CN114145781A - Ultrasonic inspection system for transluminal tract - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a transluminal ultrasonic examination system, which comprises: the ultrasonic imaging subsystem comprises an ultrasonic probe, a probe body and a probe body, wherein the ultrasonic probe is used for being inserted into a cavity to be inspected and acquiring an ultrasonic image; the robot subsystem comprises a mechanical arm and a control unit thereof, wherein the mechanical arm drives the ultrasonic probe to move in the cavity so as to execute ultrasonic examination through the cavity; the ultrasonic probe adapter comprises an ultrasonic probe adapter and a control unit thereof, wherein one end of the ultrasonic probe adapter is fixed at the tail end of the mechanical arm, and the other end of the ultrasonic probe adapter is connected with the ultrasonic probe; the control system is connected with the ultrasonic imaging subsystem, the mechanical arm control unit and the ultrasonic probe adapter control unit and controls the ultrasonic probe to move within the RCM point constraint range in the process of being inserted into the cavity to be checked.

Description

Ultrasonic inspection system for transluminal tract

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical equipment, in particular to the field of medical auxiliary ultrasonic inspection robots.

Background

In robot-guided minimally invasive surgery, one or more tools are held by a robotic manipulator, and to ensure that the robot does not exert translational forces on the incision point of the patient, some robots implement a Remote Center of Motion (RCM) motion at a fulcrum point. The RCM motion forces that only rotation can be performed at the RCM point and all circumferential translational forces at that location are eliminated. "RCM robot" broadly encompasses any robot having a structural configuration defining a remote center of motion.

In the prior art, the remote motion center is usually defined by the mechanical structure configuration of the RCM robot, for example, CN204446127U a mechanical arm RCM mechanism of a laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery robot, CN210019644U a needle insertion device of a puncture robot based on a double-parallelogram RCM mechanism, CN112754662A a variable-angle RCM actuator and a surgical device, etc., mostly depend on the double-parallelogram mechanism to realize RCM motion. The principle of the method is shown in fig. 1, wherein ABCDEFG in fig. 1 is a joint node, connecting rods AB, AD, BC, CG, DG, FG, CE, EF are connected between the joint nodes to form a double-parallelogram structure, and the double-parallelogram structure holds a surgical tool to enable the surgical tool to perform RCM motion around a remote motion center O point.

The main advantages of realizing RCM movement by means of the RCM mechanical structure are that the RCM movement is guaranteed by means of the mechanical structure, the system stability is high, the application is wide, and with the development of the technology, mechanisms in other forms such as an arc-shaped mechanical structure and a spherical mechanical structure are adopted to realize RCM movement. However, the following problems are inevitably existed in the devices for realizing RCM movement by mechanical structure:

1. low flexibility and poor versatility: the RCM movement realized by the RCM mechanical structure is limited by the size and the principle of the mechanical structure, the RCM point is fixed and unchanged relative to the mechanical structure, such as the O point in fig. 1, and the RCM point cannot be changed on the premise of not changing the size of the mechanical structure and the hardware design, so that the structure has lower flexibility and poorer universality.

2. Other support mechanisms are required: the RCM that relies on the RCM mechanism to realize moves, and this mechanism general volume can not be too big, so need with extra leg joint, this support probably is multiple forms such as arm, fixed bolster, owing to need additionally to design the support, overall structure is not simple and convenient enough, and because mechanical structure is bulky, mechanical structure bumps each other easily, interferes the scheduling problem.

The above problems are particularly acute when designing a robot for ultrasound examination via a lumen (e.g. transrectal ultrasound examination) because: the ultrasonic examination has different patient conditions, more obvious problems of flexibility and universality, and larger limitation by the interference of the peripheral parts of the body cavity, patients with different heights and slimness and the like; in addition, when ultrasonic examination is performed on different cavity parts, the general use of the equipment is difficult due to the limitation of a mechanical structure. In addition, when the robot for ultrasonic examination through the cavity is used together with other equipment, the motion space is more limited, and the collision and interference problems caused by parts such as a fixed bracket in an RCM mechanical structure are more obvious. Therefore, for a robot for ultrasonic examination through a cavity, how to solve the above problems of a mechanical mechanism for RCM movement in the prior art and better realize the control of the ultrasonic probe to perform Remote Center Movement (RCM) movement at the cavity orifice of a human body, so that the RCM movement is not limited by the mechanism, has more universality and flexibility, and is important.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is based on the above technical problem and proposes a solution.

