Surgeon Defined Checkpoint Locations in a Robotic Cut-File

摘要

Introduction: In robotic-assisted orthopedic surgery, a surgical robot may prepare a bone to receive an implant by controlling an end-effector (e.g., end-mill, cutter), where the end-effector's motions are dictated by a cut-file. The cut-file includes a plurality of cutting parameters (cut paths, speeds, accelerations, feed rates, etc.) to define the end-effector's motions. For example. Figure 1 depicts a bone having a hypothetical cut-path for creating the cavity in the bone to receive an implant in a planned position. The cut-file also includes a plurality of checkpoints (dots in Figures 1,2 and 3), which act as starting and stopping points for the tip of the end-effector if needed. For instance, one checkpoint may be located above the bone where the end-effector will stop prior to cutting the bone. Other checkpoints may be located within the cavity or along the cut path to reposition the end-effector in the event the end-effector was removed from the cavity during cutting. Therefore, the surgical robot does not have to repeat the entire cut-file to reach that pre-removal position. Currently, the location of the checkpoints are defined by the cut-file development team and remain static as part of the cut-file, where the surgeon or end-user is unable to adjust the location of the checkpoints. The following example describes the ability of a surgeon or end-user to adjust the location of the checkpoints according to their priorities or preferences.