US Patent 9918800 Surgical system with obstacle indication system

A patient side cart for a teleoperated surgical system may include a base, a column connected to the base, a boom connected to the column, a surgical instrument manipulator arm connected to the boom, and an obstacle indication system comprising an illumination source that directs light in a path of the boom. Various exemplary embodiments also encompass methods of providing obstacle indication via a patient side cart of a teleoperated surgical system, including directing light onto an object in a path of the boom to indicate that the object is located in a path of the boom, and methods of determining a predetermined height to be stored in a patient side cart for a teleoperated surgical system, including illuminating an object in the path of the patient side cart and storing a current height of the patient side cart as the predetermined height.