US 6,850,817 · Granted 2005-02-01

The Telepresence Patent Behind Remote-Controlled Surgery

Imagine controlling robot arms to perform surgery from across the room—or across the world. This patent describes a system where cameras show you a 3D view of what the robot is doing, and your hand controllers feel like they're directly connected to the surgical tools, even though they're not.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a teleoperator system that combines hand controllers, robotic manipulator arms, dual cameras that capture stereoscopic views, and a display system that creates a 3D image positioned to align with the operator's hand controls. What's protected here is the specific arrangement of using a mirror to reflect an inverted 3D image to the operator's eyes while simultaneously displaying a direct workspace view near the control arms—the combination creates the illusion that the operator's hands are directly connected to the remote end effectors.

Why it matters

This patent addresses one of the hardest problems in remote surgery: the psychological disconnect between moving your hands and seeing the result happen far away. By positioning the visual feedback right next to the hand controls, the surgeon's brain receives spatial cues that make the remote arms feel like extensions of their own body. This sense of presence and direct control is what makes telepresence surgery possible at all—without it, the cognitive load makes precise surgical work extremely difficult.

Real-world use

A surgeon in New York could use this system to perform a delicate operation on a patient in a rural hospital, seeing a 3D view of the surgical field and feeling like their hands are directly holding the instruments inside the patient's body.

Original USPTO abstract

A teleoperator system with telepresence is shown which includes right and left hand controllers (72R and 72L) for control of right and left manipulators (24R and 24L) through use of a servomechanism that includes computer (42). Cameras (46R and 46L) view workspace (30) from different angles for production of stereoscopic signal outputs at lines (48R and 48L). In response to the camera outputs a 3-dimensional top-to-bottom inverted image (30I) is produced which, is reflected by mirror (66) toward the eyes of operator (18). A virtual image (30V) is produced adjacent control arms (76R and 76L) which is viewed by operator (18) looking in the direction of the control arms. By locating the workspace image (30V) adjacent the control arms (76R and 76L) the operator is provided with a sense that end effectors (40R and 40L) carried by manipulator arms (34R and 34L) and control arms (76R and 76L) are substantially integral. This sense of connection between the control arms (76R and 76L) and end effectors (40R and 40L) provide the operator with the sensation of directly controlling the end effectors by hand. By locating visual display (246) adjacent control arms (244R and 244L) image (240I) of the workspace is directly viewable by the operator. (FIGS. 12 and 13.) Use of the teleoperator system for surgical procedures also is disclosed. (FIGS. 7-9 and FIG. 13.)

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,850,817
Filing date: 2000-06-29
Grant date: 2005-02-01
Assignee: Sri International
Inventor(s): GREEN PHILIP S.
CPC class: A61B1/00193

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