivot center O to enable it to be altered in attitude; a tool 1 rotatably supported by the distal end member 2; an attitude altering drive source 42 and a tool rotation drive source 41 both provided within the drive unit housing 4a for altering the attitude of the distal end member 2 and rotating the tool 1, respectively; and an operator unit 50 provided in the drive unit housing 4a for controlling respective operations of the drive sources 42 and 41 for maneuvering the attitude of the distal end member 2 and the rotation of the tool 1, to thereby estimate the position of a processing member 1a of the tool 1. The navigation system includes a marker detecting unit 8 for detecting respective positions and attitudes of a main body marker 7A, fitted to the drive unit housing 4a of the actuator main body 10, and a tool marker 7C provided at a predetermined relative position relative to the processing member 1a of the tool 1; a tool and tool marker relative position storage section 54 for storing a relative position of the processing member 1a of the tool relative to the tool marker 7C; a tool attitude detector 45 for detecting an angle of rotation of the distal end member about the pivot center O relative to the actuator main body 10; a tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55; and a tool processing member position estimator 56.
For each angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 detected by the tool attitude detector 45, the tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55 records the relative position and attitude of the tool marker 7C relative to the main body marker 7A, which have been calculated from the position and attitude of the main body marker 7A and the position and attitude of the tool marker 7C both detected by the marker detecting unit 8. The tool processing member position estimator 56 estimates the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 by estimating an absolute position and attitude of the tool marker 7C from the position and attitude of the main body marker 7A, detected by the marker detecting unit 8, and the relative position of the tool marker 7C relative to the main body marker 7A, which is obtained by checking the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2, detected by the tool attitude detector 45, with reference to the tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55, and by checking a result of such estimation with stored information of the tool and tool marker relative position storage section 54 to thereby estimate the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1.
The navigation system of the construction described above performs the following experiment prior to the procedure, using the remote controlled actuator 5 that is to be actually used for the procedure. That is to say, in a condition in which the tool marker 7C is provided at the predetermined relative position relative to the processing member 1a of the tool 1, the operator unit 50 is operated to alter the attitude of the distal end member 2 relative to the actuator main body 10 so that the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 at that time can be detected by the tool attitude detector 45 and, at the same time, the respective positions and attitudes of the main body marker 7A and the tool marker 7C are detected by the marker detecting unit 8. Then, from the position and attitude of the main body marker 7A and the position and attitude of the tool marker 7C, the relative position and attitude of the tool marker 7C relative to the main body marker 7A are calculated. A series of those procedures are performed n times (n being an arbitrarily chosen integer) with the attitude of the distal member 2 changed and, then, for each angle of rotation of the distal end member 2, the relative position and attitude of the tool marker 7C relative to the main body marker 7A are recorded in the tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55. Also, the relative position of the processing member la of the tool 1 relative to the tool marker 7C is stored by the tool and tool marker relative position storage section 54.
During the procedure, since the tool marker 7C is no longer necessary, it is removed so that the processing will not be disturbed. The angle of rotation of the distal end member 2, detected by the tool attitude detector 45, and the position and attitude of the main body marker 7A detected by the marker detecting unit 8 are inputted to the tool processing member position estimator 56. Those information changes from time to time when the remote controlled actuator 5 is manipulated. The tool processing member position estimator 56 estimates the absolute position and attitude of the tool marker 7C on each occasion from the position and attitude of the main body marker 7A and the relative position of the tool marker 7C relative to the main body marker 7A that is obtained by checking the rotational angle of the distal end member 2 with the tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55. Yet, the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 is estimated by checking a result of such estimation with the stored information in the tool and tool marker relative position storage section 54. By so doing, the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 during the processing can be estimated relative to the remote controlled actuator 5 capable of altering the attitude of the distal end member 2 for the support of the tool 1 provided in the distal end portion of the spindle guide section 3.
In the present invention, it is recommended that the tool marker be fitted to a calibrating member removably mounted on the distal end member.
It is difficult to fit the tool marker 7C directly to the tool 1. Since the tool 1 and the distal end member 2 are held under a constant positional relationship, fitting of the tool marker 7C to the distal end member 2 through the calibrating member 58 makes it possible to provide the tool marker 7C at a predetermined relative position relative to the tool 1.
It is preferred that where the processing member 1a of the tool 1 is of a curved configuration, at least a portion of an outer surface thereof, which contains a tip end point Q1 located on a rotational center line CL of the tool 1, being convexed outwardly thereof, the calibrating member 58 has a calibrating point Q2 that is held in contact with the tip end point Q1 of the processing member 1a, a portion of the calibrating member 58 in proximate to the calibrating point Q2 having an outer surface 58a of a curved shape concaved along a curved outer surface of the processing member 1a.
