KR101483428B1 - Surgical robot capable of providing tactile sense using laser beam - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a surgical robot device capable of providing tactile sensation using laser beams, wherein the surgical robot device includes a tactile sensation generating unit which produces laser beams for generating tactile sensation. The laser beams are pulsed laser beams, and tactile sensation is generated based on the pulsed laser beams.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a surgical robot apparatus capable of providing a tactile sensation by using a laser beam,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a surgical robot apparatus capable of providing a tactile sensation by using a laser beam, and more particularly, to a surgical robot apparatus capable of providing a touch in a control process of a surgical robot apparatus using a pulsed laser beam The present invention relates to a surgical robot apparatus.

Surgical Robot is a robot that treats or operates a lesion by moving a surgical tool according to a user's command. These surgical robots are able to perform very precise and precise surgical operation, and since the recovery of the patient after the operation is fast, the use range thereof is getting wider. As a result, the types are becoming increasingly diverse, including bone surgery robots, laparoscopic surgery robots, and orthopedic surgery robots.

Surgical robots can have various configurations depending on the type of robot and the type of surgery, but they usually include a configuration of an operating unit and a robot arm. Here, the operation unit may be configured to receive operation information from a user, and may include an operation handle, a multi-joint link, and the like. The robot arm refers to a configuration in which a surgical tool is controlled based on operation information of the operation unit to substantially perform a surgical operation.

Meanwhile, the conventional surgical robot provides various feedback information related to the operation of the robot (for example, the operation of the robot arm) to the user only in the form of visual information or auditory information. However, since the visual information or the auditory information is merely information that indirectly displays the actual operation state of the robot (intensity of the stimulus applied to the lesion, degree of invasion, and the like) indirectly, I could not directly feel the operation state.

Therefore, there is a demand for a technique that can provide information related to the operation state of the robot to the user in a form other than the time information or the auditory information. In particular, there is a need for a technique that enables a user to directly experience the actual operating state of the robot arm by providing various information related to the operation of the robot arm to the user (in particular, the hands of the home designer) in the form of tactile feedback.

The present invention has been invented based on such a technical background and has been invented to provide additional technical elements which can not easily be invented by a person having ordinary skill in the art, as well as satisfying the technical requirements of the present invention.

KR 10-2011-0095529 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a surgical robot apparatus capable of providing information related to the operation of a surgical robot apparatus in a tactile form.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical robot apparatus capable of providing a tactile sensation by using a laser beam.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and various technical problems can be included within the scope of what is well known to a person skilled in the art from the following description.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical robot apparatus comprising: a tactile generation unit for generating a laser beam for tactile generation; (Pulsed laser beam), and generates tactile sensation based on the pulsed laser beam.

In addition, the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the tactile generation section is provided in an operating section for operating the operation of the surgical robot apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical robot apparatus, comprising: a controller for controlling an operation of the tactile generator according to an operation state of the robot apparatus.

Further, in the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller controls the energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit.

Further, in the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit controls the unit of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit in consideration of the resistance force applied to the robot arm of the surgical robot apparatus And the energy per pulse is controlled.

Further, in the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit calculates the energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit in consideration of the intensity of the stimulus applied by the surgical robot apparatus And a control unit.

Further, the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a communication unit for receiving information from the medical devices in the vicinity of the robot apparatus, and the control unit may transmit status information of the patient, And the operation of the tactile generation unit is controlled based on the tactile information.

Further, the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a plurality of tactile generation units, and the control unit is configured to selectively operate the plurality of tactile generation units at different time intervals to implement a directional tactile pattern .

Further, in the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit adjusts the energy per unit pulse by adjusting the power or the pulse width of the pulsed laser beam .

In the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller adjusts the pulse width in a range of several tens of milliseconds or less.

Further, in the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit controls the energy per unit pulse to a value in the range of 0.005 mJ to 9.5 mJ.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing tactile feedback of a surgical robot apparatus, including: (a) collecting status information of a surgical robot apparatus; And (b) generating a laser beam for tactile generation based on the state information of the surgical robot apparatus, wherein the laser beam is a pulsed laser beam, And a tactile sensation is generated based on the pulsed laser beam.

The present invention can provide the operating state information of the surgical robot apparatus in a tactile form. Therefore, the present invention enables the user to operate the robot while directly sensing the stimulus or the stimulus received from the affected part by the surgical robot apparatus.

