System and method for augmentation of surgery

Keywords: Patents, Robots, Surgery

Applicant: International Business Machines CorporationPatent number:US6,231,526Publication date: 8 December 1999Title: System and method for augmentation of surgery

This patent presents a system and method for positioning, moving and locating surgical instruments for performing surgery on a patient. The system and method includes a manipulator for manipulating a surgical instrument relative to a patient's body and a position sensor for sensing the position of the surgical instrument relative to the patient's body. The manipulator can be manually or computer actuated and can have brakes to limit movement. In a preferred embodiment, only orthogonal motion between members of the manipulator is provided. The position sensor includes beacons connected to the patient and manipulator or surgical instrument and a three-dimensional beacon sensor adapted to sense the location and position of the beacons. Redundant joint sensors on the manipulator may also be provided. The system and method uses a computer to actively interact with the surgeon and can use various different input and output devices and modes.