The invention provides a transluminal ultrasonic examination system, which comprises: the ultrasonic imaging subsystem comprises an ultrasonic probe, a probe and a probe holder, wherein the ultrasonic probe is used for being inserted into a cavity to be inspected and acquiring an ultrasonic image; the robot subsystem comprises a mechanical arm and a control unit thereof, and the mechanical arm drives the ultrasonic probe to move in the cavity so as to execute ultrasonic examination through the cavity; the ultrasonic probe adapter comprises an ultrasonic probe adapter and a control unit thereof, wherein one end of the ultrasonic probe adapter is fixed at the tail end of the mechanical arm, and the other end of the ultrasonic probe adapter is connected with the ultrasonic probe; and the control system is connected with the ultrasonic imaging subsystem, the mechanical arm control unit and the ultrasonic probe adapter control unit and controls the ultrasonic probe to move within the RCM point constraint range in the process of being inserted into the cavity to be examined.

Preferably, the control system also controls the movement of the ultrasound probe within a safe range.

Preferably, the ultrasonic inspection system further comprises a trolley and a control unit thereof, the mechanical arm is fixed on the trolley, and the control system is further connected with the trolley control unit.

Preferably, the information of the RCM point is acquired by teaching of a doctor.

Preferably, the information of the RCM points is obtained by reading mark point information.

Preferably, the ultrasound examination system further comprises an ultrasound probe sheath, and the marking points are arranged outside the ultrasound probe sheath and are visual marking points.

Preferably, an image sensor is arranged on the ultrasonic probe adapter and used for reading the information of the visual mark points.

Preferably, the ultrasound probe is rotatable about an axis of the probe body to acquire ultrasound images over a 360 degree field of view.

Preferably, the ultrasonic probe adapter drives the ultrasonic probe to rotate around the main axis of the probe body.

Preferably, the robot subsystem is further provided with a torque sensor, a position sensor and/or a tracking sensor for recording torque and position information of the RCM point.

The invention also provides an RCM motion control method of the transluminal ultrasonic examination system, which comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps of initial positioning of a mechanical arm, determination of an RCM point and position information of the RCM point, and movement of an ultrasonic probe along a cavity channel within a constraint range of the RCM point and ultrasonic examination.

Preferably, the RCM points and the position information thereof are acquired by teaching or reading the visual mark points by a doctor.

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of determining a safety range, and the ultrasonic probe also moves within the determined safety range.

Preferably, the initial positioning step of the robot arm further comprises the step of selecting a target pose mode of the robot arm.

Aiming at the problems in the background art, the invention designs a transluminal ultrasonic examination system based on a cooperative mechanical arm and an RCM motion control method thereof under the application scene of transluminal ultrasonic examination. The system and the RCM motion control method provided by the invention simplify the design of the whole mechanism and have wider adaptability.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mechanism-based RCM motion scheme in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the principal components of a transluminal ultrasound inspection system provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the main structural components of an ultrasonic inspection system provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the RCM movement principle of the ultrasonic probe adapter and the ultrasonic probe in the body lumen according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the main steps of a method for controlling RCM movement of a transluminal ultrasound examination system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the steps provided to initially position a robotic arm according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating steps provided for performing RCM point and safety margin teaching in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a safety margin teaching according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of acquiring RCM point information through a mark point according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a calibration step in RCM constraint motion provided in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a motion-constrained manner of RCM provided according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals:

