CN106456173B

CN106456173B - Disinfection verification circuit

Info

Publication number: CN106456173B
Application number: CN201580027864.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: R·L·莱姆巴赫; S·R·亚当斯; M·D·奥弗迈耶; B·E·斯文斯加德; T·W·利特尔四世; F·E·谢尔顿四世; K·L·豪泽
Original assignee: Isikang Medical Surgery Co ltd
Current assignee: Isikang Medical Surgery Co ltd
Priority date: 2014-03-26
Filing date: 2015-03-11
Publication date: 2020-09-11
Anticipated expiration: 2035-03-11
Also published as: BR112016021832B1; CN106456173A; JP6532089B2; BR112016021832A2; JP2017513558A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a surgical instrument control circuit. The control circuit includes a primary processor, a safety processor in signal communication with the primary processor, and a segmented circuit including a plurality of circuit segments in signal communication with the primary processor. The plurality of circuit segments includes a storage verification segment configured to indicate when the surgical instrument has been properly stored and sterilized.

Description

Disinfection verification circuit

Background

The present invention relates to surgical instruments and, in various instances, to surgical stapling and cutting instruments and staple cartridges therefor that are designed for stapling and cutting tissue.

Drawings

The features and advantages of the invention, as well as the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical instrument including a power assembly, a handle assembly, and an interchangeable shaft assembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1 with the interchangeable shaft assembly separated from the handle assembly;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit comprising a plurality of circuit segments configured to control a powered surgical instrument;

FIG. 5 illustrates a segmented circuit including a secure processor configured to implement a watchdog function;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a segmented circuit including a safety processor configured to monitor a first property and a second property of a surgical instrument and compare the two properties;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram showing a security process configured to be implemented by a security processor;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a 4 × 4 switch bank including four input/output pins;

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment of a 4x 4 bank circuit including one input/output pin;

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit comprising a 4x 4 switch bank coupled to a primary processor;

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a process for sequentially powering up segmented circuits;

FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a power section including a plurality of daisy chained power converters;

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit configured to maximize power available for critical functions and/or power intensive functions;

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a power system including a plurality of daisy chained power converters configured to be sequentially energized;

FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit including an isolated control segment;

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit including an accelerometer;

FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment of a process for sequentially starting segmented circuits;

fig. 18 illustrates one embodiment of a method 1950 for controlling a surgical instrument that includes a segmented circuit, such as the segmented control circuit 1602 shown in fig. 12.

Detailed Description

The applicant of the present application owns the following patent applications filed 2013, 3, month 1, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,295 entitled "Integrated Surgical Instruments With reduced Path for Signal Communication";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,323 entitled "Rotary Power engineering Joints For scientific Instruments";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,338 entitled "thumb Switch arrays For Surgical Instruments";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,499 entitled "Electrical scientific Device with Signal Relay arrangement";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,460 entitled "Multiple Processor Motor Control for Modular surgical instruments";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,358 entitled "journal Switch Assemblies For Surgical Instruments";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,481 entitled "Sensor straight End Effect During Removal Throughocar";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,518 entitled "Control Methods for scientific Instruments with RemovableImplements";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,375 entitled "road Power Surgical Instruments With Multiple details of freedom"; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/782,536 entitled "Surgical Instrument Soft Stop," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The applicant of the present application also owns the following patent applications filed on 3,14, 2013, and each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,097 entitled "ARTICULATABLE SURGICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A FIRING DRIVE";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,193 entitled "CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS FOR A DRIVE MEMBER OF A SURGICALINSTRUNT";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,053 entitled "INTERCHANGEABLE SHAFT ASSEMBLIES FOR USE WITH A SURGICALINSTRUNT";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,086 entitled "ARTICULATABLE SURGICAL INSTRUMENT COMPLISING AN ARTICULATION LOCK";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,210 entitled "SENSOR ARRANGEMENTS FOR ABSOLUTE POSITIONING SYSTEM FOR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,148 entitled "Multi-functional Motor FOR A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,066 entitled "DRIVE SYSTEM LOCKOUT ARRANGEMENTS FOR MODULAR SURGICALINSTRUMENTS";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,117 entitled "ARTICULATION CONTROL FOR ARTICULATED SURGICAL STRUTRUNTS";

-U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,130 entitled "DRIVE TRAIN CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS FORMODULAR SURGICALINSTRUMENTS"; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,159 entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPERATING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT".

The applicant of the present application also owns the following patent applications, filed on the same date as the present application, and each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A SENSOR SYSTEM" (attorney docket number END7386 USNP/130458);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "POWER MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS" (attorney docket No. END7387 USNP/130459);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "VERIFICATION OF NUMBER OF BATTERY EXCHANGES/PROCEDURE COUNT" (attorney docket NUMBER END7389 USNP/130461);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "POWER MANAGEMENT THROUGH SLEEP OPTIONS OFSEGMENTED CICUITAND WAKE UP CONTROL" (attorney docket number END7390 USNP/130462);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "MODULAR POWER SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH DETACHABLE SHAFT TASSBLIES" (attorney docket number END7391 USNP/130463);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "FEEDBACK ALGORITHMS FOR MANUAL BAILOUT SYSTEMS FOR SURGICALINSTRUMENTS" (attorney docket number END7392 USNP/130464);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT UTILIZING SENSOR ADAPTATION" (attorney docket No. END7393 USNP/130465);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT CONTROL CIRCUIT HAVING A SAFETY PROCESSOR" (attorney docket number END7394 USNP/130466);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS" (attorney docket number END7395 USNP/130467);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "INTERFACE SYSTEMS FOR USE WITH SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS" (attorney docket number END7396 USNP/130468);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "MODULAR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS SYSTEM" (attorney docket No. END7397 USNP/130469);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A SEGMENTED CIRCUIT" (attorney docket number END7399 USNP/130471);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "POWER MANAGEMENT THROUGH SEGMENTED CIRCUIT AND VARIABLEVOLTAGE PROTECTION" (attorney docket number END7400 USNP/130472);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENTT SYSTEM" (attorney docket number END7401 USNP/130473);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. _______________ entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A ROTATABLE SHAFT" (attorney docket number END7402 USNP/130474).

Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the devices and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated by the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary embodiments. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Reference throughout this specification to "various embodiments," "some embodiments," or "one embodiment," or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in various embodiments," "in some embodiments," or "in one embodiment," or the like, throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Thus, the particular features, structures, or characteristics shown or described in connection with one embodiment may be combined, in whole or in part, with the features, structures, or characteristics of one or more other embodiments, without limitation. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

The terms "proximal" and "distal" are used herein with respect to a clinician manipulating a handle portion of a surgical instrument. The term "proximal" refers to the portion closest to the clinician and the term "distal" refers to the portion located away from the clinician. It will also be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity, spatial terms such as "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," and "lower" may be used herein in connection with the accompanying drawings. However, surgical instruments are used in many orientations and positions, and these terms are not intended to be limiting and/or absolute.

Various exemplary devices and methods are provided for performing laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgical procedures. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various methods and devices disclosed herein may be used in a number of surgical procedures and applications, including, for example, in conjunction with open surgery. With continued reference to the present detailed description, those of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that the various instruments disclosed herein may be inserted into the body in any manner, such as through a natural orifice, through an incision or puncture formed in tissue, and the like. The working portion or end effector portion of the instrument may be inserted directly into the patient or may be inserted through an access device having a working channel through which the end effector and elongate shaft of the surgical instrument may be advanced.

Fig. 1-3 generally illustrate a motor-driven surgical fastening and cutting instrument 2000. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the surgical instrument 2000 may include a handle assembly 2002, a shaft assembly 2004, and a power assembly 2006 ("power source," "power pack," or "battery pack"). The shaft assembly 2004 may include an end effector 2008 that may be configured to act as an endocutter in some cases to clamp, sever, and/or staple tissue, but in other embodiments different types of end effectors may be employed, such as end effectors for other types of surgical instruments, e.g., graspers, cutters, staplers, clip appliers, access devices, drug/gene therapy devices, ultrasound devices, radiofrequency devices, and/or laser devices. Several radio frequency DEVICEs are disclosed in U.S. patent 5,403,312 entitled "ELECTROSURGICAL HEMOSTATIC DEVICE" published at 4.4.1995 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,573 entitled "SURGICAL FASTENING AND CUTTING NSTRUMENTS HAVARING RF ELECTRODES" filed at 14.2.2008, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Referring primarily to fig. 2 and 3, the handle assembly 2002 can be used with a variety of interchangeable shaft assemblies, such as the shaft assembly 2004. Such interchangeable shaft assemblies may include a surgical end effector (such as end effector 2008) that may be configured to perform one or more surgical tasks or surgical procedures. An example OF a suitable interchangeable shaft assembly is disclosed in U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 61/782,866 entitled "CONTROL SYSTEM OF a basic INSTRUMENT," filed on 14.3.2013, the entire disclosure OF which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Referring primarily to fig. 2, the handle assembly 2002 may include a housing 2010 comprised of a handle 2012 that may be configured to be grasped, manipulated, and actuated by a clinician. However, it should be understood that the various unique and novel configurations of the various forms of interchangeable shaft assemblies disclosed herein may also be effectively used in conjunction with robotically controlled surgical systems. Thus, the term "housing" may also encompass a housing or similar portion of a robotic system that houses or otherwise operably supports at least one drive system configured to generate and apply at least one control action that may be used to actuate the interchangeable shaft assemblies disclosed herein and their corresponding equivalents. For example, the interchangeable shaft assemblies disclosed herein may be used WITH various robotic systems, INSTRUMENTS, components, and methods disclosed in U.S. patent application serial No. 13/118,241 (now U.S. patent application publication 2012/0298719), entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH rotabable stage device," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Referring again to fig. 2, the handle assembly 2002 may operably support a plurality of drive systems therein, which may be configured to generate and apply various control actions to corresponding portions of the interchangeable shaft assembly operably attached thereto. For example, the handle assembly 2002 can operably support a first or closure drive system that can be used to apply a closing motion and an opening motion to a shaft assembly 2004 operably attached or coupled to the handle assembly 2002. In at least one form, the handle assembly 2002 can operably support a firing drive system that can be configured to apply a firing motion to corresponding portions of an interchangeable shaft assembly attached thereto.

Referring primarily to fig. 3, the handle assembly 2002 can include a motor 2014 that can be controlled by a motor driver 2015 and can be used by a firing system of the surgical instrument 2000. In various forms, the motor 2014 may be, for example, a direct current brushed driving motor having a maximum rotational speed of about 25,000 RPM. In other configurations, the motor 2014 may include a brushless motor, a cordless motor, a synchronous motor, a stepper motor, or any other suitable electric motor. In some cases, the motor driver 2015 can include, for example, an H-bridge Field Effect Transistor (FET)2019, as shown in fig. 3. The motor 2014 may be powered by a power assembly 2006 (fig. 3) that is releasably mountable to the handle assembly 2002 to provide control power to the surgical instrument 2000. The power assembly 2006 may include a battery that may include a plurality of battery cells connected in series that may be used as a power source to power the surgical instrument 2000. In some cases, the battery cells of power module 2006 may be replaceable and/or rechargeable. In at least one example, the battery cell can be a lithium ion battery that can be detachably coupled to the power assembly 2006.

The shaft assembly 2004 may include a shaft assembly controller 2022 that may communicate with the power management controller 2016 over an interface when the shaft assembly 2004 and the power assembly 2006 are coupled to the handle assembly 2002. For example, the interface can include a first interface portion 2025, which can include one or more electrical connectors for coupling engagement with corresponding shaft assembly electrical connectors, and a second interface portion 2027, which can include one or more electrical connectors for coupling engagement with corresponding power assembly electrical connectors, thereby allowing electrical communication between the shaft assembly controller 2022 and the power management controller 2016 when the shaft assembly 2004 and the power assembly 2006 are coupled to the handle assembly 2002. One or more communication signals may be transmitted over the interface to communicate one or more power requirements of the attached interchangeable shaft assembly 2004 to the power management controller 2016. In response, the power management controller may adjust the power output of the battery of the power assembly 2006 according to the power requirements of the attachment shaft assembly 2004, as described in more detail below. In certain instances, one or more electrical connectors can include switches that can be activated after the handle assembly 2002 is mechanically coupled to the shaft assembly 2004 and/or the power assembly 2006 to allow electrical communication between the shaft assembly controller 2022 and the power management controller 2016.

