Granted Patent B2

US 11,751,869 · App. 17/186,350 · Granted Sep 12, 2023

Inventors: Frederick E. Shelton, IV (Hillsboro, OH); Taylor W. Aronhalt (Loveland, OH); Jason L. Harris (Lebanon, OH)

Assignee: Cilag GmbH International

A61B17/0686A61B17/072A61B2017/00026A61B2017/07271A61B2017/07285

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. An end effector for a surgical instrument, the end effector comprising:

a cartridge;

a movable clamp jaw pivotally coupled to the cartridge;

the cartridge comprising:

a plurality of sensors disposed longitudinally and laterally on the cartridge, the plurality of sensors configured to sense a property of tissue clamped between the cartridge and the movable clamp jaw of the end effector;

a sensors circuit electrically coupled to the plurality of sensors, wherein the sensors circuit comprises:

a multiplexer coupled to an output of each one of the plurality of sensors; and

a logic circuit coupled to the multiplexer, the logic circuit configured to independently select each of the plurality of sensors;

a first coil configured to inductively couple electrical power to the cartridge through near field communication, the first coil electrically coupled to the plurality of sensors and the sensors circuit; and

a second coil configured to inductively couple to a sensor monitoring and processing circuit through near field communication, wherein the sensor monitoring and processing circuit is located in a housing of a surgical instrument separate from the end effector and wherein the logic circuit is configured to inductively couple to the sensor monitoring and processing circuit through the second coil;

wherein the plurality of sensors are arranged and configured to sense movement of tissue relative to each of the plurality of sensors based on a sensed property of the tissue; and

wherein the logic circuit is configured to:

receive a sensor select instruction from the sensor monitoring and processing circuit through the second coil;

select one of the plurality of sensors based on the sensor select instruction;

read the selected sensor; and

provide the reading from the selected sensor to the sensor monitoring and processing circuit.

2. The end effector of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to sense tissue impedance.

3. The end effector of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to sense the movement of tissue by detecting a change in impedance from one of the plurality of sensors to an adjacent sensor.

4. The end effector of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to sense tissue capacitance.

5. The end effector of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to sense the movement of tissue by detecting a change in capacitance from one of the plurality of sensors to an adjacent sensor.

6. An end effector for use with a surgical system including a sensor monitoring and processing circuit remote from the end effector, the end effector comprising:

a first jaw;

a second jaw movable relative to the first jaw to grasp tissue;

a cartridge, comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured to measure a property of the tissue grasped by the end effector indicative of a movement of the tissue; and

a sensors circuit electrically coupled to the plurality of sensors, wherein the sensors circuit comprises:

a multiplexer coupled to an output of each one of the plurality of sensors; and

a logic circuit coupled to the multiplexer, the logic circuit configured to independently select each of the plurality of sensors;

a first coil configured to inductively couple electrical power to the cartridge through near field communication, the first coil electrically coupled to the plurality of sensors and the sensors circuit; and

a second coil configured to inductively couple the logic circuit to the sensor monitoring and processing circuit through near field communication; and

wherein the logic circuit is configured to:

receive a sensor select instruction from the sensor monitoring and processing circuit through the second coil;

select one of the plurality of sensors based on the sensor select instruction;

read the selected sensor; and

transmit the reading from the selected sensor to the sensor monitoring and processing circuit.

7. An end effector for use with a surgical system including a sensor monitoring and processing circuit remote from the end effector, the end effector comprising:

a first jaw;

a second jaw movable relative to the first jaw to grasp tissue;

a cartridge, comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured to measure a property of the tissue grasped by the end effector indicative of a movement of the tissue; and

a multiplexer coupled to an output of each one of the plurality of sensors; and

a logic circuit coupled to the multiplexer, the logic circuit configured to independently select each of the plurality of sensors;

a first coil configured to inductively couple electrical power to the cartridge through near field communication, the first coil electrically coupled to the plurality of sensors; and

a second coil configured to inductively couple the logic circuit to the sensor monitoring and processing circuit through near field communication; and

wherein the logic circuit is configured to:

receive a sensor select instruction from the sensor monitoring and processing circuit through the second coil;

select one of the plurality of sensors based on the sensor select instruction;

read the selected sensor; and

transmit the reading from the selected sensor to the sensor monitoring and processing circuit.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

Cited By (12)

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