Surgical robot system for minimally invasive surgery and operating method for the same

Minimally invasive surgical robot system with remote endoscopic control via head movement

This technology is a minimally invasive surgical robot system that remotely controls the 3D position and orientation of an endoscope by sensing the pitching, yawing, and rolling movements of a surgical headset, while preventing physical collisions by calculating the centerline distance between the endoscope and the robotic arm.

Existing systems often require surgeons to control robotic arms and endoscopes using both hands or foot pedals, which disrupts the surgical workflow, demands high operational proficiency, causes user fatigue from constant focus on large monitors, and reduces spatial efficiency.

This technology proposes a method that transmits headset orientation data based on the user's head movements to a control unit, which then automatically executes the endoscope's vertical/horizontal rotation and forward/backward movement, while providing 2D and 3D surgical views through the headset's display. By controlling distance thresholds between the robotic arm and the endoscope to avoid interference, it enhances both surgical continuity and safety. Applicable to a wide range of minimally invasive procedures, including laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, it offers a solution that reduces the surgeon's operational burden and fatigue while simultaneously improving surgical flow and safety.

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Key Features:

• An endoscope inserted through an incision to capture real-time images of the surgical site, and a drive unit that moves it.
• A headset worn on the user's head that detects head movements to generate orientation data and displays 2D or 3D images.
• A control unit that sends drive control signals to the drive unit based on the orientation data generated by the headset and transmits endoscopic image data to the headset.
• A configuration where an orientation sensor detects the pitching, yawing, rolling, and angular velocity of the user's head to generate orientation data for endoscopic control.

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for research on the development of next-generation surgical robot systems through collision avoidance for surgical robot arms.