100-an ultrasound imaging subsystem, 101-an ultrasound probe, 102-an ultrasound imaging device; 200-ultrasound probe adapter, 201-adapter body, 202-adapter control unit; 203-an image sensor; 300-robot subsystem, 301-mechanical arm, 302-mechanical arm control unit; 400-a control system; 501-trolley, 502-trolley control unit; 600-ultrasound probe sheath, 601-visual marker points.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the specific embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, and not restrictive of the full scope of the invention. Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail in relation to specific embodiments thereof, it should be understood that these details are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Based on the technical solutions disclosed in the present invention, any improvement or modification made by those skilled in the art without creative efforts shall also fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The present application describes the embodiments as an example of an ultrasonic examination scene for a rectal cavity as an example of a natural cavity of a human body, however, those skilled in the art will understand that the system and the control method of the present application can be applied to ultrasonic examination of other cavities (for example, digestive tract, urinary tract, reproductive tract, nasal cavity, external auditory canal, nasolacrimal duct, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a transluminal ultrasound examination system, which includes an ultrasound imaging subsystem 100 for inserting into a lumen to be examined and acquiring ultrasound images; an ultrasound probe adapter 200 connected to an ultrasound probe in the ultrasound imaging subsystem 100; a robot subsystem 300 connected to the ultrasound probe adapter 200; the ultrasonic imaging subsystem 100, the ultrasonic probe adapter and the robot subsystem are all connected and communicated with a control system, and under the control of the control system, the robot subsystem can drive the ultrasonic probe of the ultrasonic imaging subsystem to move according to a preset track, so that the ultrasonic probe moves around an RCM point in the process of being inserted into a cavity to be checked.

As shown in fig. 3, the transluminal ultrasound examination system includes a control system 400, where the control system 400 is a host computer control system and is responsible for overall control of the system, the host computer control system is connected to the ultrasound imaging device 102 in the ultrasound imaging subsystem 100, the host computer control system is also connected to the adapter control unit 202 of the ultrasound probe adapter 200, and the host computer control system is also connected to the mechanical arm control unit 302 in the robot subsystem 300, in this way, the control system can acquire the position of the mechanical arm 301, the moment feedback information, the ultrasound image, and the position information of the ultrasound probe adapter in real time, and further control the ultrasound probe 101 to perform RCM motion.

Since the tract of a human body to be examined is typically an elongated channel, in the transluminal ultrasound examination system of the present invention, the ultrasound imaging subsystem 100 includes an ultrasound probe 101, and the ultrasound probe 101 is an elongated structure. Comprises an elongated and somewhat rigid probe body for insertion into a lumen to be examined. An imaging sensor is mounted at the front end of the probe body so as to acquire an ultrasonic image of surrounding tissues during the insertion of the probe body into the cavity. The imaging sensor can be a linear array imaging sensor or a convex array imaging sensor, can be one component or a plurality of components, and it should be understood that all the imaging sensors which can be arranged on the probe body and acquire the ultrasonic images can be applicable to the patent. Preferably, the ultrasound probe can acquire an ultrasound image within a 360-degree view angle range, and the function can be realized by selecting an ultrasound probe having the function (i.e., a probe in which a sensor in the probe can rotate by itself) or by controlling the rotation of the ultrasound probe adapter 201. The ultrasound probe 101 is connected to the ultrasound imaging apparatus 102, is driven and controlled by the ultrasound imaging apparatus 102, and feeds back an acquired ultrasound image signal to the ultrasound imaging apparatus 102.

The robotic subsystem 300 includes a robotic arm 301 and a control unit 302 preprogrammed with predetermined tasks. Wherein the mechanical arm 301 is fixed on the trolley and provides support and motion control for the ultrasound probe. The robot arm control unit 302 may be any means for controlling the robot to perform inspection tasks during the inspection process. The control unit may be implemented entirely in hardware, or it may comprise a programmed module in memory. The control unit may comprise several interconnected controllers of a single central controller.

The robot may be, for example, a multi-joint robot. Accordingly, the robotic arm 301 may be a multi-joint, e.g., five-axis, six-axis robot. The multi-joint robot may be a robot including one or more joints and a part (or a body) connecting the joints with another joint, and may be a six-joint or seven-joint robot for more flexible and accurate control. However, this is merely an example, and the idea of the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, a device including one or more drivers and one or more parts and operating in accordance with a control signal may correspond to the robot of the present invention.

The robotic arm 301 may include one or more condition sensors. The sensor may be, for example, a force/torque sensor that signals forces and/or torques on the joints or connectors of the robot arm during the examination procedure. The sensor may also be a tracking sensor to indicate the position of the tip of the robotic arm during the inspection process. The sensor may also be a position sensor to indicate the position of the joints of the support arm during the examination procedure. The sensor may also be a grip sensor that detects when a person is gripping the vicinity of the end of the robotic arm.

