Safety control algorithms for surgical devices, including safety control algorithms for surgical stapler devices, and associated systems, devices, and methods

1 . A method of operating a surgical stapler, the method comprising:

tracking a position of a distal end of a blade assembly of a reloadable cartridge assembly as the distal end of the blade assembly is moved, via actuation of a motor, along a stroke of the blade assembly;

determining that the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in an end-of-stroke (EOS) region along the stroke within which an EOS obstacle is anticipated to prevent further distal movement of the distal end of the blade assembly along the stroke; and

tracking, while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the EOS region, a number of times a virtual gear for the motor is adjusted.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein tracking the number of times the virtual gear for the motor is adjusted comprises tracking a number of times a current limit for current levels in a drivetrain for the motor is adjusted while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the EOS region.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein tracking the number of times the virtual gear for the motor is adjusted comprises tracking a number of times a target speed for the motor is adjusted while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the EOS region.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the EOS region, detecting the EOS obstacle based at least in part on determining that the number of times has reached a predetermined limit; and

stalling the motor based at least in part on determining that the number of times has reached the predetermined limit.

5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising providing an indication to a user that indicates detection of the EOS obstacle, wherein the indication includes an audible or visual indication.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the EOS region, determining that the number of times has not reached a predetermined limit; and

based at least in part on the determination that the number of times has not reached the predetermined limit, distally advancing the distal end of the blade assembly fully through the EOS region.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the EOS region is a first EOS region, the EOS obstacle is a first EOS obstacle, and the number of times is a first number of times, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining that the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in a second EOS region along the stroke within which a second EOS obstacle is anticipated to prevent further distal movement of the distal end of the blade assembly along the stroke, wherein the second EOS region is positioned distal of the first EOS region; and

tracking, while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the second EOS region, a second number of times the virtual gear for the motor is adjusted.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the second EOS region, detecting the second EOS obstacle based at least in part on determining that the second number of times has reached the predetermined limit; and

stalling the motor based at least in part on determining that the second number of times has reached the predetermined limit.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the EOS region comprises determining that the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in one of a plurality of EOS regions along the stroke within which the EOS obstacle is anticipated to prevent further distal movement of the distal end of the blade assembly.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of regions corresponds to a plurality of different potential stroke lengths for the stroke of the blade assembly.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein tracking the position of the distal end of the blade assembly comprises using encoder information from an encoder to determine the position of the distal end of the blade assembly relative to an initial position.

12 . A method of operating a surgical stapler, the method comprising:

tracking a position of a distal end of a blade assembly of a reloadable cartridge assembly as the distal end of the blade assembly is moved, via actuation of a motor, along a stroke of the blade assembly, wherein a stroke length for the stroke of the blade assembly is known; and

adjusting a current limit for current levels in a drivetrain for the motor based, at least in part, on the position of the distal end of the blade assembly along the stroke, wherein adjusting the current limit includes determining that the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in an end-of-stroke (EOS) region along the stroke within which an EOS obstacle is anticipated to prevent further distal movement of the distal end of the blade assembly along the stroke.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the stroke length for the stroke of the blade assembly is provided to a microcontroller of the surgical stapler before, during, or after attaching the reloadable cartridge assembly to a surgical handle assembly of the surgical stapler.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the stroke length for the stroke of the blade assembly is detected or identified by the microcontroller by reading identification information from the reloadable cartridge assembly.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein tracking the position of the distal end of the blade assembly includes tracking the position of the distal end of the blade assembly relative to the known stroke length.

16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising detecting the EOS obstacle, wherein detecting the EOS obstacle includes:

tracking, while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the region, a number of times (a) the current limit is adjusted while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the region, (b) a target speed for the motor is adjusted while the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned in the region, or (c) a virtual gear for the motor is adjusted; and

determining that the number of times has reached a predetermined limit.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising stalling the motor based at least in part on detecting the EOS obstacle.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising providing an indication to a user that indicates detection of the EOS obstacle, wherein the indication includes an audible or visual indication.

19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein adjusting the current limit includes determining that the distal end of the blade assembly is positioned distal of a first region along the stroke within which a lockout obstacle is anticipated to prevent further distal movement of the distal end of the blade assembly along the stroke.

20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein adjusting the current limit further includes:

adjusting the current limit using a lookup table (LUT) that defines a plurality of virtual gears for the motor;

detecting (i) that a current level observed in the drivetrain violates the current limit, (ii) that a speed of the motor violates a target speed for the motor, or (iii) a first combination thereof, wherein the current limit and the target speed correspond to a first virtual gear for the motor defined in the LUT; and

updating the first virtual gear to a second virtual gear for the motor based at least in part on detecting that the current level violates the current limit corresponding to the first virtual gear, that the speed of the motor violates the target speed for the motor corresponding to the first virtual gear, or a second combination thereof.