At the time the tool marker 7C is to be fitted to the distal end member 2 through the calibrating member 58, by causing the tip end point Q1 of the tool 1 to contact the calibrating point Q2 of the calibrating member 58, the relative position of the tool marker 7C is determined relative to the tool 1. If the outer surface shape of that portion of the calibrating member 58 in proximate to the calibrating point Q2 is of the concave shape comprised of the curved surface 58a following the curved surface of the processing member 1a of the tool 1, the tip end point Q1 of the tool 1 can be accurately caused to contact the calibrating point Q2 of the calibrating member 58 and, therefore, the accuracy of the relative position of the tool marker 7C relative to the tool 1 can be increased.
In the present invention, each of the main body marker and the tool marker may be of a type capable of projecting or reflecting light and the marker detecting unit is of an optical type capable of receiving light from the main body marker and the tool marker. The optical marker detecting unit has a simplified structure.
In the present invention, the tool attitude detector 45 may be provided in the attitude altering drive source 42 or a drive system for transmitting an operation from the attitude altering drive source 42 to the distal end member 2 and is operable to output an electric signal corresponding to the attitude of the distal end member 2.
If the operation of the distal end member 2 is outputted in the form of the electrical signal, the transmission of information between the remote controlled actuator and a control system portion of the navigation system can be facilitated particularly where the remote controlled actuator and the control system portion are separated a distance from each other.
In the present invention, a display unit 52 may be provided for displaying images such that the tool processing member position estimator 56 is provided with an actuator display information generator 56a for calculating an actuator display information, which is information for displaying the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10 and the attitude of the distal end member 2, from various input information that is used in the estimation of the position of the tool 1, and then displaying such actuator display information on a screen of the display unit 52.
If the display unit 52 and the actuator display information generator 56a are employed, the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10 and the actuator display information, which is information for displaying the attitude of the distal end member 2, can be displayed on the screen of the display unit 52 and, therefore, the operator can readily recognize such information during the manipulation of the remote controlled actuator 5.
Where the display unit 52 and the actuator display information generator 56a are employed, the actuator display information generated by the actuator display information generator 56a may be information necessary to display the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10 and the attitude of the distal end member 2 on the screen of the display unit in the form of series of dots 60.
Display in the form of the dots 60 makes it possible for the operator to recognize visually and also facilitate the calculation taking place in the actuator display information generator 56a.
Also, the actuator display information generator 56a may be of a type generating, as the actuator display information, a graphic symbol 61 and then displaying the graphic symbol 61 on the screen of the display unit 52, which symbol 61 is representative of an external shape of the tool 1, the distal end member 2 and the actuator main body 10, which reflect the position and attitude of them, by means of a computer graphics.
If the graphic symbol 61 representative of the outer shape is displayed, the visual recognition can be further facilitated.
Furthermore, the actuator display information generated by the actuator display information generator 56a may be information in the form of a numeral on the screen of the display unit 52.
In any case, by displaying on the screen of the display unit 52, the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10 and the actuator display information which is the information for displaying the position of the distal end member 2, the operator can be informed of such information.
The remote controlled actuator is preferably constructed as follows. That is to say, the distal end member rotatably supports the spindle for holding the tool; the spindle guide section includes a rotatable shaft for transmitting rotation of the tool rotation drive source within the drive unit housing to the spindle and an attitude altering member for altering the attitude of the distal end member by selectively advancing or retracting by means of the attitude altering drive source within the drive unit housing in a condition with the tip end held in contact with the distal end member.
If the remote controlled actuator is of the structure described above, the rotation of the tool rotation drive source within the drive unit housing is transmitted to the spindle through the rotary shaft accommodated within the spindle guide section and the attitude altering member arranged within the spindle guide section is selectively advanced or retracted by the attitude altering drive source within the drive unit housing, to thereby alter the attitude of the distal end member. Accordingly, the rotation of the tool and the alteration of the attitude of the distal end member can be accomplished by remote control.