In addition, the present invention can provide the operating state information of the surgical robot apparatus in a tactile form by using a laser beam. Specifically, the present invention provides a tactile sensation by using a laser beam, so that it is possible to provide a touch without giving a vibration to the operation portion or contacting with the user's body. Therefore, the present invention can provide a touch without affecting the operation portion itself requiring fine control.

In addition, the present invention can operate in a state of being interlocked with medical devices around the surgical robot apparatus, and the state information of the patient provided by the medical devices can be realized as tactile feedback. Therefore, the present invention enables a user to perform an operation operation while feeling the patient's state information in a tactile sense.

In addition, the present invention can provide 'opto-mechanical touch' to the human skin using a pulsed laser beam. Specifically, the present invention can provide opto-mechanical touch to the human body by using a pulsed laser beam whose energy per unit pulse is adjusted to a value of 0.005 mJ or more and whose pulse width is not more than ms (millisecond). Therefore, the present invention provides' opto-mechanical touch 'rather than' photo-thermal touch 'or' photo-chemical touch ', so that side effects that may be caused by' photo- Can be minimized.

In addition, the present invention can provide opto-mechanical touch without damaging the skin of the human body when providing 'opto-mechanical touch' directly to the skin of the human body. Specifically, the present invention can control the energy per unit pulse in the range of 0.005 mJ to 9.5 mJ to provide the opto-mechanical touch without damaging the skin of the human body.

Further, since the present invention can provide a tactile feeling by using a laser beam, it is possible to provide a tactile sensation even in a state of non-contact with a human body. Therefore, the present invention can provide various detailed state information on various directions of the surgical robot apparatus even in a non-contact state with the human body by using the tactile sensation by the laser beam.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and various effects can be included within the range that is obvious to a person skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation of a tactile generation unit included in a surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram showing the parameters of the pulsed laser beam.
FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 are diagrams illustrating examples in which a tactile generation unit is installed in an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an exemplary view showing an example of embodying a tactile pattern using a plurality of tactile generators.
9 is a configuration diagram illustrating an experimental system for verifying the opto-mechanical tactile feedback generated by the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a graph showing an output signal of a piezo sensor.
11 is a block diagram showing a process of processing the output signal of the piezo sensor.
12 and 13 are graphs showing the relationship between the energy per unit pulse of the laser generation module and the output signal of the piezo sensor.
FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an experiment for comparing and observing changes in brain waves caused by laser stimulation and changes in brain waves caused by pure mechanical stimulation.
15 to 16 are graphs showing the results of the experiment shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, a surgical robot apparatus capable of providing tactile sensation using a laser beam according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are provided so that those skilled in the art can easily understand the technical spirit of the present invention, and thus the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the matters described in the attached drawings may be different from those actually implemented by the schematic drawings to easily describe the embodiments of the present invention.

In the meantime, each constituent unit described below is only an example for implementing the present invention. Thus, in other implementations of the present invention, other components may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, each component may be implemented solely by hardware or software configuration, but may be implemented by a combination of various hardware and software configurations performing the same function.

Also, the expression " comprising " is intended to merely denote that such elements are present as an expression of " open ", and should not be understood to exclude additional elements.

Hereinafter, a surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG.

1, the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a tactile generation unit 110 for generating a laser beam for tactile generation, an operation unit 120 for receiving user's operation information, A robotic arm 130 for performing an actual operation based on operation information generated by the operation unit, a communication unit 140 for transmitting or receiving information with an external device, a tactile generation unit, A robot arm, and a control unit 150 for controlling operations of the components of the surgical robot apparatus including the communication unit.

In addition, the surgical robot apparatus may further include a display unit for displaying operation state information of the robot apparatus, and a voice output unit for audibly guiding the operation state information of the robot apparatus. But may also include various components related to the operation of the robot apparatus.

The tactile sense generating unit 110 generates a tactile sense based on the operation state information of the surgical robot apparatus. The tactile feedback unit 110 can generate and output a laser beam as shown in FIG. 2, and can generate tactile feedback using the laser beam.

The touch generating unit 110 includes a laser generating module 112 for generating a laser beam, an optical filter module 114 for adjusting the intensity of the laser beam, And may include various components for generating and adjusting the laser beam in addition to these components.

