Abstract: An operation support device having a surgical instrument unit and a surgical instrument unit support section, includes: an intermediate member connected to the surgical instrument support section and configured to hold the surgical instrument unit; a shielding member having a hole portion engaged with the intermediate member; and a driving force supply unit installed at the surgical instrument support section. A first space and a second space are formed by an assembly constituted by the shielding member and the intermediate member engaged with the hole portion as a boundary. The intermediate member is connected to the surgical instrument support section at a side of the first space, and holds the surgical instrument unit at a side of the second space. The driving force supply unit and the surgical instrument support section are disposed in the first space.

Abstract: A flexible-manipulator guide member is provided in an inserted portion of a flexible manipulator including the elongated flexible inserted portion, the movable portion disposed at the distal end of the inserted portion, a drive portion disposed at the base end of the inserted portion, and the elongated driving-force transmitting member that transmits motive power of the drive portion to the movable portion, and is provided with a lumen through which the driving-force transmitting member passes in the longitudinal direction, wherein the lumen has a twisted shape about the longitudinal axis of the inserted portion.

Abstract: A medical manipulator includes an insertion portion, an arm portion, a light irradiation section irradiating a luminous flux having an optical axis parallel to an arm axial line, an imaging section imaging a locus of an optical image, a rotational movement portion rotating the arm portion around a reference axial line, and an initialization control unit performing initialization control to aligning the arm portion with the reference axial line, in which the initialization control unit includes: a locus acquisition control section controlling the light irradiation section, the rotational movement portion, and the imaging section to acquire a locus of the luminous flux, a convergence determination section computing a diameter of the locus and determines whether or not the diameter of the locus has converged, a driving amount correction section obtaining a driving amount of the first redundant joint and performs driving, and a convergence operation control section.

Abstract: A method of controlling a manipulator system that includes a manipulator having an end effector and a joint portion and a manipulation input device for inputting a movement direction of the end effector by using a manipulation member, wherein the joint portion has a first joint being pivotable about a first axis parallel to an arrangement direction of the end effector and the joint portion and a second joint being pivotable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, in this order from a base side, the method including receiving the movement direction, rotating the first joint based on the movement direction, flexing the second joint based on the movement direction, and shifting from the rotating to the flexing in accordance with changes in the magnitude of a physical amount of manipulation applied to the manipulation member.

Abstract: A medical manipulator includes a treatment part; a joint part that is provided at an end of the treatment part and configured to be operated through turning of a rotating body; an elongated member that has a longitudinal axis and is connected to the end of the joint part opposite to a side where the end effector is provided; a driving part that is provided on a proximal side of the elongated member and is configured to supply a driving force for operating the second coupling member or the like; a driving wire member that is connected at least to the second coupling member of the joint part and is stretched between the second coupling member and the elongated member; and a wire relaxation mechanism that is configured to relax the driving wire by changing the path length of the driving wire.

Abstract: With a simple configuration, a area in which an operating unit can move is prevented from being limited. Provided is an operation input device including a display; an operating unit that operates a display object displayed on the display; a head-mounted unit that is mounted on the head of an operator; relative position sensors that detect a relative position and a relative orientation of one of the head-mounted unit and the operating unit with respect to the other; and a control unit that actuates the display object displayed on the display on the basis of changes in the relative position and the relative orientation detected by the relative position sensors.

Abstract: Provided is a manipulator including a distal-end joint group and a proximal-end joint group that are arranged adjacent to each other in a distal-end section of an insertion part in a longitudinal axis direction and that are configured to bend the distal-end section. The proximal-end joint group includes a plurality of proximal-end bending joints bendable about axes that are lined-up side-by-side to bend the distal-end section through 180° or more. The distal-end joint group includes first distal-end bending joints disposed on a distal side of the proximal-end joint group and bendable about axes crossing a plane including the axes of the proximal-end bending joints and the longitudinal axis; and a second distal-end bending joint disposed in the longitudinal axis direction relative to the axes of the first distal-end bending joints and bendable about an axis that is lined-up side-by-side with the axes of the proximal-end bending joints.

Abstract: There is provided a medical system that includes a multi-joint slave arm; a master arm having a joint structure structurally similar to the slave arm; and a control unit that can switch between a first control mode for controlling the rotational motion of each joint of the slave arm on the basis of the amount of rotation of each joint of the master arm so that the slave arm takes a shape similar to the master arm and a second control mode for controlling the rotational motion of each joint of the slave arm on the basis of a displacement of a predetermined region of a distal end section of the master arm so that a predetermined region of a distal end section of the slave arm follows the movement of the predetermined region of the distal end section of the master arm.

Abstract: A treatment manipulator including an inserted-portion main unit; at least one arm provided so as to protrude forward from a distal-end surface of the inserted-portion main unit and that has an end effector at the distal end; and an endoscope provided in the inserted-portion main unit that has a viewing-field area in which the end effector at the distal end of the arm can be observed, wherein the arm having, sequentially from the distal-end side, a first flexing joint that can pivot the end effector about a first axis orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the arm, an intermediate roll joint that can be rotated about the longitudinal axis, and a second flexing joint that can be pivoted about a second axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, and the first flexing joint can be flexed 90° or more, at least on one side, with respect to the longitudinal axis.

Abstract: A medical instrument includes an insertion part and a driving mechanism coupled to the insertion part. The insertion part has a treatment part, a joint part configured to support the treatment part and to be capable of changing a direction of the treatment part, and a driving force transmission part connected to the joint part and configured to transmit a driving force to the joint part. The driving mechanism has a driving force generator that is connected to the driving force transmission part and is configured to generate the driving force. A storage part configured to store the treatment part in the joint part by the driving force transmitted from the driving force generator to the joint part via the driving force transmission part is formed at the joint part.