In any event, the present invention will become more clearly understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and the drawings are given only for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way whatsoever, which scope is to be determined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like parts throughout the several views, and:
The remote controlled actuator 5 includes an actuator mechanism 5a, best shown in
Referring now to
As shown in
The spindle guide section 3 includes a rotary shaft 22 for transmitting a rotational force exerted by a tool rotation drive source 41 accommodated within the drive unit housing 4a (
The spindle guide section 3 includes an outer shell pipe 25 forming an outer shell of the spindle guide section 3 and the rotary shaft 22 referred to above is positioned at the center of this outer shell pipe 25. The rotary shaft 22 so positioned is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings 26 positioned spaced a distant apart from each other in a direction axially of the spindle guide section 3. Spring elements 27A and 27B for generating a preload on the corresponding rolling bearing 26 are disposed between the neighboring rolling bearings 26. Each of those spring elements 27A and 27B is employed in the form of, for example, a compression spring. There are the spring element 27A for inner ring for generating the preload on the inner ring of the rolling bearing 26 and the spring element 27B for outer ring for generating the preload on the outer ring of the rolling bearing 26, and the both are arranged alternately relative to each other. The constraint member 21 referred to previously is fixed to a pipe end portion 25a of the outer shell pipe 25 by means of a fixing pin 28 and has its distal end inner peripheral portion supporting the distal end of the rotary shaft 22 through a rolling bearing 29. It is, however, to be noted that the pipe end portion 25a may be a member separate from the outer shell pipe 25 and may then be connected with the outer shell pipe 25 by means of, for example, welding.
A single guide pipe 30 open at opposite ends thereof is provided between an inner diametric surface of the outer shell pipe 25 and the rotary shaft 22, and an attitude altering member 31, made up of a wire 31a and pillar shaped pins 31b at opposite ends, is axially movably inserted within a guide hole 30a, which is an inner diametric hole of the guide pipe 30. One of the pillar shaped pins 31b, which is on the side of the distal end member 2, has its tip representing a spherical shape and is held in contact with a base end face of the distal end member housing 11. The base end face 11b of the housing 11, which defines a surface of contact between the distal end member 2 and the attitude altering member 31, for the distal end member 2 is so shaped as to represent an inclined face such that an outer peripheral edge thereof is closer to the spindle guide section 3 than a center portion thereof. Similarly, as best shown in
It is to be noted that the use of the pillar shaped pins 31b may be dispensed with, leaving only the signal wire 31a to constitute the attitude altering member 31.
At a position spaced 180° in phase from a peripheral position where the attitude altering member 31 referred to above is positioned, a restoring elastic member 32, which is in the form of, for example, a compression spring, is provided between the base end face of the housing 11 for the distal end member 2 and a tip end face of the outer shell pipe 25 of the spindle guide section 3. This restoring elastic member 32 has a function of biasing the distal end member 2 towards the side of a predetermined attitude.
Also, as best shown in
The tool rotation drive mechanism 4b includes the tool rotation drive source 41 referred to previously. The tool rotation drive source is in the form of, for example, an electrically driven motor having its output shaft 41a coupled with a base or proximal end of the rotary shaft 22.
The attitude altering drive mechanism 41 includes an attitude altering drive source 42. This attitude altering drive source 42 is in the form of, for example, an electrically operated linear actuator and had an output rod 42a capable of moving leftwards or rightwards, as viewed in
The lever mechanism 43 includes a pivot lever 43b pivotable about a support pin 43a and is so designed and so configured as to allow a force of the output rod 42a to work on a working point P1 of the lever 43b, which is spaced a long distance from the support pin 43a, and as to apply a force to the attitude altering member 31 at a force point P2, which is spaced a short distance from the support axis 43a, wherefore an output of the attitude altering drive source 42 can be increased and then transmitted to the attitude altering member 31. Since the use of the lever mechanism 43 is effective to enable a large force to be applied to the attitude altering member 31 even in the linear actuator of a low output capability, the linear actuator can be downsized. The rotary shaft 22 extends through an opening 44 defined in the pivot lever 43b. It is to be noted that instead of the use of the attitude altering drive source 42 or the like, the attitude of the distal end member 2 may be manually operated from a remote site (by remote control).
The marker detecting unit 8 referred to previously and best shown in
Each of the marker detectors 8b is of an optical type and is so designed and so configured as to project a detection beams towards the light reflectors 7a of each of the markers 7A, 7B and 7C and then receive rays of light reflected from those light reflectors 7a. Respective detection signals of those marker detectors 8b are supplied to respective marker position and attitude calculators 53A, 53B and 53C (best shown in
As shown in
The operating system unit 5b is made up of a tool rotation controller 5ba and an attitude controller 5bb. The tool rotation controller 5ba provides an output to a motor driver (not shown) in response to an input from a rotation operating instrument 50a so as to drive the tool rotation drive source 41. The attitude controller 52b provides an output to the motor driver (not shown) in response to an input from an attitude altering instrument 50b to thereby drive the attitude altering drive source 42.