If the laser generation module 112 is a semiconductor laser diode, the optical filter module 114 may be omitted from the configuration.

Here, the laser generation module 112 may include a laser driver, a cooling device, and the like, for generating and outputting a laser beam. The laser driver includes a laser medium, an optical pumping unit, and an optical resonator. The laser driver generates an optical signal constituting the pulse laser beam. The cooling device is configured to remove heat that may be generated in the process of generating the optical signal by the laser driver, and serves to protect the laser driver device.

The laser generation module 112 may be formed in various forms capable of generating a laser beam. For example, the laser output unit 110 may be a laser output unit such as a ruby laser, a Nd: YAG laser, a neodymium glass laser, a laser diode Ga, Excimer laser, dye laser, and the like. In addition to these types, semiconductor laser diodes and the like may be used.

The laser generation module 112 preferably generates a pulsed laser beam by using a pulse laser instead of a continuous wave laser (CW laser). When a laser stimulus is continuously provided, a pulsed laser beam is used to obtain opto-mechanical touch while minimizing these effects since a photo-chemical effect or a photo-thermal effect may occur and cause a side effect to the human body .

In addition, the laser generation module 112 can adjust the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam, and generate the opto-mechanical touch through the adjustment operation of the parameter. Adjusting the exposure time and the energy per unit pulse to a specific range may cause laser-induced elastic effects due to the pulsed laser beam, which may result in opto-mechanical tactile sensation . The adjustment of the energy per unit pulse may be achieved by adjusting the intensity (Power, J / s) of the optical signal constituting the pulse laser beam, or by adjusting the pulse width of the pulse laser beam Can be achieved. (For reference, referring to FIG. 3, the optical signal intensity (Power, J / s), pulse width, repetition rate, etc. of the pulse laser beam can be confirmed.

In addition, the laser generation module 112 preferably controls energy per unit pulse under a pulse width of several tens of milliseconds or less. Even in the case of using a pulsed laser beam, when the pulse width is large, a sufficient exposure time of laser stimulation is ensured, and a photo-chemical effect or a photo-thermal effect may occur. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize this phenomenon by controlling the energy per unit pulse at a pulse width of several tens of milliseconds or less.

In addition, it is preferable that the laser generation module 112 adjusts the energy per unit pulse to a value of 0.005 mJ or more. As you will see later, in these conditions it is possible to cause the opto-mechanical touch of the skin tissue of the human body.

Also, it is preferable that the laser generation module 112 adjusts the energy per unit pulse to a value of 9.5 mJ or less. As we shall see later, in conditions exceeding 9.5 mJ, the degree of opto-mechanical tactile sensation may become large enough to damage the skin tissue of the human body. Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the energy per unit pulse to a value of 9.5 mJ or less in order to ensure safety in the case of directly providing the human body with the opto-mechanical touch.

In addition, the laser generation module 112 may change the intensity of the opto-mechanical touch by adjusting the energy per unit pulse. Specifically, the laser generation module 112 may increase or decrease the energy per unit pulse in the range of 0.005 mJ to 9.5 mJ to change the intensity of the opto-mechanical touch.

The optical filter module 114 is configured to adjust the intensity (Power, J / s) of the optical signal constituting the pulsed laser beam, And the energy per unit pulse of the beam can be secondarily adjusted.

The optical filter module 114 may include an attenuator that attenuates the intensity of an optical signal. The intensity of the optical signal (Power, J / s) can be attenuated using the attenuator. Accordingly, the optical filter module 114 can reduce the energy per unit pulse by attenuating the intensity of the optical signal in the same pulse width.

The optical filter module 114 may be selectively mounted on the tactile generation unit 110 when the laser generation module 112 itself has an ability to control energy per unit pulse, And can play an auxiliary role for finely adjusting the energy per pulse. However, when the laser generation module 112 itself does not have the capability of controlling energy per unit pulse, the laser generation module 112 is essentially installed in the tactile generation unit 110 and plays a leading role of controlling the energy per unit pulse .

The lens module 116 is configured to adjust the diameter of the pulsed laser beam. The lens module 116 includes a light focusing part (e.g., a convex lens part) for focusing the pulsed laser beam and a light diffusing part (e.g., a concave lens part and the like) for diffusing the pulsed laser beam And the diameter of the pulsed laser beam can be increased or decreased through selective operation of the light focusing unit and the light diffusing unit.