The arm control unit 302 can drive the joints of the robot arm 301 based on the teaching information. The control part or the control unit may include all kinds of devices capable of processing data, such as a processor. Here, the "processor" may mean, for example, a data processing device having a physically structured circuit and built in hardware for exhibiting a function represented by a code or a command included in a program. Examples of the data processing device incorporated in hardware include a microprocessor, a central processing unit, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, and the like.

The ultrasonic probe adapter 200 comprises an adapter main body 201 and an adapter control unit 202, wherein one end of the adapter main body 201 is fixed at the tail end of the mechanical arm 301, and the other end of the adapter main body is connected with the ultrasonic probe 101. The ultrasound probe 101 is secured to the end of the mechanical arm 301 by an ultrasound probe adapter 200, and preferably the adapter 200 may include one degree of freedom for rotating the ultrasound probe 101 about the main axis of the probe body.

A trolley 501 and a trolley control unit 502, which are used for completing the initial positioning of the mechanical arm 301 and the target cavity position. The trolley 501 may include at least one degree of freedom to complete the vertical movement of the robot arm 301 or include 3 degrees of freedom under the control of the trolley control unit 502, and controls the robot arm 301 to move in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Although not shown, it should be understood that the ultrasound inspection system provided by embodiments of the present invention also includes a user input in communication with the control system 400 for enabling a user to initiate pre-programmed tasks or to enter instructions or parameter information for control. The user input may include a microphone and voice recognition module for verbal initiation of tasks, a foot pedal for activating the robot, and/or a keyboard for non-verbal initiation of tasks. The input may also include items such as buttons, mice, joysticks, trackballs, head mounted pointers, or any other user input device.

And, although not shown, it should be understood that the ultrasound examination system provided by the embodiment of the present invention further includes a display portion, which can display the current working state of the robot subsystem 300, the ultrasound image acquired by the ultrasound imaging subsystem 100, and the like. Therefore, the display unit can represent a display device for displaying graphics, characters, or images. For example, the display unit may be formed of any one of a cathode ray tube CRT, a liquid crystal display LCD, a plasma display panel PDP, a light emitting diode LED, and an organic electroluminescent diode OLED, but the concept of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The input section may represent various means for acquiring an input of the user. For example, the input unit may be any one or a combination of one or more of a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a microphone, and a button. The input unit may represent touch means for performing input on the display unit. This is merely an example, and the idea of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Although not shown, the robot subsystem and the ultrasound imaging subsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a communication unit and a memory.

Fig. 4 shows that the ultrasonic probe adapter 201 according to the present invention has one end connected to the end of the cooperative mechanical arm 301 and the other end connected to the ultrasonic probe 101, and drives the ultrasonic probe 101 to enter the body lumen C for ultrasonic examination, wherein the ultrasonic probe 101 can advance or retreat along the direction indicated by arrow a in the figure and can rotate along the direction indicated by arrow R, i.e. move in a manner of rotating around the main axis of the probe body, and during the process of inserting the ultrasonic probe 101 into the body lumen C, the movement process is restricted by the RCM remote center point (usually located at the lumen orifice of the lumen to be examined) shown in the figure, and the RCM movement process is performed.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the main steps of a method for controlling RCM motion of a transluminal ultrasound examination system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The overall process of the RCM motion control method comprises three stages:

step one, initially positioning the mechanical arm. In this step, the end of the robot arm 301 is positioned to match the target channel by moving the cart 501 and controlling the elevation of the entire robot arm 301. The trolley adopted in the initial positioning step can be flexibly and quickly adapted to various target cavity positions, and the universality of the scheme is improved.

And step two, determining the RCM point and the position information thereof. In this step, the RCM point is determined, and position information of the RCM point is fed back to the control system 400. The position information of the RCM point may be obtained by teaching the doctor by moving the robot arm 301, or may be obtained in other similar ways.