The navigation system unit 51 includes marker position and attitude calculators 53A, 53B and 53C for the main body, the object to be processed and the tool, respectively, a tool and tool marker relative position storage section 54, a tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55, a tool processing member position estimator 56. The tool processing member position estimator 56 includes an actuator display information generator 56a. Also, separate from those, the navigation system unit 51 includes an object display information generator 57.
The marker position and attitude calculators 53A, 53B and 53C calculate respective positions and attitudes of the actuator, object and tool markers 7A, 7B and 7C in reference to associated detection signals from the three individual detectors 8b of the marker detecting unit 8. When each of the light reflector 7a of the main body, object and tool markers 7A, 7B and 7C and the individual detectors 8b is employed in three or more in number, the three dimensional position and attitude of each of the markers 7A, 7B and 7C can be determined. The position and attitude of the main body marker 7A are synonymous to the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10. The position and attitude of the object marker 7B are synonymous to the position and attitude of the to-be-processed object 6.
The tool and tool marker relative position storage section 54 is operable to store the relative position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 relative to the tool marker 7C and, in the case of the embodiment now under discussion, the relative position of a tip point Q1, as will be described later, of the processing member 1a is stored.
Referring to
The angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 and the relative position and attitude of the tool marker 7C relative to the main body marker 7A, both of which are recorded in the tool marker relative position and attitude storage section 55, are determined by means of a series of experiments conducted with the use of the actuator mechanism 5a which is actually used in processing. More specifically, those series of experiments are conducted as shown in
As shown in a fragmentary enlarged view in
It is difficult to fit the tool marker 7C directly to the tool 1, but the use of the calibrating member 58 of the type referred to above makes it easy to fit the tool marker 7C to the tool 1. Since the tool 1 and the distal end member 2 are held in a predetermined positional relationship at all times, the contact of the tip point Q1 of the tool 1 with the calibration point Q2 of the calibrating member 58 is effective to position the tool marker 7C at the predetermined relative position relative to the processing member 1a of the tool 1. Also, when the shape of the outer surface of that portion of the calibrating member 58 in the vicinity of the calibration point Q2 is rendered to be the curved surface 58a of the concave shape as hereinabove described, the tip point Q1 of the tool 1 can be accurately held in contact with the calibration point Q2 of the calibrating member 58, thus resulting in an increased accuracy of the relative position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 relative to the tool marker 7C.
The relationship between the position and attitude of the main body marker 7A and the position and attitude of the tool marker 7C depends on the shape of the spindle guide section 3. For example, it differs depending on whether the spindle guide section 3 employed has a curved shape as shown in
The tool processing member position estimator 56 referred to above and shown in
In other words, by detecting the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 with the tool attitude detector 45, shown in
Since the calibration point Q2 of the calibrating member 58 relative to the tool marker 7C as shown in
The actuator display information generator 56a referred to above and shown in
More specifically, as best shown in
Hereinafter, the operation of the remote controlled actuator 5 of the structure shown in
During the procedure, the calibrating member 58 provided with the tool marker 7C best shown in
The attitude altering drive source 42 (shown in
Since the attitude altering member 31 is inserted through the guide hole 30a, the attitude altering member 31 can properly act on the distal end member 2 at all times without being accompanied by displacement in position in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction thereof and the attitude altering operation of the distal end member 2 can therefore be performed accurately. Also, since the attitude altering member 31 is comprised of mainly the wire 31a and has a flexible property, the attitude altering operation of the distal end member 2 is carried out accurately even though the spindle guide section 3 is curved. In addition, since the center of the junction between the spindle 13 and the rotary shaft 22 lies at the same position as the respective centers of curvature O of the guide faces F1 and F2, no force tending to press and pull will not act on the rotary shaft 22 as a result of the alteration of the attitude of the distal end member 2 and the distal end member 2 can be smoothly altered in attitude.
The remote controlled actuator 5 of the foregoing construction is utilized in grinding the femoral marrow cavity during, for example, the artificial joint replacement surgery and during the surgery, it is used with the distal end member 2 in its entirety or a part thereof inserted into the body of a patient. Because of this, if the distal end member 2 can be altered in attitude by remote control, the bone can be processed in a condition with the tool 1 maintained in a proper attitude at all times and the opening for insertion of the artificial joint can be finished accurately and precisely.