In certain instances, for example, the interface routes one or more communication signals through the main controller 2017 located within the handle assembly 2002, whereby transmission of such communication signals between the power management controller 2016 and the shaft assembly controller 2022 may be facilitated. In other instances, the interface may facilitate routing a communication line between the power management controller 2016 and the shaft assembly controller 2022 through the handle assembly 2002 when the shaft assembly 2004 and the power assembly 2006 are coupled to the handle assembly 2002.

In one case, the master microcontroller 2017 may be any type of single or multi-core processor, such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex, available from Texas Instruments. In one instance, the surgical instrument 2000 may include a power management controller 2016, such as a safety microcontroller platform (also available from Texas Instruments under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4) that includes two microcontroller-based families, such as TMS570 and RM4 x. However, other suitable alternatives for the microcontroller and the secure processor may be employed without limitation. In one case, the security processor can be explicitly configured for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 security critical applications and others to provide advanced integrated security features while providing scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

In some cases, microcontroller 2017 may be, for example, LM4F230H5QR, available from Texas Instruments. In at least one example, LM4F230H5QR, available from Texas Instruments, is an ARM Cortex-M4F processor core that includes: 256KB single cycle flash memory or other non-volatile memory (up to 40MHz) on-chip memory, prefetch buffer to improve performance beyond 40MHz, 32KB single cycle Serial Random Access Memory (SRAM), load with

Internal Read Only Memory (ROM) for software, 2KB Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), one or more Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) modules, one or more Quadrature Encoder Input (QEI) analog, one or more 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with 12 analog input channels, and other features readily available for product data manuals. The present disclosure should not be limited in this context.

The power component 2006 may include a power management circuit that may include a power management controller 2016, a power modulator 2038, and a current sense circuit 2036. The power management circuit may be configured to regulate the power output of the battery based on the power requirements of the shaft assembly 2004 when the shaft assembly 2004 and the power assembly 2006 are coupled to the handle assembly 2002. For example, the power management controller 2016 may be programmed to control the power modulator 2038 to regulate the power output of the power component 2006, and the current sensing circuit 2036 may be used to monitor the power output of the power component 2006 to provide feedback to the power management controller 2016 related to the power output of the battery, such that the power management controller 2016 may regulate the power output of the power component 2006 to maintain a desired output.

Notably, power management controller 2016 and/or shaft assembly controller 2022 may each include one or more processors and/or memory units that may store a plurality of software modules. Although certain modules and/or blocks of the surgical instrument 2000 may be described by way of example, it may be appreciated that a greater or lesser number of modules and/or blocks may be used. In addition, although various aspects may be described in terms of modules and/or blocks for ease of illustration, the modules and/or blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware components, such as processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), circuits, registers, and/or software components, such as programs, subroutines, logic, and/or a combination of hardware and software components.

In some instances, the surgical instrument 2000 may include an output device 2042, which may include one or more devices for providing sensory feedback to the user. Such devices may include, for example, visual feedback devices (e.g., LCD display screens, LED indicators), audible feedback devices (e.g., speakers, buzzers), or tactile feedback devices (e.g., haptic actuators). In some instances, the output device 2042 can include a display 2043, which can be included in the handle assembly 2002. The shaft assembly controller 2022 and/or the power management controller 2016 may provide feedback to a user of the surgical instrument 2000 via an output device 2042. Interface 2024 may be configured to connect shaft assembly controller 2022 and/or power management controller 2016 to output device 2042. The reader will appreciate that the output device 2042 may alternatively be integrated with the power component 2006. In such instances, when the shaft assembly 2004 is coupled to the handle assembly 2002, communication between the output device 2042 and the shaft assembly controller 2022 may be enabled through the interface 2024.

Having now generally described the surgical instrument 2000, the various power/electronic components of the surgical instrument 2000 will be described in detail below. For convenience, any reference hereinafter to the surgical instrument 2000 shall be understood to refer to the surgical instrument 2000 as illustrated in connection with fig. 1-3. Turning now to fig. 4, illustrated therein is one embodiment of a segmented circuit 1000 comprising a plurality of circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g. The segmented circuit 1000 includes a plurality of circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g configured to control a powered surgical instrument, such as, but not limited to, the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3. The plurality of circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g are configured to control one or more operations of the powered surgical instrument 2000. The secure processor segment 1002a (segment 1) includes a secure processor 1004. The main processor segment 1002b (segment 2) includes a main processor 1006. The safety processor 1004 and/or the primary processor 1006 are configured to interact with one or more additional circuit segments 1002 c-1002 g to control the operation of the powered surgical instrument 2000. The primary processor 1006 includes a plurality of input devices coupled to, for example, one or more circuit segments 1002 c-1002 g, a battery 1008, and/or a plurality of switches 1058 a-1070. The segmented circuit 1000 may be implemented by any suitable circuit, such as a Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) within the powered surgical instrument 2000. It is to be understood that the term "processor" as used herein includes any kind of microprocessor, microcontroller, or other basic computing device that combines the functions of a computer's Central Processing Unit (CPU) onto one integrated circuit or at most several integrated circuits. A processor is a multipurpose programmable device that receives digital data as input, processes the input according to instructions stored in its memory, and then provides the result as output. The processor has internal memory and is therefore an example of sequential digital logic. The operands of the processor are numbers and symbols represented in a binary numerical system.

In one embodiment, host processor 1006 may be any type of single-core or multi-core processor, such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex, available from Texas Instruments. In one embodiment, secure processor 1004 may be a secure microcontroller platform comprising two microcontroller-based families, such as TMS570 and RM4x, known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, also available from Texas Instruments. However, other suitable alternatives for the microcontroller and the secure processor may be employed without limitation. In one embodiment, the security processor 1004 may be explicitly configured for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 security critical applications and others to provide advanced integrated security features while providing scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

In some cases, host processor 1006 may be, for example, LM4F230H5QR, available from Texas Instruments. In at least one example, LM4F230H5QR of Texas Instruments is an ARM Cortex-M4F processor core that includes: 256KB single cycle flash memory or other non-volatile memory (up to 40MHz) on-chip memory, prefetch buffer to improve performance beyond 40MHz, 32KB single cycle Serial Random Access Memory (SRAM), load with

Internal Read Only Memory (ROM) for software, 2KB Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), one or more Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) modules, one or more Quadrature Encoder Input (QEI) analog, one or more 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with 12 analog input channels, and other features readily available for product data manuals. Other processors may be readily substituted, and the disclosure should not be limited in this context.