Abstract: Provided is a medical apparatus including a treatment tool having a distal-end treatment section, a joint section, and a flexible elongated body section in this order from the distal end; a driver that is connected to the base end of the body section and that supplies a driving force to the joint section; an operation input unit that is a separate unit from the treatment tool and the driver and that has a main body holdable with one hand of an operator and an operable member disposed at a position where it is operable using a finger of the one hand holding the main body; and a controller that controls the driver in accordance with an operation command input to the operation input unit.

Abstract: Provided is a medical system including a first slave arm; a master arm having a joint configuration with a structure similar to that of a joint configuration of the first slave arm; a second slave arm; a manipulation-target switching unit that switches a manipulation target to be manipulated with the master arm between the slave arms; and a controller that is capable of switching between a first control mode and a second control mode in accordance with the joint configuration of the slave arm to be controlled. The first control mode is a mode for controlling rotation of joints of the first slave arm on the basis of rotation amounts of joints of the master arm. The second control mode is a mode for controlling rotation of joints of the second slave arm on the basis of a movement of a predetermined section of the master arm.

Abstract: Provided is an endoscopic-treatment-instrument operation input device that includes: a grip section that is shaped so as to be capable of being gripped by the palm and at least the little finger and the ring finger of one hand of an operator; an operation section that is arranged at a position so as to be operable by the thumb of the one hand in state where the grip section is being gripped and that allows an operation command for causing a joint of the treatment instrument to actuate to be input; and a frictional fixing section that presses, and fixes in place with friction, a position midway along elongated trunk section of the treatment instrument in the longitudinal direction through use of the index finger of the one hand.

Abstract: A surgical support device includes: a driving member which is moved to transmit a driving force to a target; a first position detection unit and a second position detection unit configured to detect a first and a second moving amounts of the driving member; a difference calculation portion configured to detect a difference in length between the first moving amount and the second moving amount, an operating force computing portion configured to compute a magnitude of a force transmitted to the target from the driving member based on the difference in length; and a breakdown detection portion configured to detect at least one of the first position detection unit and the second position detection unit which has broken down, by use of the first moving amount and the second moving amount.

Abstract: A master-slave manipulator includes a slave manipulator, a master operation input device, and a control unit. The slave manipulator includes joints having multiple degrees of freedom. The master operation input device allows an operator to uniquely input a position and an orientation. The device includes a first operation unit configured to output the position and orientation, and a second operation unit including at least a joint configured to output value of the joint independently with the output of the first operation unit. The control unit calculates a driving amount of each joint of the slave manipulator using the position and orientation of the second operation unit and controls the slave manipulator in accordance with a joint driving command value.

Abstract: There is provided a master-slave system including: a slave unit including an observation optical system imaging a subject A; a treatment part projecting from a surface on which the observation optical system is provided and at least part of the treatment tools is imaged along with the subject A by the observation optical system; a master apparatus including an operating unit held and operated by an operator; a control unit associating operation of the operating unit of the master apparatus with motion of the slave unit and motion of the treatment part; and a monitor screen displaying an image acquired by the observation optical system, wherein the operating unit includes a command input unit into which a motion command for a slave unit is inputted while the operating unit is held by the operator without changing a pose of the operating unit.

Abstract: A medical master slave manipulator system includes a master input device configured to send an operation command, a slave manipulator operated by the master input device, a control unit configured to transmit an operation signal to the slave manipulator based on the operation command, a display unit configured to display an image of an object, and an image selection device configured to select the image displayed on the display unit, wherein the control unit transforms the operation command associated with the image selected by the image selection device.

Abstract: The invention has for its object to provide a manipulator wherein the size of a curved portion is reduced and the internal architecture of the curve portion is simplified. The manipulator 100 comprises an insert part that is capable of being inserted into the body cavity, a movable part that is located at a distal end of the insert part and movable in any direction, a drive unit that is provided on a proximal-end side of the insert part, a first elongated member that is connected to the drive unit and located in the insert part, and displaces in response to operation of the drive unit, a second elongated member that is different from the first elongated member and has a distal end connected to the movable part, and a deceleration mechanism that urges displacement of the second elongated member in association with displacement of the first elongated member, and makes a second amount of displacement of the second elongated member smaller than a first amount of displacement of the first elongated member.

Abstract: A surgical tool holding device that holds a plurality of surgical tools includes: a flexible insertion section having a distal end and a proximal end and configured such that a surgical tool channel into which the plurality of surgical tools are inserted is formed; a driving section configured to advance and retract each of the plurality of surgical tools inside the surgical tool channel; an operating section configured to manipulate the plurality of surgical tools; and a controller configured to control an amount of protrusion of the surgical tool protruding from a distal end of the surgical tool channel, from the surgical tool channel.

Abstract: A surgical instrument includes an end effector, a manipulation unit, a grip detecting unit, a driving unit, and a control unit. When the control unit determines that the end effector is applying the acting force to the target based on the information acquired by the grip detecting unit, the control unit sets an acting force increasing zone of a predetermined range in a first movable range in the first direction of the manipulation unit, sets a neutral zone in a remaining area of the first movable range, controls the driving unit so that the acting force increases with a constant gradient with respect to an amount of manipulation of the manipulation unit in the acting force increasing zone, and controls the driving unit so that the acting force is kept constant regardless of the amount of manipulation of the manipulation unit in the neutral zone.