There is the necessity that the rotary shaft 22 and the attitude altering member 31 are provided in a protected fashion. In this respect, the spindle guide section 3, which is elongated in shape, is provided with the rotary shaft 22 at the center of the outer shell pipe 25 and the guide pipe 30, accommodating therein the attitude altering member 31, and the reinforcement shafts 34, all of these are arranged in the circumferential direction and between the outer shell pipe 25 and the rotary shaft 22. Accordingly, the rotary shaft 22 and the attitude altering member 31 can be protected and the interior can be made hollow to thereby reduce the weight without sacrificing the rigidity. Also, the arrangement balance as a whole is rendered good.
Since, as shown in
During the operation of the remote controlled actuator 5 shown in
In the event that either or both of the tool 1 and the spindle guide section 3 is/are replaced, the experiment shown in
While the actuator mechanism 5a of the remote controlled actuator 5 and the navigation and maneuvering computer 9 are positioned having been spaced a distance from each other, an electrical signal indicative of the attitude of the distal end member 2 detected by the tool attitude detector 45 provided in the actuator mechanism 5a is transmitted to the tool processing member position estimator 55 of the navigation and maneuvering computer 9, shown in
The drive unit (corresponding to “4” in
By way of example, when the upper attitude altering member 31 shown in
According to this construction, since the housing 11 for the distal end member 2 is pressed by the two attitude altering members 31, as compared with the previously described embodiment in which it is pressed by the only attitude altering member 31, the attitude stability of the distal end member 2 can be increased.
The drive unit is provided with three attitude altering drive sources 42U, 42L and 42R, best shown in
By way of example, when one of the attitude altering members 31U, which is shown in an upper side of
Also, when while the attitude altering member 31U on the upper side as viewed in
The use of the attitude altering members 31 at the three circumferential locations as hereinabove described is effective to allow the distal end member 2 to be altered in attitude in two axis directions (X-axis and Y-axis directions) upwardly or downwardly and leftwards or rightwards. At this time, respective pressures from the three attitude altering members 31 and the reactive force from the constraint member 21 act on the distal end member connecting unit 15 and, therefore, the attitude of the distal end member 2 is determined in dependence on the balance of those working forces. According to the above described construction, since the housing 11 for the distal end member 2 is pressed by the three attitude altering members 31, the attitude stability of the distal end member 2 can be further increased. It is, however, to be noted that if the number of the attitude altering members 31 used is increased, the attitude stability of the distal end member 2 can be still further increased.
In the case where the distal end member 2 can be altered in attitude in the two axis directions, the attitude of the distal end member 2 in those two axis directions can be detected by detecting the amount of actuation of at least two of the three attitude altering drive sources 42U, 42L and 42R (
For example, the attitude altering drive mechanism 4c for driving the three attitude altering members 31 is constructed as shown in
Hereinafter, a mode of application of the present invention will be described with particular reference to
As can readily be understood from
In the case of this mode of application, as shown in
As shown in
The marker detecting unit 8 shown in
The operative association of the marker drive actuator 73 with the distal end member 2 is carried through, for example, an operative association control mechanism (not shown) capable of outputting to the marker drive actuator 73, shown in
The marker support mechanism 71 may be constructed as shown in
Even in this case, in a manner similar to the marker support mechanism 71 shown in and described with reference to
The marker detecting unit 8 shown in
The navigation system 51 includes the actuator shape storage section 59, marker position and attitude calculators 53A, 53B and 53D for the main body actuator, the rotational angle detection and the object to be processed, and a tool processing member position estimator 56. The actuator shape storage section 59 includes a spindle guide section type selector 59a and a tool type selector 59b. The tool processing member position estimator 56 includes an actuator display information generator 56a. Also, separate therefrom, the navigation system 51 also includes an object display information generator 57.
The actuator shape storage section 59 is used to store information on the relative position of the pivot center O, about which the distal end member 2 pivots, relative to the actuator main body marker 7A fitted to the drive unit housing 4a best shown in
The actuator shape storage section 59 will now be further described in detail.