In one embodiment, the segmented circuit 1000 includes an acceleration segment 1002c (segment 3). The acceleration segment 1002c includes an acceleration sensor 1022. Acceleration sensor 1022 may include, for example, an accelerometer. The acceleration sensor 1022 is configured to detect motion or acceleration of the powered surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, input from the acceleration sensor 1022 is used, for example, to transition to and from sleep mode, identify the orientation of the powered surgical instrument, and/or identify when the surgical instrument has been dropped. In some embodiments, the acceleration segment 1002c is coupled to the security processor 1004 and/or the main processor 1006.

In one embodiment, the segmentation circuit 1000 includes a display segment 1002d (segment 4). The display segment 1002d includes a display connector 1024 coupled to the main processor 1006. The display connector 1024 couples the main processor 1006 to a display 1028 through one or more display driver integrated circuits 1026. The display driver integrated circuit 1026 may be integrated with the display 1028 and/or may be located separately from the display 1028. Display 1028 may include any suitable display, such as an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and/or any other suitable display. In some embodiments, display segment 1002c is coupled to a security processor 1004.

In some embodiments, segmented circuit 1000 includes shaft segment 1002e (segment 5). The shaft segment 1002e includes one or more controls for coupling to a shaft 2004 of the surgical instrument 2000 and/or one or more controls for coupling to an end effector 2006 of the shaft 2004. The shaft segment 1002e includes a shaft connector 1030 configured to couple the main processor 1006 to the shaft PCBA 1031. The shaft PCBA1031 includes a first articulation switch 1036, a second articulation switch 1032, and a shaft PCBA Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) 1034. In some embodiments, the shaft PCBA EEPROM1034 includes one or more parameters, routines, and/or programs that are specific to the shaft 2004 and/or the shaft PCBA 1031. The shaft PCBA1031 may be coupled to the shaft 2004 and/or integrally formed with the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, the shaft segment 1002e includes a second shaft EEPROM 1038. The second shaft EEPROM1038 includes a plurality of algorithms, routines, parameters, and/or other data corresponding to one or more shafts 2004 and/or end effectors 2006 that may interface with the powered surgical instrument 2000.

In some embodiments, the segmented circuit 1000 includes a position encoder segment 1002f (segment 6). The position encoder segment 1002f includes one or more magnetic rotary position encoders 1040 a-1040 b. The one or more magnetic rotational position encoders 1040 a-1040 b are configured to identify the rotational position of the motor 1048, the shaft 2004, and/or the end effector 2006 of the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, the magnetic rotary position encoders 1040 a-1040 b may be coupled to the safety processor 1004 and/or the main processor 1006.

In some embodiments, the segmented circuit 1000 includes a motor segment 1002g (segment 7). The motor section 1002g includes a motor 1048 configured to control one or more motions of the powered surgical instrument 2000. The motor 1048 is coupled to the main processor 1006 through an H-bridge driver 1042 and one or more H-bridge Field Effect Transistors (FETs) 1044. The H-bridge FET 1044 is coupled to the safety processor 1004. A motor current sensor 1046 is coupled in series with the motor 1048 to measure the current draw of the motor 1048. The motor current sensor 1046 is in signal communication with the main processor 1006 and/or the safety processor 1004. In some embodiments, the motor 1048 is coupled to a motor electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter 1050.

The segmented circuit 1000 includes a power segment 1002h (segment 8). The battery 1008 is coupled to the safety processor 1004, the primary processor 1006, and one or more of the additional circuit segments 1002 c-1002 g. The battery 1008 is coupled to the segmented circuit 1000 by a battery connector 1010 and a current sensor 1012. Current sensor 1012 is configured to measure the total current consumption of segmented circuit 1000. In some embodiments, the one or more voltage converters 1014a,1014b,1016 are configured to provide a predetermined voltage value to the one or more circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g. For example, in some embodiments, segmented circuit 1000 may include 3.3V voltage converters 1014 a-1014 b and/or 5V voltage converter 1016. The boost converter 1018 is configured to provide a boosted voltage of up to a predetermined amount, such as up to 13V. The boost converter 1018 is configured to provide additional voltage and/or current during power intensive operations and prevent voltage droop conditions or low power conditions.

In some embodiments, the safety segment 1002a includes a motor power interrupt 1020. Motor power interrupt 1020 is coupled between power segment 1002h and motor segment 1002 g. The safety segment 1002a is configured to interrupt power to the motor segment 1002g when the safety processor 1004 and/or the main processor 1006 detects an error or fault condition, as discussed in more detail herein. Although the circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g are shown with all of the components of the circuit segments 1002 a-1002 h physically located proximate, one skilled in the art will recognize that the circuit segments 1002 a-1002 h may include other components that are physically and/or electrically separate from the components of the same circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g. In some embodiments, one or more components may be shared by two or more circuit segments 1002 a-1002 g.

In some embodiments, a plurality of switches 1056-1070 are coupled to the security processor 1004 and/or the main processor 1006. The plurality of switches 1056-1070 may be configured to control one or more operations of the surgical instrument 2000, control one or more operations of the segmented circuit 1100, and/or indicate a status of the surgical instrument 2000. For example, the rescue door switch 1056 is configured to indicate the status of the rescue door. A plurality of articulation switches (such as a left articulation switch 1058a, a left right articulation switch 1060a, a left center articulation switch 1062a, a right left articulation switch 1058b, a right center articulation switch 1060b, and a right center articulation switch 1062b) are configured to control articulation of the shaft 2004 and/or the end effector 2006. Left and right side commuter switches 1064a, 1064b are coupled to main processor 1006. In some embodiments, left switches (including a left articulation switch 1058a, a left right articulation switch 1060a, a left center articulation switch 1062a, and a left reversing switch 1064a) are coupled to the master processor 1006 through a left flexible connector 1072 a. The right switches (including right left articulation switch 1058b, right articulation switch 1060b, right center articulation switch 1062b, and right reversing switch 1064b) are coupled to the master processor 1006 by a right flexible connector 1072 b. In some embodiments, a firing switch 1066, a clamp release switch 1068, and a shaft engagement switch 1070 are coupled to the main processor 1006.