The tactile feedback generating unit 110 may generate tactile feedback based on the operations of the laser generating module 112, the optical filter module 114, and the lens module 116. Specifically, the tactile feedback unit 110 generates a pulsed laser beam, controls the pulse width of the pulsed laser beam to a scale of ms or less, and calculates the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam It can be controlled within the range of 0.005 mJ to 9.5 mJ to generate the opto-mechanical touch within a range that does not cause damage to the human body. The tactile feedback unit 110 may adjust the tactile strength based on the operation of the laser generation module 112, the optical filter module 114, and the lens module 116. For example, the tactile force generating unit 110 may change the intensity of the tactile sensation implemented by increasing or decreasing the energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam.

Meanwhile, the tactile sense generating unit 110 may generate a tactile sensation in conjunction with the operation state of the robot arm 130. [

For example, the tactile force generating unit 110 may generate tactile sensation based on resistance force information applied to the robot arm 130 during an operation. Specifically, the tactile force generating unit 110 may generate tactile sensation based on the resistance information received during a process of invasion of the surgical site provided in the robot arm 130 or a process of moving within the affected site, It is possible to realize a feeling of strength that is proportional to the resistance. Accordingly, the tactile feedback unit 110 may be configured to generate a tactile sensation (e.g., a resistance felt during the process of invading the affected part, a resistance felt in the process of moving the medical instruments in the affected part, The resistance felt when touching the tumor with a medical instrument, etc.) can be felt during the robot operation.

In addition, the tactile force generating unit 110 may generate tactile sensation based on intensity information of a stimulus applied to the affected part by the surgical robot apparatus. Specifically, the tactile sense generating unit 110 can generate tactile sensation based on the intensity of a stimulus (thermal stimulus, electric stimulus, ultrasonic stimulus, magnetic stimulation, etc.) applied to the affected part of the robot arm 130 , It is possible to realize a tactile sense of intensity proportional to the intensity of the stimulus. Therefore, the tactile generation unit 110 can prevent the user who is insensitive to the intensity of the stimulus from applying a stimulus of an excessive intensity to damage the affected part. (It is possible to prevent the excessive stimulation from being provided since it provides the touch of the intensity proportional to the strength of the stimulus applied by the user, thereby attracting the attention of the user)

In addition, the tactile feedback unit 110 can generate tactile sensation even in a state of being interlocked with medical devices around the surgical robot apparatus. Specifically, the tactile feedback unit 110 may generate a tactile sensation based on 'patient state information' provided by the medical devices.

For example, the tactile generation unit 110 may perform an operation of generating tactile sensation when the heartbeat rate of the patient rises above a specific value or falls to a specific value or higher. In addition, the tactile feedback unit 110 may provide tactile feedback in proportion to the heart rate of the patient, and may provide heart rate information in real time. In addition to the heart rate information, the tactile generation section 110 may generate tactile sensation based on status information such as blood sugar level and brain waves.

The tactile sense generating unit 110 may be installed at various positions, but is preferably provided on the operation unit 120 of the surgical robot apparatus. This is because the user must be able to provide tactile information in the course of performing the operation.

For example, the tactile generators 110 may be installed together around the operation handle as shown in Fig. It may also be formed integrally with the operating handle as shown in Fig. 5 or Fig.

A plurality of the tactile generators 110 may be provided in a group. In this case, the plurality of tactile generators 110 may selectively operate with a time difference to implement a directional tactile pattern. For example, the plurality of tactile generators 110 may be sequentially driven in the right direction as shown in the left-hand side of FIG. 8 to implement a 'tactile pattern (tactile pattern A) moving in the right direction' (Tactile sensation pattern B) that moves upward in the upward direction as shown in the right figure.

Accordingly, the plurality of tactile generators 110 can provide various directional information related to the operation (guidance of the direction of the tumor, recommended movement direction guidance, etc.) based on the directional tactile pattern.

The operation unit 120 receives operation information for operating the surgical robot apparatus from a user. The operation unit 120 is generally configured to include an operation handle, a multi-joint link, and the like. However, the operation unit 120 may be configured in various forms.

