ROBOTIC SYSTEMS FOR MANIPULATING A CUTTING GUIDE FOR A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT

A robotic surgery system (10) for use with a free-hand surgical instrument (42) comprises a robotic manipulator (22); an end effector (36) including a guide (38) to be coupled to the robotic manipulator (22), the guide (38) configured to guide a surgical tool (40) of the surgical instrument (42) so that the surgical tool (40) moves along a desired plane or axis to remove material from a bone, and a control system (34, 48, 62) coupled to the robotic manipulator (22) to control a location of the guide (38) relative to the bone. The control system (34, 48, 62) is configured to autonomously position the guide (38) at a target orientation relative to the bone so that the surgical tool (40) aligns with the desired plane or axis when the surgical tool (40) is placed in the guide (38), constrain movement of the guide (38) as a user manually manipulates the end effector (36) to cause the guide (38) to move toward the bone to an initial guide location (GL1) adjacent to the bone such that the guide (38) remains in the target orientation at the initial guide location (GL1), control the robotic manipulator (22) to facilitate withdrawal of the guide (38) away from the initial guide location (GL1) to a spaced guide location (GL2) after the user removes an initial amount of material from the bone with the surgical tool (40) along the desired plane or axis, and maintain the guide (38) in the target orientation at the spaced guide location (GL2), wherein the spaced guide location (GL2) is suitable for the surgical tool (40) to continue removing material from the bone along the desired plane or axis.