The relative position of the pivot center O of the distal end member 2 relative to the actuator main body marker 7A depends on the shape of the spindle guide section 3. For example, the relative position referred to above differs depending on whether the spindle guide section 3 is of a curved shape as shown in
The shape of the tool 1 using the pivot center O as a reference varies depending on the type of the tool 1 used. For example, the relative position referred to above differs depending on whether the tool 1 of a type having the semispherical processing member 1a as shown in
The marker position and attitude calculators 53A, 53B and 53D calculate respective positions and attitudes of the respective markers 7A, 7B and 7D from the detection signals of the three detectors 8b of the marker detecting unit 8. When the light reflectors 7a of the markers 7A, 7B and 7D and the detectors 8b of the marker detecting unit 8 are employed each in three or more in number, respective three dimensional positions and attitudes of the markers 7A, 7B and 7C can be determined. The position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A are synonymous to the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10. In other words, by the marker position and attitude calculator 53A, the position and the attitude of a reference portion of the actuator main body 10 can be detected. The term “reference portion” referred to above and hereinafter is intended to mean a portion that provides a reference for the calculation performed by a tool processing member position estimator 56 as will be described later. The position and attitude of the object marker 7B are synonymous to the position and attitude of the to-be-processed object 6. The marker position and attitude calculator 53D are operable to calculate the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 from both of the attitude of the rotational angle detection mark 7D and the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10.
The tool processing member position estimator 56 referred to above estimates the position of the tip end Q of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 from the information on the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A, detected by the marker detecting unit 8 shown in
In other words, the tool processing member position estimator 56 can estimate the absolute position of the pivot center O from the information on the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A detected by the marker detecting unit 8 shown in
The absolute position of the tip end Q of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 can be estimated from the absolute position of the pivot center O of the distal end member 2 so estimated in the manner described above and the relative position of the tip end Q of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 with reference to the pivot center O. For this reason, the position of the processing member la of the tool can be estimated relative to the remote controlled actuator 5 of the type capable of altering the position of the distal end member 2 for the support of the tool provided in the distal end portion of the spindle guide section 3.
The actuator display information generator 56a shown in
More specifically, as best shown in
The operation of the remote controlled actuator 5 of the structure shown in and described with particular reference to
Assuming that the tool rotation drive source 41 shown in
During the use, through the manipulation of the attitude altering instrument 50b, the attitude altering drive sources 42 (42U, 42L and 42R) best shown in
For example, the upper attitude altering member 31U shown in
Also, when, while the upper attitude altering member 31U as viewed in
Since this embodiment makes use of the rotation preventing mechanism 37 (
Since the attitude altering member 31 is inserted through the guide hole 30a in the guide pipe 30, the attitude altering member 31 can properly act on the distal end member 2 at all times without being accompanied by displacement in position in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction thereof and the attitude altering operation of the distal end member 2 can therefore be performed accurately. Also, since the attitude altering member 31 is made up of the plural balls 31c and the pillar shaped pins 31b and has a flexible property in its entirety, the attitude altering operation of the distal end member 2 is carried out accurately even though the spindle guide section 3 is curved. In addition, since the center of the junction between the spindle 13 and the rotary shaft 22 lies at the same position as the pivot center O, no force tending to press and pull will not act on the rotary shaft 22 as a result of the alteration of the attitude of the distal end member 2 and the distal end member 2 can be smoothly altered in attitude.
In the event that the spindle guide section 3 is replaced with a different type of the spindle guide section or the spindle guide section 3 is deformed with the spindle section of a different shape, such replacement or deformation can be accommodated since the spindle guide section type selector 59a selects a proper relation out from the relations between the types of the spindle guide section 3 and the relative position of the distal end member 2, which are stored in the table 59c in the actuator shape storage section 59 shown in
In the control of the navigation for estimating the position of the tool 1 shown in
Since, at the time the distal end member 2 shown in
As hereinabove described, since the use of the rotational angle detection marker 7D in the transmission system through which the operation is transmitted from the attitude altering drive source 42 shown in
Although in describing the navigation system for the remote controlled actuator reference has been made to that for the medical use, the present invention can be equally applied to the navigation system for the remote controlled actuator for use in any application. By way of example, if the remote controlled actuator is used in performing a mechanical processing, a drilling process for drilling a curved hole and a cutting process to be performed at a site deep in the groove can be accomplished.
The mode of application described hereinbefore includes the following modes of application, all of which do not require the use of the tool marker, the tool and tool marker relative position storage section and the tool marker relative position and attitude storage section employed in the practice of any one of the previously described first to third embodiments.