Referring to Figs. 4-6, some examples of such an operating portion 120 can be seen. 1) First, FIG. 4 shows an operation unit 120 configured in the form of a handle having a sensor device (gyro sensor, three-axis acceleration sensor, etc.) capable of detecting position information. The operation unit 120 of FIG. 4 can generate directional operation information based on movement information (direction information that the user moves) recognized by the sensor, and based on operation information of various buttons formed on the handle body It is possible to generate functional operation information of the surgical robot. 2) Next, Fig. 5 shows an operation portion 120 composed of an operation handle and a multi-joint link. The operation unit 120 of FIG. 5 can generate direction operation information based on movement information of the multi-joint link according to a user's operation. 3) Next, Fig. 6 shows the operation unit 120 configured in the form of a joystick. The operation unit 120 of FIG. 6 can generate direction operation information based on movement information of the joystick body, and can generate function operation information of the surgical robot based on operation information of various buttons provided on the joystick body have.

Meanwhile, in the operation unit 120, the tactile generation unit 110 may be formed as described above. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, they may be provided together around the handle, or may be integrally formed with the handle as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6. In addition to these examples, the handle may be installed in various forms. Accordingly, the present invention provides information related to the operation of the surgical robot in a tactile form during the user's operation by using the 'operation unit 120 and the tactile feedback unit 110' .

The robot arm 130 is configured to substantially perform a surgical operation on the basis of operation information of the operation unit 120. The robot arm 130 is configured to face the affected part of the patient instead of the user (hands of the guide), and performs a surgical operation on the basis of operation information of the operation part 120. For example, the robot arm 130 may be moved on the basis of direction manipulation information generated by the manipulation unit 120, and based on the function manipulation information generated by the manipulation unit 120, An irritation operation, a thermal stimulation operation, an ultrasonic stimulation operation, a dressing operation, an incisional operation, etc.).

Various types of medical instruments may be installed in the robot arm 130 depending on the type of operation. The configuration of the robot arm 130 may be variously modified within a range that is obvious to a person skilled in the art.

The communication unit 140 is configured to transmit and receive information to and from external devices of the surgical robot apparatus. The communication unit 140 may include a wired communication module or a wireless communication module, and may transmit and receive data according to various communication standards. In addition, the communication unit 140 may be realized by connecting a simple wired cable.

Meanwhile, the communication unit 140 may preferably receive information from medical devices existing in the vicinity of the surgical robot apparatus. For example, the communication unit 140 may receive various status information of a patient from various medical devices such as a heartbeat device, a blood sugar measuring device, and an EEG device. (As described above, such information received through the communication unit 140 may be utilized in the operation of the tactile generation unit 110.)

The control unit 150 controls the operation of the robot surgery apparatus including the tactile sense generating unit 110, the operation unit 120, the robot arm 130, the communication unit 140, the display unit, And controls the operation of various configurations.

The control unit 150 may include at least one computing unit and a storage unit, which may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), but may be a programmable device element CPLD, FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or microcontroller chip. Also, the storage means may be a volatile memory element, a non-volatile memory or a non-volatile electromagnetic storage element, or a memory within the computing means.

Particularly, the control unit 150 controls the operation of the laser generation module 112 and the optical filter module 114 included in the tactile feedback unit 110 to collect the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam as an overall . More specifically, the controller 150 controls operations of the laser generation module 112 and the optical filter module 114 to adjust the pulse width and the intensity (Power, J / s) of the optical signal And the energy per unit pulse can be adjusted through the adjustment operation of these parameters.

The control unit 150 may control the operation of the lens module 116 included in the tactile feedback unit 110 to adjust additional parameters of the pulsed laser beam. Specifically, the control unit 150 may further adjust the diameter of the pulsed laser beam through the operation of the lens module 116.

In addition, the controller 150 may perform a control operation to increase or decrease the opto-mechanical touch according to the operation state of the surgical robot apparatus. Specifically, the control unit 150 may perform a control operation for increasing the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam to increase the opto-mechanical tactile sense, or to reduce the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam May be performed to reduce the opto-mechanical touch.

7, the control unit 150 can control the operation of the tactile generation unit 110 in conjunction with the operation state of the robot arm 130. As shown in FIG.

