Robotic surgical system utilizing a cutting bur for bone penetration and cannulation

A surgical system (10) configured for manipulation of a bone structure comprising a first cortical region (CR1), a second cortical region (CR2) and a cancellous bone region (CBR) between the first and second cortical regions (CR1, CR2) is described. The surgical system (10) comprises a surgical tool (20) comprising a cutting bur (24) rotatable about a cutting axis (CA), a robotic manipulator (14) comprising a plurality of links (18) and joints (J) and being configured to support and move the surgical tool (20), wherein one of the plurality of links (18) is a distal link and the surgical tool (20) is coupled to the distal link, a control interface (80) coupled to the surgical tool (20) and comprising tactile controls (82, 84) configured to enable user control of a feed rate of the surgical tool (20), one or more controllers (30) being configured to control movement of one or more of the joints (J) of the robotic manipulator (14) and to control operation of the surgical tool (20). The one or more controllers (30) are configured to detect the cutting bur (24) being located off a target axis (TA) associated with the bone structure, control the robotic manipulator (14) to advance the cutting bur (24) according to a first feed rate to align the cutting axis (CA) to the target axis (TA), detect the cutting bur (24) being located on the target axis (TA), and control the robotic manipulator (14) to advance the cutting bur (24) along the target axis (TA) according to a second feed rate. One of the first feed rate and second feed rate is defined and commanded by the one or more controllers (30) based on a surgical plan, wherein the other one of the first feed rate and second feed rate is obtained from user interaction with the tactile controls (82, 84) of the control interface (80).