Towards Safe Robotic Surgical Systems

A proof of safety is paramount for an autonomous robotic surgical system to ensure that it does not cause trauma to patients. However, a proof of safety is rarely constructed, as surgical systems are too complex to be dealt with by most formal verification methods. In this paper, we design a controller for motion compensation in beating-heart surgery, and prove that it is safe, i.e., the surgical tool is kept within an allowable distance and orientation of the heart. We solve the problem by simultaneously finding a control law and a barrier function. The motion compensation system is simulated from several initial conditions to demonstrate that the designed control system is safe for every admissible initial condition.