The navigation system for the remote controlled actuator according to this mode 1 is such that in the navigation system for estimating the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 relative to the remote controlled actuator 5, which actuator includes the actuator main body 10, in which the base end of the spindle guide section 3 of the elongated configuration is coupled with the drive unit housing 4a; the distal end member 2 fitted to the distal end portion of the spindle guide section 3 for pivotal movement about the pivot center O to enable it to be altered in attitude; the tool 1 rotatably supported by the distal end member 2; an attitude altering drive source 42 and a tool rotation drive source 41 both provided within the drive unit housing 4a for altering the attitude of the distal end member 2 and rotating the tool 1, respectively; and an operator unit 50 provided in the drive unit housing 4a for controlling respective operations of the drive sources 42 and 41 for maneuvering the attitude of the distal end member 2 and the rotation of the tool 1, there is provided the marker detecting unit 8 for detecting the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A, fitted to the drive unit housing 4a of the actuator main body 10, and the position and attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D operable in operative association with the pivot movement of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center O; the actuator shape storage section 59 for storing the information on the relative position of the pivot center O relative to the actuator main body marker 7A and the information on the shape of the tool 1 with reference to the pivot center O; and the tool processing member position estimator 56 for estimating the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 from the information on the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A, detected by the marker detecting unit 8, the information on the position and attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D and the information stored in the actuator shape storage section 59.
According to the above described construction, the marker detecting unit 8 detects the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A, fitted to the drive unit housing 4a of the actuator main body 10, and the position and attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D operable in operative association with the pivotal movement of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center O. From the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A, the position and attitude of the reference portion of the actuator main body 10 is detected. Also, from the relation between the position and attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D and the position and attitude of the reference portion of the actuator main body 10 acquired in advance, the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center O is determined.
The tool processing member position estimator 56 estimates the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 from the information on the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A, detected by the marker detecting unit 8, the information on the position and attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D and the information stored in the actuator shape storage section 59. In other words, the tool processing member position estimator 56 can estimate the absolute position of the pivot center O from the information on the position and attitude of the actuator main body marker 7A detected by the marker detecting unit 8, that is, the information on the position and attitude of the reference portion of the actuator main body 10, and the information on the relative position of the center of pivot O of the distal end member 2 relative to the actuator main body marker 7A stored in the actuator shape storage section 59. Also, the relative position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 relative to the pivot center O can be estimated from the information on the position and attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D detected by the marker detecting unit 8, that is, the information on the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center O and the information on the shape of the tool 1 stored in the actuator shape storage section 59.
From the absolute position of the center of pivot O of the distal end member 2, estimated in the manner described above, and the relative position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 with reference to the position of the pivot center O, the absolute position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 can be estimated. For this reason, relative to the remote controlled actuator 5 of the type capable of altering the attitude of the distal end member 2 for the support of the tool, which is provided in the distal end portion of the spindle guide section 3, the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1 can be estimated.
As hereinabove described, the position and attitude of the reference portion of the actuator main body 10 and the angle of rotation of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center O can be detected by the marker detecting unit 8. In other words, of the information necessary to estimate the position of the processing member 1a of the tool 1, the information concerning the actuator mechanism 5a in the remote controlled actuator 5 can be detected at the site distant from the actuator mechanism 5a. For this reason, where the actuator mechanism 5a of the remote controlled actuator 5 and the computer 9 used to control the actuator mechanism 5a are separated from each other, there is no need to connect the both by means of the cable and a good handlability of the actuator mechanism 5a can be appreciated. In particular, where the actuator main body 10 including the control system is provided with a compact battery and can therefore operate standalone, the foregoing advantages can be effectively obtained. Also, the information concerning the actuator mechanism 5a can be transmitted wireless to the computer 9, but in such case, it may be adversely affected by communication troubles. If the markers 7A and 7D and the marker detecting unit 8 are employed such as in this mode 1, nothing will be hardly affected by the communication troubles.
In the mode 1 described above, where the marker detecting unit 8 is designed to detect the attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D, it is recommended to alter the attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D by means of a marker drive actuator operable in operative association with the pivotal movement of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center O.
When the marker drive actuator 73 is used, the attitude of the rotational angle detection marker 7D can be assuredly altered in operative association with the pivotal movement of the distal end member 2 about the pivot center thereof.
By way of example, the marker drive actuator 73 can be employed in the form of a spherical actuator of a type utilizing the surface wave type ultrasonic vibration and having a freedom of three directions perpendicular to each other. Regarding the details of the spherical actuator utilizing the surface wave type ultrasonic vibration, reference may be made to the JP Laid-open Patent Publication No. S62-228392 referred to previously.
Alternatively, the marker drive actuator 73 may be comprised of three linear motors 77 such that by those linear motors 77, the angle of the marker support member 72 supporting the rotational angle detection marker 7D can be changed.
In the mode 1 described above, where the marker detecting unit 8 is of the type capable of detecting the position of the rotational angle detection marker 7D, the rotational angle detection marker 7D may be provided in the attitude altering drive source 42, or the transmission system for transmitting the operation from the attitude altering drive source 42 to the distal end member 2, so that the position thereof can change in operative association with this transmission system.