For example, the control unit 150 may control the tactile feedback unit 110 based on resistance force information applied to the robot arm 130 during an operation. Specifically, the tactile feedback unit 110 analyzes the resistance information received by the surgical instrument provided on the robot arm 130 in the process of invasion of the affected part or in the process of moving within the affected part, and then, (The energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit 110 is controlled) so that tactile sense of proportional intensity is realized.

In addition, the control unit 150 may control the tactile generation unit 110 based on intensity information of a stimulus applied to the affected part by the surgical robot apparatus. Specifically, the control unit 150 determines the intensity of the stimulus (thermal stimulus, electric stimulus, ultrasonic stimulus, magnetic stimulation, etc.) to be applied to the affected part of the robot arm 130, (The energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit 110 is controlled) so that the tactile feedback of the tactile feedback unit 110 can be realized.

Also, the controller 150 may control the tactile generation unit 110 based on information received from the medical devices around the surgical robot apparatus. Specifically, the controller 150 can receive 'patient status information' from the medical devices in the vicinity of the robot apparatus through the communication unit 140, and based on the received information, Can be controlled.

For example, the control unit 150 may cause the tactile feedback unit 110 to generate tactile sensation when the heartbeat rate of the patient rises above a specific value or falls below a specific value. Also, the controller 150 may analyze the heart rate information of the patient and may control the tactile generation unit 110 so that tactile sense of strength proportional to the analyzed heart rate is realized. In addition to the heart rate information, the control unit 150 may control the tactile generation unit 110 based on various status information such as blood sugar level and brain waves.

Meanwhile, when the plurality of tactile generators 110 are formed, the controller 150 can selectively operate the plurality of tactile generators 110 with a time difference to implement a directional tactile pattern. For example, the controller 150 sequentially drives the plurality of tactile generators 110 in the right direction as shown in the left-hand side of FIG. 8 to generate a tactile pattern (tactile pattern A) Or a touch pattern (touch pattern B) that moves upward in the upward direction as shown in the right picture of FIG. 8, can be implemented.

Hereinafter, a method of providing tactile feedback of a surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The tactile feedback method of the surgical robot apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a step (a) of collecting status information of the surgical robot apparatus.

Further, the method for providing tactile feedback of the surgical robot may further include a step (b) of generating a laser beam for tactile generation based on state information of the surgical robot apparatus after step a .

The plurality of laser beams are preferably pulsed laser beams.

The method of providing the tactile feedback of the surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention may include substantially the same features as those of the surgical robot apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention although the categories are different. Therefore, although not described in detail in order to prevent redundancy, the above-described features relating to the surgical robot apparatus can be analogously applied to the invention of the tactile feedback method of the surgical robot.

[Experimental Example 1]

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 9 to FIG. 16, it is experimentally verified that 'opto-mechanical touch' is caused by the 'pulse laser beam' generated by the tactile generation unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention see.

9 is a diagram showing the configuration of an experimental system for confirming the opto-mechanical effect of the laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit 110. As shown in FIG.

Such an experimental system may include a touch generating unit 110 for generating a pulsed laser beam, a collagen film, a piezo sensor, a three-axis position fine adjustment unit, and a computer.

The tactile feedback unit 110 is a constitution included in the surgical robot apparatus according to the present invention and generates and outputs a pulsed laser beam.

In this experiment, the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile feedback unit 110 is a pulse wave having a wavelength of 532 nm, a pulse width of 5 ns, a repetition rate of 10 Hz, a frequency of 0.48 A pulse laser beam having a beam diameter (diameter irradiated to the collagen film) of mm was used.

The collagen film is a type I collagen film (Neskin®-F, Medira, thickness of 300 to 500 μm) used for the purpose of Ficilitates epidermal healing & substitue, . Since more than 90% of the living tissue is composed of type I collagen, this collagen film can be used to indirectly test the effect that will occur in the biological skin tissue.

However, since the skin thickness (epidermis) of a human body differs depending on individual, sex, and race, in this experiment, five collagen films were firstly subjected to an experiment, and 10 collagen films were secondarily The experiment was carried out. This is because the skin thickness of the human body may vary in the range of 5 to 10 collagen films depending on individual, sex, and race. Referring to Table 1, the weight and thickness of five collagen films and ten collagen films can be confirmed.

Number of collagen films Weight [g] Thickness [mm] Chapter 5 0.12 0.15 Chapter 10 0.23 0.31

On the other hand, the collagen film was used in the form attached to the piezo sensor.