Illustratively, as shown in FIG. 9, the ultrasound inspection system further includes an ultrasound probe sheath 600, the sheath 600 being adapted to mate with the ultrasound probe 101 during an ultrasound inspection procedure, to be pre-inserted into the lumen, to provide physical support, and to function as a couplant supply. The sheath 600 has an elongated cylindrical shape as a whole, and an outer end portion thereof is located near the orifice of the lumen after insertion into the lumen. A visual mark point 601 may be provided at the outer end of the sheath for positioning, and the information of the visual mark point 601 is read by an image sensor 203 (e.g., a camera) provided on the probe adapter 201, thereby acquiring the position information of the RCM point; the visual marker points 601 are preferably arranged in pairs, and the number of the arrangement can be adjusted as required.

And step three, determining a safety range. In this step, based on the constraint of the RCM point determined in step two, the robot arm 301 may be further moved to teach a movable range constraint or a moment constraint as safety range data of the system. The step is taken as an optimal step, the overall safety of the system can be further improved, and the problem of lower safety when the series mechanical arm is used for RCM movement is solved.

And fourthly, performing ultrasonic examination along the cavity channel within the RCM point constraint range. After the RCM teaching of the mechanical arm 301 is completed, the mechanical arm 301 drives the ultrasonic probe 101 to complete an ultrasonic inspection task according to a set track, so as to realize a required data acquisition process such as ultrasonic three-dimensional reconstruction.

Compared with most of the existing surgical robots which rely on the RCM mechanism to realize RCM movement, the ultrasonic examination system provided by the invention can realize automatic ultrasonic examination in the RCM point constraint range, the RCM point can be dynamically set according to the teaching of doctors or marking points, and the like, is not constrained by the fixed positions of the RCM point and the mechanical structure, and can be quickly adjusted and suitable for examination of patients with multiple parts, cavities and different body types. The mechanical arm simultaneously completes the functions of supporting and positioning and RCM movement, simplifies the design of the whole mechanism and has wider adaptability. And the safety problem when the serial mechanical arm completes the RCM movement is improved through a control method of RCM point teaching.

The RCM motion control method of the ultrasound inspection system provided by the present invention is described in more detail below with reference to fig. 6-10.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the main steps of initially positioning the robot arm 301.

Considering that when the ultrasonic examination system provided by the present invention is used for ultrasonic examination through the cavity, the volume, posture and position of the cavity of the patient are different, the mechanical arm 301 needs to be able to adjust the initial position and posture thereof in real conditions.

Step S11: the dolly 501 is moved to the vicinity of the target position. The step can be either manual pushing or automatic moving, and the target position refers to a position which is near the patient to be examined and is close to the cavity entrance of the patient but still has a certain adjusting distance. By this step, the apparatus main body including the robot arm and the ultrasonic probe is quickly moved to the vicinity of the patient.

Step S12: selecting a mechanical arm 301 and a mechanical arm target attitude mode according to the position of the target cavity;

step S13: the control system 400 controls the robotic arm 301 to move to the target pose mode;

step S14: further moving the cart 501 to adjust the position of the base of the robot arm 301 so that the tip of the robot arm 301 can reach the target lumen;

step S15: the posture of the mechanical arm 301 is finely adjusted, so that the mechanical arm 301 can meet other external space requirements when working;

step S16: the control system 400 confirms the robot arm base position and current pose.

The target posture modes in step S12 and step S13 are classified according to the target channels, and are mainly based on the direction of the target channels, and for example, the posture modes can be divided into three posture modes, i.e., a horizontal target channel opening, a vertical target channel opening, and a vertical target channel opening. According to different attitude modes, a reference direction to which the end of the robot arm 301 is to be directed can be acquired. In the present invention, the reference direction may indicate a direction in which the tip of the robot faces even though the posture of the robot changes according to the teaching. At this time, the reference direction may be, for example, a direction perpendicular to the work plane in the three-dimensional space or a southward direction. Such a reference direction can be obtained by teaching the reference direction by the user. For example, in order to orient the tip of the robot in the reference direction set by the user, the user can set the reference direction by physically manipulating each part of the robot including the tip. The reference direction may be obtained by a user operating an input unit. For example, the user can set the reference direction by generating a control signal for at least one joint of the robot through the input unit and transmitting the control signal to each joint. This is merely an example, and the idea of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of determining the RCM point in a teaching manner.

Step S21: the ultrasonic probe adapter body 201 is mounted on the tip of the robot arm 301, and the ultrasonic probe 101 is mounted on the ultrasonic probe adapter body 201.