The plurality of switches 1056-1070 may include, for example, a plurality of handle controls mounted to a handle of the surgical instrument 2000, a plurality of indicator switches, and/or any combination thereof. In various embodiments, the plurality of switches 1056-1070 allow the surgeon to manipulate the surgical instrument, provide feedback to the segmented circuit 1000 regarding the position and/or operation of the surgical instrument, and/or indicate that the operation of the surgical instrument 2000 is unsafe. In some embodiments, additional switches or fewer switches may be coupled to the segmented circuit 1000, and one or more of the switches 1056-1070 may be combined into a single switch and/or expanded into multiple switches. For example, in one embodiment, one or more of the left and/or right articulation switches 1058 a-1064 b may be combined into a single multi-position switch.

Fig. 5 illustrates a segmented circuit 1100 that includes one embodiment of a secure processor 1104 configured to implement watchdog functionality and other secure operations. The secure processor 1004 and the main processor 1106 of the segmented circuit 1100 are in signal communication. The plurality of circuit segments 1102 c-1102 h are coupled to a primary processor 1106 and are configured to control one or more operations of a surgical instrument, such as the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the segmented circuit 1100 includes an acceleration segment 1102c, a display segment 1102d, a shaft segment 1102e, an encoder segment 1102f, a motor segment 1102g, and a power segment 1102 h. Each of the circuit segments 1102 c-1102 g may be coupled to the safety processor 1104 and/or the main processor 1106. The host processor is also coupled to flash memory 1186. A microprocessor heartbeat signal is provided at output 1196.

The acceleration segment 1102c includes an accelerometer 1122 configured to monitor movement of the surgical instrument 2000. In various embodiments, accelerometer 1122 may be a single axis, dual axis, or triple axis accelerometer. The accelerometer 1122 may be used to measure an appropriate acceleration, which is not necessarily a coordinate acceleration (rate of change of velocity). Instead, the accelerometer observes accelerations associated with the weight phenomenon experienced by the test mass when the frame of reference of accelerometer 1122 is stationary. For example, due to its weight, accelerometer 1122, when stationary on the surface of the earth, will measure an acceleration g of 9.8m/s in the vertical direction². Another type of acceleration that may be measured by the accelerometer 1122 is acceleration due to gravity. In various other embodiments, accelerometer 1122 may comprise a single-axis, dual-axis, or tri-axis accelerometer. Further, the acceleration segment 1102c may include one or more inertial sensors to detect and measure acceleration, tilt, shock, vibration, spinRotational and multiple degrees of freedom (DoF). Suitable inertial sensors may include accelerometers (single, dual or triple axis), magnetometers for measuring spatial magnetic fields, such as the earth's magnetic field, and/or gyroscopes for measuring angular velocity.

The display segment 1102d includes a display, such as an OLED display, embedded in the surgical instrument 2000. In certain embodiments, the surgical instrument 2000 may include an output device, which may include one or more devices for providing sensory feedback to the user. Such devices may include, for example, visual feedback devices (e.g., LCD display screens, LED indicators), audible feedback devices (e.g., speakers, buzzers), or tactile feedback devices (e.g., haptic actuators). In certain aspects, the output device can include a display, which can be included in the handle assembly 2002, as shown in fig. 1. The shaft assembly controller and/or the power management controller may provide feedback to a user of the surgical instrument 2000 through an output device. The interface may be configured to connect the shaft assembly controller and/or the power management controller to an output device.

The shaft segment 1102e includes a shaft circuit board 1131 (such as a shaft PCB) configured to control one or more operations of the shaft 2004 and/or an end effector 2006 coupled to the shaft 2004, and a hall-effect switch 1170 for indicating that the shaft has been engaged. The shaft circuit board 1131 also includes a low power microprocessor 1190 with Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM) technology, a mechanical articulation switch 1192, a shaft release hall effect switch 1194, and a flash memory 1134. The encoder segment 1102f includes a plurality of motor encoders 1140a,1140b configured to provide rotational position information of the motor 1048, the shaft 2004, and/or the end effector 2006.

The motor section 1102g includes a motor 1048, such as a brushed dc motor. The motor 1048 is coupled to the main processor 1106 by a plurality of H-bridge drives 1142 and a motor controller 1143. The motor controller 1143 controls the first motor flag 1174a and the second motor flag 1174b to indicate the state and position of the motor 1048 to the main processor 1106. The main processor 1106 provides a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) high signal 1176a, a PWM low signal 1176b, a direction signal 1178, a synchronization signal 1180, and a motor reset signal 1182 to the motor controller 1143 via a buffer 1184. The power segment 1102h is configured to provide a segment voltage to each of the circuit segments 1102a-1102 g.

In one embodiment, the secure processor 1104 is configured to implement a watchdog function for one or more circuit segments 1102 c-1102 h (such as a motor segment 1102 g). In this regard, the security processor 1104 employs a watchdog function to detect and recover from a failure of the main processor 1006 from a failure of the main processor 10006. During normal operation, the safety processor 1104 monitors the main processor 1104 for hardware faults or program errors and initiates one or more corrective actions. The corrective action may include placing the main processor 10006 in a safe state and resuming normal system operation. In one embodiment, the safety processor 1104 is coupled to at least a first sensor. The first sensor measures a first property of the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, the safety processor 1104 is configured to compare the measured property of the surgical instrument 2000 to a predetermined value. For example, in one embodiment, the motor sensor 1140a is coupled to the safety processor 1104. The motor sensor 1140a provides speed and position information of the motor to the safety processor 1104. The safety processor 1104 monitors the motor sensor 1140a and compares the value to a maximum speed and/or position value and prevents operation of the motor 1048 when the value is above a predetermined value. In some embodiments, the predetermined values are calculated based on real-time speed and/or position of the motor 1048, calculated from values provided by the second motor sensor 1140b in communication with the primary processor 1106, and/or provided to the security processor 1104 from, for example, a memory module coupled to the security processor 1104.