The piezo sensor is a device that expresses a mechanical stimulus externally expressed by an electrical output signal. Therefore, in this experiment, mechanical changes induced in the collagen film were observed using such a piezo sensor.

Meanwhile, in this experiment, a surface-coated piezo sensor (LFT1-028K, measurement specialties) was used to minimize the influence of the sensor surface on the adhesion of the collagen film.

The three-axis position fine adjustment device is a device for finely controlling the position of the piezo sensor. In addition, the computer is a device for receiving a signal output from the piezo sensor, analyzing the received signal, and displaying the analyzed result.

The following experiment was conducted using the experimental system.

1) An experiment was conducted to irradiate a pulsed laser beam having energy of 0.05 mJ per unit pulse onto a collagen film composed of five sheets.

2) The pulsed laser beam was irradiated at a frequency of 10 Hz, specifically, just before 0.05 [s], just before 0.15 [s], just before 0.25 [s] and just before 0.35 [s].

3) We analyzed the signal of the piezo sensor output in this experiment.

Figure 10 is a graph showing the results of such experiments. Referring to FIG. 10, it can be seen that the output signal of the piezo sensor is generated at a frequency of 10 Hz corresponding to the pulse repetition rate of the irradiated laser beam. It is also confirmed that the time at which the output signal is generated from the piezo sensor coincides with the point of time when the pulsed laser beam is irradiated (just before 0.05 [s], just before 0.15 [s], immediately before 0.25 [s], 0.35 [s] .

Thus, through these experimental results, it can be confirmed that the pulsed laser beam causes opto-mechanical stimulation.

In addition, the following experiment was conducted using the experimental system described above.

1) First, the output signal of the piezo sensor was observed while irradiating a pulse laser beam to a collagen film composed of five sheets by using the tactile generation section 110. Particularly, the experiment was performed while sequentially changing the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam irradiated by the tactile generation unit 110.

2) Next, the output signal of the piezo sensor was observed while irradiating the ten-sheet collagen film with the pulsed laser using the tactile generation section 110. In this case as well, the experiment was conducted while sequentially changing the energy per unit pulse of the pulsed laser beam irradiated by the tactile generation unit 110.

In this experiment, the experiment was performed with a pulse width of 5 ns, which satisfies the range of ms (millisecond) or less. Therefore, by changing the intensity (Power, J / s) of the optical signal constituting the pulsed laser beam, Change.

Also, the signal output from the piezo sensor is analyzed through processes such as i) pre-filtering, ii) removal of low-frequency components, and iii) maximum value detection as shown in Fig. That is, the output signal of the piezo sensor is analyzed through a process of preliminary filtering to remove noise first, secondarily to remove a low-frequency component, and to detect a maximum value of a signal. In addition, the results are expressed using the average of the detected maximum values.

Figures 12 and 13 are graphs showing the results of such experiments.

12 is a graph showing a change in the output signal of the piezo sensor according to a change in energy per unit pulse. The axis of abscissa was analyzed by setting the energy per unit pulse and the axis of ordinates was set as a signal (sensor output signal per unit thickness) obtained by dividing the output signal of the piezo sensor by the unit thickness.

13 is an enlarged graph of a portion of the graph of Fig. Specifically, FIG. 12 is an enlarged graph of a region surrounded by a dotted line.

12 and 13, it can be confirmed that 1) a collagen film composed of 5 sheets is caused to exhibit opto-mechanical touch when energy per unit pulse of 0.00398 mJ or more is applied, and 2) For the collagen film, it can be confirmed that opto-mechanical touch is caused when energy per unit pulse of 0.005 mJ or more is applied. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the threshold energy for inducing opto-mechanical tactility of the collagen film formed within the range of 5 to 10 sheets is in the range of 0.00398 mJ to 0.005 mJ.

On the other hand, as described above, skin thickness of common people is in the range of 5 to 10 collagen films. Therefore, if a pulsed laser beam having an energy per unit pulse of at least 0.005 mJ or more is applied to the human body, it is possible to cause the opto-mechanical touch regardless of the individual skin thickness difference.