In this way, the ultrasonic probe adapter according to the invention can be added to a conventional mechanical arm device, so that the RCM motion control of the ultrasonic probe can be realized, and the convenience and the universality are greatly improved. The ultrasound probe adapter body 201 may be any mechanical structure capable of performing the above-mentioned functions, and the adapter body 201 needs to be connected with the control unit 202, or alternatively, the control unit 202 of the adapter is disposed inside the adapter body 201.

The adapter 200 is also used for determining the relative position relationship between the ultrasonic probe 101 and the mechanical arm 301, and the position relationship between the tail end of the ultrasonic probe 101 and the tail end of the mechanical arm 301 can be determined by the fixed mechanical size of the adapter 200 and the ultrasonic probe 101 with known mechanical size. When the mechanical size of the ultrasonic probe 101 fixed by the ultrasonic probe adapter 200 is unknown (for example, when the ultrasonic probe with unknown mechanical size is mounted on the adapter), the tool coordinate system in which the start position and the end position of the working area of the ultrasonic probe are the origin of the tool coordinate system may be calibrated by a conventional calibration method (for example, a six-point calibration method of a tool coordinate system of a robot arm, etc.) to obtain the positional relationship of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the end of the robot arm.

On the adapter body, sensors may also be provided, which may be one or more of force/torque sensors, tracking sensors, position sensors, grip sensors. The data measured by the sensors are transmitted to the adaptor control unit 202.

Step S22: the ultrasound probe adapter 201 is dragged to a position where the ultrasound probe 101 touches the target RCM point, which is typically the entrance to the lumen, for example for transrectal ultrasound examination, which is then selected to be near the anal orifice.

Step S23: when the ultrasonic probe 101 touches the RCM point of the target cavity, the position of the RCM point is confirmed and recorded through an input device of an ultrasonic inspection system;

step S24: starting the teaching of the safe range of RCM motion through an input device of the ultrasonic inspection system, wherein at the moment, the mechanical arm 301 enters an RCM constraint state;

step S25: dragging the mechanical arm 301 to move around the RCM point, and confirming the safety positions in multiple directions;

step S26: the control system records parameters such as the range angle of each direction in step S24 and the moment information during the movement.

After step S26 ends, the teaching process of the RCM point and the safety range ends, and the ultrasound inspection system has recorded the position information of the RCM point and the related information of the safety range (range angle, moment, etc. of each direction).

Referring to fig. 8, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a safety range acquiring method of an ultrasonic examination system according to an embodiment of the present invention, as a lumen to be examined, a natural lumen opening of a human body is a smooth curve closed opening, such as a generally cylindrical lumen shown in fig. 8, and the lumen has a virtual axis. The RCM point of motion of the ultrasound probe 101 is located on this virtual axis and near the orifice of the lumen.

In the aforementioned step S26, after recording parameters such as the range angle of each direction and the moment information during the movement of the probe, the acquisition of the safe movement range can be quickly obtained by using a closed approximately smooth curve passing through the teach point. For example: as shown in fig. 8, the angle information obtained by recording in S26 includes a1, a2, A3, a4, and preferably, the obtained angle values are angle values dispersed in a range of 360 degrees; a1, A2, A3 and A4 are angle values obtained in sequence in the teaching process, and moment information of the position of each angle value (A1, A2, A3 and A4) and moment change information in the process that the probe 101 moves from A1 to A2, then moves to A3 and then moves to A4 are recorded.

From the angle value, the moment information, and the moment variation information, a safety range, that is, a range of a virtual cone in which the RCM point is a fixed point and the virtual position of the distal end of the ultrasound probe 101 is a bottom surface in fig. 8, can be determined. The mechanical arm 301 controls the ultrasonic probe 101 to perform RCM movement, and the safe movement range cannot be exceeded.

Preferably, a safe torque restriction range may be set, and when the ultrasound probe 101 needs to make the RCM move to a certain position, the torque range is the torque range of the teaching point considering the safety factor. When the constraints of the safe motion range and the safe torque range are exceeded, the ultrasonic inspection system gives an alarm to prompt manual intervention.

