Networked Surgical Robot Control System
Introduction The individual soldier remains the most valuable asset of the military and in spite of the current emphasis on the threat of weapons of mass destruction, and biological warfare, attending to the soldier's needs when they become a casualty remains a top priority. There is a significant opportunity to save the lives of soldiers by using forward deployed telesurgical capabilities to control the consequences of abdominal vascular injury. The surgical robots now being deployed and FDA approved are very exciting developments, but share significant limitations: bulky envelope, lack of haptic (force) feedback, and high costs. In selecting the appropriate mechanism for a surgical robot we must incorporate knowledge of the surgical task, the surgical environment, tool kinematics and dynamics, and properties of actuators, transmissions, and structural elements. Technology description Researchers at the University of Washington have invented a real-time linux based computer control system for controlling a surgical robot. Surgeon's control of the surgical assistant is via UDP/IP network connection to a remote master station. Interface from the control computer to the robot is via USB while a graphical user interface allows user input to the control software. A few well-defined runlevels determine software behavior and improve safety by decreasing complexity. Business opportunity The estimated defense budget on health increased at a CAGR of around 9 percent from USD 15,404 million in 2003 to an estimated USD 21,446 million in 2007. The worldwide market for computer-assisted surgery and surgical systems is currently $500 million, growing at annual rates in the 21% to 25% range. Intellectual Property Position This technology is available for licensing. Related Publication(s)Lum MH et al, Field Operation of a Surgical Robot via Airborne Wireless Radio Link, IEEE Int. Conf. on Field and Service Robotics, 2007. For more information on this technology contact:
Chris Igielski Technology Manager [email protected].
Type of Offer: Licensing
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