12 and 13, it can be seen that the upper limit for increasing energy per unit pulse is set to about 9.5 mJ. This is because collagen film damage was observed in the experiment in which the energy per unit pulse was set to 9.5 mJ or more. Therefore, in order to secure safety when irradiated to human skin, the energy per unit pulse is preferably limited to a range of 9.5 mJ or less.

12 and 13, it can be seen that the intensity of the opto-mechanical tactile sensation is changed when the energy per unit pulse is increased or decreased in the range of 0.005 mJ to 9.5 mJ.

[Experimental Example 2]

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 14 to FIG. 16, it is experimentally verified that 'opto-mechanical touch' is caused by the 'pulse laser beam' generated by the tactile generation unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention see.

The following experiment was conducted to verify that the 'pulsed laser beam' induces 'opto-mechanical touch'.

1) First, the EEG (Electroencephalographic) device was used to observe the EEG changes while irradiating the right hand with the pulsed laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit. (Fig. 14A - experimental group)

2) In addition, the EEG device was used to observe EEG changes while the right hand was mechanically stimulated. (Figure 14B-control)

In the experiment, a pulse laser beam having a wavelength of 532 nm, a pulse width of 5 ns, an energy per unit pulse of 1.9 mJ, and a beam diameter of 0.48 mm was used, And mechanical stimulation was applied using a rod with the same diameter (Diameter). In addition, observation of EEG using the EEG device was performed in the C3 region and C4 region of the sensory cortex in the entire region of the brain.

Figs. 15 to 16 are diagrams showing the resultant data of this experiment.

As can be seen from Figs. 15 to 16, the EEG responses of the experimental group (observing the EEG response with the pulsed laser beam applied) and the control group (observation of the EEG response with the mechanical stimulus applied with the rod) And the average size of EEG in the area was significantly increased. Although the EEG response is delayed for a certain time in the experiment using the 'pulsed laser beam', the phenomenon that the spermic sensory cortical regions C3 and C4 are activated by the 'pulsed laser beam' . Also, the shape of the EEG response graph when the 'pulse laser beam' is applied is similar to the case where the 'bar stimulus (pure mechanical stimulus)' is applied except for the region where the response is delayed, The average size of brain waves was increased.

Therefore, through such experiment, it can be verified that the 'optical-mechanical touch' is caused by the 'pulse laser beam'.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for the purpose of illustration, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

110: tactile generation unit 112: laser generation module
114: optical filter module 116: lens module
120: Operation part 130: Robot arm
140: communication unit 150:

Claims (12)

In a surgical robot apparatus,
A tactile generation unit for generating a laser beam for tactile generation;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the laser beam is a pulsed laser beam, the pulsed laser beam stimulates skin tissue to generate tactile sensation,
Wherein the tactile feedback unit is provided on an operation unit for operating the operation of the surgical robot apparatus.
delete In a surgical robot apparatus,
A tactile generation unit for generating a laser beam for tactile generation; And
A control unit for controlling the operation of the tactile generation unit according to an operation state of the robot apparatus;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the laser beam is a pulsed laser beam, and the pulsed laser beam stimulates skin tissue to generate tactile sensation.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit controls energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit controls the energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit in consideration of the resistance force applied to the robot arm of the surgical robot apparatus.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit controls energy per unit pulse of the pulse laser beam generated by the tactile generation unit in consideration of the strength of a stimulus applied by the surgical robot apparatus.
The method of claim 3,
A communication unit for receiving information from medical devices in the vicinity of the robot apparatus;
Further comprising:
Wherein the control unit controls the operation of the tactile generation unit based on state information of a patient received through the communication unit,
Wherein the medical devices in the vicinity of the robot apparatus are interlocked with the communication unit and obtain patient state information.
The method of claim 3,
A plurality of tactile generation units are provided,
Wherein the control unit selectively operates the plurality of tactile generators with a time lag to realize a directional tactile sensation pattern.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit adjusts the energy per unit pulse by adjusting a pulse or a pulse width of the pulsed laser beam.
10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the controller adjusts the pulse width within a range of less than 100 milliseconds.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit controls the energy per unit pulse to a value in the range of 0.005 mJ to 9.5 mJ.
(a) collecting operation state information of a surgical robot apparatus; And
(b) generating a laser beam for tactile generation based on operation state information of the surgical robot apparatus;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the laser beam is a pulsed laser beam, and the pulsed laser beam stimulates skin tissue to generate tactile sensation.

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