If the rotational angle detection marker 7D is provided in the above described transmission system, there is no need to employ any extra member for detecting the position of the rotational angle detection marker 7D and, therefore, the structure can be simplified.
In the mode 1 described above, in order for some types of remote controlled actuators in which types of the spindle guide sections 3 are different from each other, to be useable, the actuator shape storage section 59 stores for each of the types of the spindle guide sections 3, the information on the relative position of the pivot point O relative to the actuator main body marker 7A, and the use may be of the spindle guide section type selector 59a for selecting the information of the relative position of the pivot center O that is to be used in estimation by the tool processing member position estimator 56.
Where a certain remote controlled actuator 5 is to be used, from the information on the relative position of the pivot center O relative to the actuator main body marker 7A stored in the actuator shape storage section 59, the information corresponding to the type of the spindle guide section 3 in the remote controlled actuator 5 to be used is selected by the spindle guide section type selector 59a. Accordingly, the navigation system can be useable to the types of the remote controlled actuators 5 utilizing the respective spindle guide sections 3 of the different types.
In the mode 1 described above, in order to enable the plural types of the remote controlled actuators 5, employing the tools 1 of different types, and the remote controlled actuator 5 capable of replacing one of the different types of the tools 1 with another type to be useable, the actuator shape storage section 59 stores for each of the types of the tools 1, the information on the shape of the tool 1 with reference to the pivot center O and the use is preferred of the tool type selector 59b for selecting the information on the shape of the tool 1 that is used in estimation by the tool processing member position estimator 56.
Where a certain remote controlled actuator 5 is to be used, from the information stored in the actuator shape storage section 59 on the shape of the tool 1 with reference to the pivot center O, the information corresponding to the tool 1 in the remote controlled actuator 5 is selected by the tool type selector 59b. Accordingly, the navigation system can be useable to the types of the remote controlled actuators 5 utilizing the respective tool 1 of the different types.
In the mode 1 described above, each of the actuator main body marker 7A and the rotational angle detection marker 7D is of a type capable of projecting or reflecting light and the marker detecting unit 8 can be of an optical type capable of receiving light from the actuator main body marker 7A and the rotational angle detection marker 7D. The optical type marker detecting unit 8 has a simplified structure.
In the mode described above, the use is made of the display unit 52 for displaying images on the screen and the provision of the actuator display information generator 55a in the tool processing member position estimator 56 is preferred so that, from various input information that is used in estimating the position of the tool 1, the actuator display information, which is the information for displaying the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10 and the attitude of the distal end member 2, can be calculated and then displayed on the screen of the display unit 52.
In the mode 9 described above, where the display unit 52 and the actuator display information generator 55a are employed, the actuator display information generated by the actuator display information generator 55a may be the information necessary to display the attitude of the distal end member and the position and attitude of the actuator main body 10 on the screen of the display unit 52 in the form of the series of the dots 60.
In the mode 9 described above, the actuator display information generator 56a may be of a type generating, as the actuator display information, the graphic symbol 61 and then displaying the graphic symbol 61 on the screen of the display unit 52, which symbol 61 is representative of the external shape of the tool 1, the distal end member 2 and the actuator main body 10, which reflect the position and attitude of them, by means of the computer graphics.
In the mode 9 described above, the actuator display information generated by the actuator display information generator 55a may further be the information in the form of the numerals on the screen of the display unit 52.
In the mode 1 described above, the remote controlled actuator is so preferred as to be constructed as follows. In other words, the distal end member 2 is designed to rotatably support the spindle 13 for holding the tool 1; the spindle guide section 3 includes the rotatable shaft 22 for transmitting the rotation of the tool rotation drive source 41 within the drive unit housing 4a to the spindle 13 and the attitude altering member 31 for altering the attitude of the distal end member 2 by selectively advancing or retracting by means of the attitude altering drive source 42 within the drive unit housing 4a in a condition with the tip end held in contact with the distal end member 2.
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings which are used only for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will readily conceive numerous changes and modifications within the framework of obviousness upon the reading of the specification herein presented of the present invention. Accordingly, such changes and modifications are, unless they depart from the scope of the present invention as delivered from the claims annexed hereto, to be construed as included therein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-032882 | Feb 2009 | JP | national |
| 2009-033667 | Feb 2009 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2010/000867 | 2/12/2010 | WO | 00 | 8/9/2011 |
