Devices, systems, and methods for detecting tissue and foreign objects during a surgical operation
A surgical instrument is disclosed herein. The surgical instrument can include an end effector that includes jaws configured to transition between an opened condition and a closed condition, a plurality of electrodes positioned within the jaws of the end effector, a control circuit, and a memory configured to store an algorithm configured to cause the control circuit to determine an impedance signal based on signals received from the plurality of electrodes, detect a media positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the determined impedance signal, determine a position of the detected media based on the received signals, and generate an alert associated with the detected media and the determined position.
1. A surgical instrument, comprising:
an end effector comprising jaws configured to transition between an opened condition and a closed condition;
a plurality of electrodes positioned within the jaws of the end effector, wherein each electrode of the plurality of electrodes is positioned about a longitudinal axis defined by the end effector;
a control circuit and a memory configured to store an algorithm configured to cause the control circuit to:
receive signals from the plurality of electrodes;
determine a first impedance signal based on the signals received from the plurality of electrodes;
detect a foreign object associated with tissue positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the first impedance signal; and
generate an alert associated with the foreign object.
2. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the alert comprises a digital representation of the end effector and the foreign object, and wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to initiate a transmission of the digital representation to a display for visual review by the operating clinician.
3. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the alert comprises an audible alert, and wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to cause a speaker communicably coupled to the control circuit for audible transmission to the operating clinician.
4. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to:
determine a second impedance signal based on the signals received from the plurality of electrodes;
detect the tissue positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the second impedance signal; and
wherein the alert is also associated with the tissue.
5. The surgical instrument of claim 4 , wherein the algorithm comprises a linear support vector machine configured to distinguish the tissue from the foreign object based on the first impedance signal and the second impedance signal.
6. The surgical instrument of claim 4 , wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to characterize the foreign object based on the first impedance signal.
7. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the characterized foreign object comprises one or more of a staple, a bougie, an NGtube.
8. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the first impedance signal comprises an impedance magnitude.
9. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the first impedance signal comprises a phase.
10. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to determine a change in the first impedance signal across the time domain.
11. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to determine a change in the first impedance signal across the frequency domain.
12. A surgical system, comprising:
a surgical instrument comprising:
an end effector comprising jaws configured to transition between an opened condition and a closed condition; and
a plurality of electrodes positioned within the jaws of the end effector, wherein each electrode of the plurality of electrodes is positioned about a longitudinal axis defined by the end effector; and
a computer system communicably coupled to the surgical instrument, wherein the computer system comprises a control circuit and a memory configured to store an algorithm configured to cause the control circuit to:
receive signals from the plurality of electrodes;
determine a first impedance signal based on the signals received from the plurality of electrodes;
detect a foreign object in associate with tissue positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the first impedance signal; and
generate an alert associated with the foreign object.
13. The surgical system of claim 12 , wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to:
determine a second impedance signal based on the signals received from the plurality of electrodes;
detect the tissue positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the second impedance signal; and
wherein the alert is also associated with the tissue.
14. The surgical system of claim 13 , wherein the algorithm is further configured to cause the control circuit to characterize the foreign object based on the first impedance signal.
15. The surgical system of claim 12 , wherein the characterized foreign object comprises one or more of a staple, a bougie, an NGtube.
16. A method of characterizing a foreign object associated with tissue positioned between jaws of an end effector of a surgical instrument, the method comprising:
receiving, via a control circuit of the surgical instrument, signals from a plurality of electrodes positioned within the jaws of the end effector;
determining, via the control circuit, a first impedance signal based on the signals received from the plurality of electrodes;
detecting, via the control circuit, the foreign object associated with tissue positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the first impedance signal;
generating, via the control circuit, an alert associated with the foreign object; and
characterizing, via the control circuit, the foreign object based on the first impedance signal.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
determining, via the control circuit, a second impedance signal based on the signals received from the plurality of electrodes;
detecting, via the control circuit, the tissue positioned between the jaws of the end effector based on the second impedance signal; and
wherein the alert is also associated with the tissue.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising distinguishing, via the control circuit, the tissue from the foreign media based on the first impedance signal and the second impedance signal, respectively, in accordance with a linear support vector machine.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein generating the alert comprises:
generating, via the control circuit, a digital representation of the end effector and the foreign object; and
initiating, via the control circuit, a transmission of the digital representation to a display for visual review by an operating clinician.
20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the alert comprises an audible alert, and wherein the method further comprises causing, via the control circuit, a speaker communicably coupled to the control circuit to play the audible alert.