Considering the features of the sheath that can be used in transluminal ultrasound examinations such as rectal ultrasound examinations, the process of manually dragging the probe to teach the RCM centromere in step S22 can also accomplish the automatic identification of the RCM point by designing the positioning means (e.g., the visual marker point 601) on the sheath. Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure and principle of determining the RCM points by recognizing the visual mark points. As previously mentioned, the ultrasound inspection system further comprises an ultrasound probe sheath 600, which sheath 600 is adapted to be pre-inserted into the lumen C, to provide physical support, and to function as a couplant supply, in cooperation with the ultrasound probe 101 during an ultrasound inspection. The sheath 600 has an elongated cylindrical shape as a whole, and an outer end portion thereof is positioned near the orifice of the lumen after being inserted into the lumen C. A visual mark point 601 may be provided at the outer end of the sheath for positioning, and the information of the visual mark point 601 is read by an image sensor 203 (e.g., a camera) provided on the probe adapter 201, thereby acquiring the position information of the RCM point; the visual marker points 601 are preferably arranged in pairs, and the number of the arrangement can be adjusted as required. The visual mark point can also be a two-dimensional code or the like, and the image sensor 203 can read the information of the visual mark point to complete the automatic identification of the spatial position of the RCM point.

An embodiment of a control manner of the ultrasonic inspection system moving within the constraint range of the RCM point provided by the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 10 to 11.

As described above, after the control system 400 acquires and determines the RCM point position information and the safe movement range, the ultrasonic inspection system can move within the RCM point constraint range to perform the ultrasonic inspection. The method comprises the following steps:

calibration, as shown in fig. 10, with the tip position of the ultrasonic probe 101 as the origin of the tool coordinate system of the robot arm 301; and acquiring a spatial position coordinate P _ RCM of the RCM remote center point under a coordinate system of the mechanical arm 301;

further, as shown in fig. 11, when the ultrasonic probe 101 needs to move from the initial position posture to the target position posture, the mechanical arm 301 and the ultrasonic probe adapter 201 drive the ultrasonic probe 101 to move along the origin of the original tool coordinate system according to the following steps:

as an example, knowing that the spatial coordinate position of the current RCM point is P _ RCM (the position is the position coordinate in the tool coordinate system TCP _1), the ultrasound probe 101 is controlled by the mechanical arm to move the probe tip from the current position P _ end to the target position P _ end' under the condition that the constraint of the current RCM point is satisfied, and the moving steps are as follows:

step S41: driving the ultrasound probe 101 to deflect an angle w around a current RCM point (P _ RCM);

step S42: driving the ultrasonic probe 101 to move a distance | P _ end-P _ rcm | along the axial direction of the ultrasonic probe in the original tool coordinate system (TCP _1) to reach a target position P _ end;

step S43: after step S42, the robot arm tool coordinate system TCP _1 is updated to a new tool coordinate system TCP _ 1';

step S44: the movement of the ultrasonic probe 101 to the target position P _ end' is completed.

Wherein:

w is an included angle between a space straight line between the target position point and the current RCM point and the space straight line between the current position point and the current RCM point, and the included angle comprises rotation angle components around three coordinate axes of x, y and z which take the current RCM point as an origin of a tool coordinate system;

p _ end is the current position of the tail end of the ultrasonic probe, and P _ end' is the target position of the tail end of the ultrasonic probe;

p _ RCM is the current RCM constraint point and is the spatial position of the origin of the tool coordinate system TCP _1 of the current mechanical arm;

p _ start is the initial position of the ultrasonic probe, namely the limit position of the ultrasonic probe which can be inserted into the cavity, and P _ start to P _ end are all the positions of the ultrasonic probe which can be theoretically inserted into the cavity;

when the end of the ultrasound probe moves from the current position P _ end to the target position P _ end ', the spatial position P _ RCM ' of the RCM constraining point is still equal to the spatial position P _ RCM of the RCM constraining point before the movement, i.e. P _ RCM ' is P _ RCM, but the tool coordinate system TCP _1 ' after the movement is changed relative to the tool coordinate system before the movement, i.e. the relative position where P _ RCM ' is equal to P _ start ' in fig. 11 is changed relative to the tool coordinate system before the movement, so the user coordinate system needs to be updated to a new position TCP _1 '.

