Titan Medical Inc (TMDIF)

[66Mustang]

Could be quite a problem if not mitigated. Particularly depending on what their source of motion is (type of motor or actuator). The two handsets at the control station do not appear to be able to interfere with each other; you don't want the controls to hit each other or get in each other's way. But there should be some overlap in the range of motion of the end effectors, so a collision is quite possible. When they collide, the system could continue to try to move them in some way when the motion is blocked. If it cannot accurately track the actual motion at the end effector, the controllers and end effectors could basically get out of sync, and it would have to somehow "re-zero" the relationship between the controller and end effector. This might not be desirable in the middle of a procedure.

If they detect the collision, they can immediately lock the controller from moving any further in the direction of the collision, and maintain sync between the controllers and end effectors. It could be a collision with the other end effector or with something else in the surgical field. Haptic feedback techniques are another way to help with this problem; they give the controller a feel of resistance proportionate to the actual force in each axis on the end effector, so the surgeon basically can feel when he bumps into something, or can vary his/her input force in any direction as needed.