In some embodiments, the second sensor is coupled to the main processor 1106. The second sensor is configured to measure a first physical property. The security processor 1104 and the main processor 1106 are configured to provide signals indicative of the values of the first sensor and the second sensor, respectively. When the safety processor 1104 or the primary processor 1106 indicates a value outside of an acceptable range, the segmented circuit 1100 prevents operation of at least one of the circuit segments 1102 c-1102 h, such as the motor segment 1102 g. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the safety processor 1104 is coupled to a first motor position sensor 1140a and the primary processor 1106 is coupled to a second motor position sensor 1140 b. The motor position sensors 1140a,1140b may comprise any suitable motor position sensor, such as a magnetic angular rotation input device comprising sine and cosine outputs. The motor position sensors 1140a,1140b provide signals indicative of the position of the motor 1048 to the safety processor 1104 and the main processor 1106, respectively.

The safety processor 1104 and the main processor 1106 generate an activation signal when the value of the first motor sensor 1140a and the value of the second motor sensor 1140b are both within a predetermined range. Should the main processor 1106 or the safety processor 1104 detect a value outside of a predetermined range, the enable signal is terminated, and operation of at least one of the circuit segments 1102 c-1102 h, such as the motor segment 1102g, is interrupted and/or prevented. For example, in some embodiments, the enable signal from the main processor 1106 AND the enable signal from the security processor 1104 are coupled to an AND gate. The AND gate is coupled to a motor power switch 1120. When the enable signals from both the safety processor 1104 AND the main processor 1106 are high (indicating that the values of the motor sensors 1140a,1140b are within a predetermined range), the AND gate holds the motor power switch 1120 in a closed or open position. When either of the motor sensors 1140a,1140b detects a value outside of a predetermined range, the activation signal from the motor sensors 1140a,1140b is set low AND the output of the AND gate is also set low, thereby opening the motor power switch 1120. In some embodiments, the value of the first sensor 1140a is compared to the value of the second sensor 1140b, for example, by comparing the security processor 1104 and/or the main processor 1106. If the value of the first sensor is different from the value of the second sensor, the safety processor 1104 and/or the main processor 1106 may prevent operation of the motor segment 1102 g.

In some embodiments, the security processor 1104 receives a signal representing the value of the second sensor 1140b and compares the value of the second sensor to the value of the first sensor. For example, in one embodiment, the safety processor 1104 is coupled directly to the first motor sensor 1140 a. The second motor sensor 1140b is coupled to the primary processor 1106, the value of the second motor sensor 1140b is provided to the safety processor 1104 by the primary processor, and/or is coupled directly to the safety processor 1104. The safety processor 1104 compares the value of the first motor sensor 1140 with the value of the second motor sensor 1140 b. When the safety processor 1104 detects a mismatch between the first motor sensor 1140a and the second motor sensor 1140b, the safety processor 1104 can interrupt operation of the motor segment 1102g, such as by cutting power to the motor segment 1102 g.

In some embodiments, the safety processor 1104 and/or the primary processor 1106 are coupled to a first sensor 1140a configured to measure a first property of the surgical instrument and a second sensor 1140b configured to measure a second property of the surgical instrument. The first property and the second property comprise a predetermined relationship when the surgical instrument is operating normally. The security processor 1104 monitors the first property and the second property. A fault occurs when it is detected that the value of the first property and/or the value of the second property does not correspond to the predetermined relationship. In the event of a failure, the safety processor 1104 takes at least one action, such as blocking operation of at least one circuit segment, performing a predetermined operation, and/or resetting the main processor 1106. For example, the safety processor 1104, upon detecting a fault, may open the motor power switch 1120 to cut power to the motor circuit segment 1102 g.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a segmented circuit 1200 that includes a safety processor 1204 configured to monitor and compare a first property and a second property of a surgical instrument, such as the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3. The security processor 1204 is coupled to a first sensor 1246 and a second sensor 1266. The first sensor 1246 is configured to monitor a first physical property of the surgical instrument 2000. The second sensor 1266 is configured to monitor a second physical property of the surgical instrument 2000. The first and second properties comprise a predetermined relationship when the surgical instrument 2000 is operating normally. For example, in one embodiment, the first sensor 1246 comprises a motor current sensor configured to monitor the current drawn by the motor from the power source. The current drawn by the motor may be indicative of the speed of the motor. The second sensor comprises a linear hall sensor configured to monitor a position of the cutting member within an end effector (e.g., end effector 2006 coupled to the surgical instrument 2000). The position of the cutting member is used to calculate the cutting member velocity in the end effector 2006. The cutting member speed has a predetermined relationship to the motor speed during normal operation of the surgical instrument 2000.

The security processor 1204 provides a signal to the main processor 1206 indicating that the values generated by the first sensor 1246 and the second sensor 1266 are consistent with a predetermined relationship. When the security processor 1204 detects that the values of the first sensor 1246 and/or the second sensor 1266 are not consistent with the predetermined relationship, the primary processor 1206 indicates an unsafe condition to the primary processor 1206. The primary processor 1206 interrupts and/or prevents operation of at least one circuit segment. In some embodiments, the safety processor 1204 is directly coupled to a switch configured to control the operation of one or more circuit segments. For example, in connection with fig. 5, in one embodiment, the safety processor 1104 is coupled directly to the motor power switch 1120. The safety processor 1104 opens the motor power switch 1120 upon detection of a fault to prevent operation of the motor segment 1102 g.

Referring back to fig. 5, in one embodiment, the safety processor 1104 is configured to execute a separate control algorithm. In operation, the safety processor 1104 monitors the segmented circuit 1100 and is configured to independently control and/or override signals from other circuit components, such as the main processor 1106. The safety processor 1104 may execute a preprogrammed algorithm and/or may be updated or programmed online during operation based on one or more actions and/or positions of the surgical instrument 2000. For example, in one embodiment, the safety processor 1104 is reprogrammed with new parameters and/or safety algorithms each time a new shaft and/or end effector is coupled to the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, one or more security values stored by the security processor 1104 are copied by the main processor 1106. Bi-directional error detection is performed to ensure that the values and/or parameters stored by the

processor

1104 or 1106 are correct.

