Electrosurgical tool having tactile feedback

摘要

A surgical tool system including a laparoscopic surgical tool for heating, ablating, sealing, and/or dissecting tissue, a control system for monitoring impedance of the tissue during treatment thereof, and a tactile feedback system integrated onto a handle of the tool that generates relevant feedback from the control system in at least the form of haptic effects to the user. The tactile feedback alerts the tool user of changes in tissue properties, i.e., when the impedance of the tissue indicates that the treatment procedure is complete. In addition, the tactile feedback provided may supply information relating to the operating status of the control system to the user.

主权项

1. A surgical tool comprising:
a handle; an electrical tissue contact element operable to ablate tissue mounted on a distal portion of the tool, wherein the distal portion is connected to the handle via a shaft; a power source electrically connected to the tissue contact element; an impedance analyzer electrically connected to the tissue contact element, wherein the impedance analyzer receives impedance measurement signals from the tissue contact element and calculates tissue impedance; a tactile mapping logic electrically connected to the impedance analyzer, wherein the tactile mapping logic receives calculated impedance information from the impedance analyzer and processes the information into signal commands; and a feedback system including one or more haptic actuators coupled to the handle and electrically connected to the tactile mapping logic, wherein the tactile mapping logic communicates the signal commands to the feedback system and the feedback system uses the signal commands to generate a first haptic feedback relating to the calculated impedance information to the handle, and wherein the feedback system separately communicates information to a user about operating parameters of the power source as a second haptic feedback generated by the feedback system, wherein the operating parameters include a frequency setting and an amplitude setting of the power source which are mapped into a set of vibrotactile alerts to provide confirmation that the power source is in a correct operating mode before the power source engages in electrosurgical activity and wherein at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a duration of the vibrotactile alerts vary based on changing levels of the operating parameters as the power source engages in electrosurgical activity, and wherein the second haptic feedback is generated separate from the first haptic feedback.