After the above movement is completed, the ultrasonic probe 101 continues to rotate around the RCM point to the next target position P _ end "under the updated tool coordinate system TCP _ 1' in a similar manner, and updates the robot arm tool coordinate system to a new tool coordinate system TCP _ 1".

The ultrasonic inspection system through the cavity and the RCM motion control method thereof can realize the remote central motion control of the robot, use the mature 6-axis or 7-axis cooperative mechanical arm developed in the market at present, add an adapter connected with an ultrasonic probe at the tail end, set an RCM point and a safety limit range at the same time, dynamically set the RCM point, are not restricted by the fixed positions of the RCM point and the mechanical structure, and can be quickly adjusted and suitable for the inspection of patients with cavities and different body types at a plurality of parts. The system and the method provided by the invention simplify the design of the whole mechanism and have wider adaptability.

It should be noted that the above sequence of steps is only for clearly explaining the embodiment, and does not limit the sequence of the processing steps. In fact, the above steps may be completed in different orders, and those skilled in the art may adjust the steps as needed, and some steps may be added and/or deleted, wherein some steps may further include several sub-steps, and further description of more conventional processing steps is not repeated herein. Some of the steps described above may also be repeated if processing is to be facilitated.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, but the description is only for the preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the present invention should be covered by the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. A translumenal ultrasound examination system, comprising:

the ultrasonic imaging subsystem comprises an ultrasonic probe, a probe and a probe holder, wherein the ultrasonic probe is used for being inserted into a cavity to be inspected and acquiring an ultrasonic image;

the robot subsystem comprises a mechanical arm and a control unit thereof, and the mechanical arm drives the ultrasonic probe to move in the cavity so as to execute ultrasonic examination through the cavity;

the ultrasonic probe adapter comprises an ultrasonic probe adapter and a control unit thereof, wherein one end of the ultrasonic probe adapter is fixed at the tail end of the mechanical arm, and the other end of the ultrasonic probe adapter is connected with the ultrasonic probe;

and the control system is connected with the ultrasonic imaging subsystem, the mechanical arm control unit and the ultrasonic probe adapter control unit and controls the ultrasonic probe to move within the RCM point constraint range in the process of being inserted into the cavity to be examined.

2. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 1, wherein: the control system also controls the ultrasonic probe to move within a safe range.

3. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 1, wherein: the ultrasonic inspection system further comprises a trolley and a control unit thereof, the mechanical arm is fixed on the trolley, and the control system is further connected with the trolley control unit.

4. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 1, wherein: and the information of the RCM point is acquired through the teaching of a doctor.

5. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 1, wherein: and the information of the RCM point is obtained by reading the mark point information.

6. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 5, wherein: the ultrasonic inspection system further comprises an ultrasonic probe sheath, wherein the mark points are arranged outside the ultrasonic probe sheath, and the mark points are visual mark points.

7. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 6, wherein: and the ultrasonic probe adapter is provided with an image sensor for reading the information of the visual mark points.

8. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 1, wherein: the ultrasound probe is rotatable about a main axis of the probe body to acquire ultrasound images over a 360 degree field of view.

9. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 8, wherein: the ultrasonic probe adapter drives the ultrasonic probe to rotate around the axis of the probe main body.

10. The translumenal ultrasound inspection system of claim 1, wherein: the ultrasonic inspection system is also provided with a torque sensor, a position sensor and/or a tracking sensor, and is used for recording torque and position information of the RCM point.

11. A RCM motion control method of a transluminal ultrasonic examination system comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps of initial positioning of a mechanical arm, determination of an RCM point and position information of the RCM point, and movement of an ultrasonic probe along a cavity channel within a constraint range of the RCM point and ultrasonic examination.

12. The RCM motion control method of a transluminal ultrasound inspection system of claim 11, wherein: the RCM point and the position information thereof are acquired by teaching or reading the visual mark points by a doctor.

13. The RCM motion control method of a transluminal ultrasound inspection system of claim 11 or 12, wherein: further comprising the step of determining a safety range, and the ultrasound probe is also moved within the determined safety range.

14. The RCM motion control method of a transluminal ultrasound inspection system of claim 11 or 12, wherein: the initial positioning step of the robotic arm further comprises the step of selecting a target pose mode of the robotic arm.

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