In some embodiments, the security processor 1104 and the main processor 1106 implement redundant security checks. The security processor 1104 and the main processor 1106 provide periodic signals indicating proper operation. For example, during operation, the secure processor 1104 may indicate to the main processor 1106 that the secure processor 1104 is executing code and operating properly. The main processor 1106 may likewise indicate to the secure processor 1104 that the main processor 1106 is executing code and operating properly. In some embodiments, the secure processor 1104 and the main processor 1106 communicate at predetermined intervals. The predetermined interval may be a constant or may vary depending on the state of the circuit and/or operation of the surgical instrument 2000.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a security process 1250 configured to be implemented by a security processor, such as security processor 1104 shown in fig. 5. In one embodiment, values corresponding to various properties of the surgical instrument 2000 are provided to the safety processor 1104. The multiple properties are monitored by multiple independent sensors and/or systems. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the measured cutting member speed 1252, the suggested motor speed 1254, and the expected direction of the motor signal 1256 are provided to the safety processor 1104. The cutting member speed 1252 and the suggested motor speed 1254 may be provided by separate sensors (such as a linear hall sensor and a current sensor), respectively. The desired direction of the motor signal 1256 may be provided by a main processor (e.g., the main processor 1106 shown in fig. 5). The security processor 1104 compares 1258 the plurality of properties and determines when the properties are consistent with a predetermined relationship. If the values of the plurality of properties are consistent with the predetermined relationship 1260a, then action 1262 is not taken. And if the values of the plurality of properties are not consistent with the predetermined relationship 1260b, the secure processor 1104 performs one or more actions, such as blocking a function, performing a function, and/or resetting the processor. For example, in the process 1250 shown in fig. 7, the secure processor 1104 interrupts operation of one or more circuit segments, such as by interrupting power 1264 to the motor segment.

Referring back to fig. 5, the segmented circuit 1100 includes a plurality of switches 1156-1170 configured to control one or more operations of the surgical instrument 2000. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the staging circuit 1100 includes a clamp release switch 1168, a firing trigger 1166, and a plurality of switches 1158 a-1164 b configured to control articulation of the shaft 2004 and/or the end effector 2006 coupled to the surgical instrument 2000. The clamp release switch 1168, firing trigger 1166, and plurality of articulation switches 1158 a-1164 b may include analog switches and/or digital switches. In particular, switch 1156 indicates a mechanical switch up and down position, switches 1158a,1158b indicate leftward articulation (1) and (2), switches 1160a,1160b indicate rightward articulation (1) and (2),

switches

1162a,1162b indicate central articulation (1) and (2), and

switches

1164a,1164b indicate left and right commutations.

For example, fig. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a switch bank 1300 including a plurality of switches SW 1-SW 16 configured to control one or more operations of a surgical instrument. Switch block 1300 may be coupled to a main processor (such as main processor 1106). In some embodiments, one or more diodes D1-D8 are coupled to a plurality of switches SW 1-SW 16. Any suitable mechanical, electromechanical, or solid state switches may be combined in any suitable manner to implement the plurality of switches 1156-1170. For example, switches 1156-1170 may be limit switches that are operated by the action of a component associated with the surgical instrument 2000 or the presence of some object. Such switches may be used to control various functions associated with the surgical instrument 2000. Limit switches are electromechanical devices consisting of an actuator mechanically connected to a set of contacts. When an object comes into contact with the actuator, the device operates the contacts to make or break the electrical connection. Limit switches are used in a variety of applications and environments because of their durability, ease of installation, and reliability of operation. The limit switches may determine whether an object is present, passing, being positioned, and whether travel of the object is over. In other implementations, the switches 1156-1170 may be solid state switches that operate under the influence of a magnetic field, such as hall effect devices, magneto-resistive (MR) devices, giant magneto-resistive (GMR) devices, magnetometers, and others. In other implementations, the switches 1156-1170 may be solid state switches that operate under the influence of light, such as optical sensors, infrared sensors, ultraviolet sensors, and others. Likewise, switches 1156-1170 may be solid state devices such as transistors (e.g., FETs, junction FETs, metal oxide semiconductor FETs (mosfets), bipolar transistors, etc.). Other switches may include wireless switches, ultrasonic switches, accelerometers, inertial sensors, and others.

Fig. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a switch bank 1350 that includes a plurality of switches. In various embodiments, one or more switches are configured to control one or more operations of a surgical instrument, such as the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3. The plurality of articulation switches SW 1-SW 16 are configured to control articulation of the shaft 2004 and/or the end effector 2006 coupled to the surgical instrument 2000. The firing trigger 1366 is configured to fire the surgical instrument 2000, e.g., for deploying a plurality of staples, translating a cutting member within the end effector 2006, and/or delivering electrosurgical energy to the end effector 2006. In some embodiments, the switch set 1350 includes one or more safety switches configured to prevent operation of the surgical instrument 2000. For example, the rescue switch 1356 is coupled to the rescue door and prevents operation of the surgical instrument 2000 when the rescue door is in the open position.

Fig. 10 shows one embodiment of a segmented circuit 1400 that includes a switch block 1450 coupled to a main processor 1406. The switch block 1450 is similar to the switch block 1350 shown in fig. 9. The switch set 1450 includes a plurality of switches SW 1-SW 16 configured to control one or more operations of a surgical instrument, such as the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3. Switch block 1450 is coupled to an analog input of main processor 1406. Each switch within the switch set 1450 is further coupled to an input/output extender 1463, which is coupled to a digital input of the main processor 1406. Main processor 1406 receives input from switch set 1450 and controls one or more additional sections of segmented circuit 1400 (such as motor section 1402g) in response to operation of one or more switches in switch set 1450.

In some embodiments, a potentiometer 1469 is coupled to the primary processor 1406 to provide a signal indicative of a clamping position of the end effector 2006 coupled to the surgical instrument 2000. The potentiometer 1469 may replace and/or supplement a safety processor (not shown) by providing a signal indicative of the clamp open/closed position that the main processor 1106 uses to control the operation of one or more circuit segments, such as the motor segment 1102 g. For example, when the potentiometer 1469 indicates that the end effector is in a fully clamped position and/or a fully open position, the primary processor 1406 may open the motor power switch 1420 and prevent the motor segment 1402g from further operation in a particular direction. In some embodiments, the primary processor 1406 controls the current delivered to the motor segment 1402g in response to signals received from the potentiometer 1469. For example, when the potentiometer 1469 indicates that the end effector is closed beyond a predetermined position, the primary processor 1406 may limit the energy that can be delivered to the motor segment 1402 g.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the segmented circuit 1100 includes an acceleration segment 1102 c. The acceleration segment includes an accelerometer 1122. The accelerometer 1122 may be coupled to the security processor 1104 and/or the main processor 1106. The accelerometer 1122 is configured to monitor the movement of the surgical instrument 2000. The accelerometer 1122 is configured to generate one or more signals indicative of motion in one or more directions. For example, in some embodiments, the accelerometer 1122 is configured to monitor movement of the surgical instrument 2000 in three directions. In other embodiments, the acceleration segment 1102c includes a plurality of accelerometers 1122, each configured to monitor motion in the signal direction.

In some embodiments, the accelerometer 1122 is configured to cause a transition to and/or from a sleep mode to another mode, e.g., from between a sleep mode and a wake mode to a sleep mode, or vice versa. The sleep mode may include a low power mode in which one or more of the circuit segments 1102a-1102g are deactivated or placed in a low power state. For example, in one embodiment, the accelerometer 1122 remains active in a sleep mode and the secure processor 1104 is placed in a low power mode in which the secure processor 1104 monitors the accelerometer 1122 but does not perform any function. The remaining electrical sections 1102b to 1102g are in a power-off state. In various embodiments, the main processor 1104 and/or the security processor 1106 are configured to monitor the accelerometer 1122 and to transition the segmented circuit 1100 to a sleep mode, e.g., if no motion is detected for a predetermined period of time. Although the sleep/awake mode is described above in connection with the security processor 1104 monitoring the accelerometer 1122, the sleep/awake mode may be accomplished by the security processor 1104 monitoring any of the sensors, switches, or other indicators associated with the surgical instrument 2000 as described herein. For example, the security processor 1104 may monitor an inertial sensor, or one or more switches.

In some embodiments, the segmentation circuit 1100 transitions to the sleep mode after a predetermined period of inactivity. The timer is in signal communication with the security processor 1104 and/or the main processor 1106. The timer may be integral with the security processor 1104, the main processor 1106, and/or may be a separate circuit component. The timer is configured to monitor a time period since the last movement of the surgical instrument 2000 was detected by the accelerometer 1122 to the present time. When the counter exceeds a predetermined threshold, the secure processor 1104 and/or the primary processor 1106 transition the segmented circuit 1100 to sleep mode. In some embodiments, the timer is reset each time the accelerometer 1122 detects motion.

In some embodiments, all circuit segments, or other designated sensors and/or switches, except the accelerometer 1122, as well as the security processor 1104 are disabled in the sleep mode. The security processor 1104 monitors an accelerometer 1122, or other designated sensor and/or switch. When the accelerometer 1122 indicates a motion of the surgical instrument 2000, the safety processor 1104 initiates a transition from the sleep mode to the operational mode. In the operational mode, all of the circuit segments 1102a-1102 h are fully energized and the surgical instrument 2000 is ready for use. In some embodiments, the secure processor 1104 transitions the primary processor 1106 from a sleep mode to a full power mode by providing a signal to the primary processor 1106 to transition the segmented circuit 1100 to an operational mode. The main processor 1106 then transitions each of the remaining circuit segments 1102 d-1102 h to an operational mode.

Transitioning to and/or from sleep mode to other modes may include multiple phases. For example, in one implementation, the segmentation circuit 1100 transitions from the operational mode to the sleep mode in four stages. The first stage is initiated after the accelerometer 1122 has not detected movement of the surgical instrument within a first predetermined period of time. After a first predetermined period of time, the segmentation circuit 1100 attenuates the brightness of the backlight of the display segment 1102 d. If motion is not detected within a second predetermined period of time, the security processor 1104 transitions to a second phase in which the backlight of the display segment 1102d is off. If no motion is detected within a third predetermined period of time, the security processor 1104 transitions to a third phase in which the polling rate of the accelerometer 1122 is decreased. If motion is not detected within a fourth predetermined period of time, the display segment 1102d is deactivated and the segmentation circuit 1100 enters a sleep mode. In the sleep mode, all circuit segments and the secure processor 1104, except the accelerometer 1122, are deactivated. The secure processor 1104 enters a low power mode in which the secure processor 1104 only polls the accelerometer 1122. The secure processor 1104 monitors the accelerometer 1122 until the accelerometer 1122 detects motion, at which time the secure processor 1104 transitions the segmented circuit 1100 from the sleep mode to the operational mode.

In some embodiments, the safety processor 1104 transitions the segmented circuit 1100 to the operational mode only if the accelerometer 1122 detects movement of the surgical instrument 2000 that exceeds a predetermined threshold. Because the safety processor 1104 responds only to motion that exceeds a predetermined threshold, the safety processor prevents the segmented circuit 1100 from inadvertently transitioning to the operational mode in the event that the surgical instrument is bumped or moved while the user is storing the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, accelerometer 1122 is configured to monitor motion in multiple directions. For example, accelerometer 1122 may be configured to detect movement in a first direction and a second direction. The security processor 1104 monitors the accelerometer 1122 and transitions the segmented circuit 1100 from the sleep mode to the operational mode when motion is detected that exceeds a predetermined threshold in both the first direction and the second direction. Since the required motion exceeds the predetermined threshold in at least two directions, the security processor 1104 is configured to prevent the segmented circuit 1100 from inadvertently transitioning from the sleep mode to another mode due to incidental motion during storage.

In some embodiments, accelerometer 1122 is configured to detect movement in a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. The security processor 1104 monitors the accelerometer 1122 and is configured to transition the segmented circuit 1100 from the sleep mode to the other mode only when the accelerometer 1122 detects oscillatory motion in all of the first, second, and third directions. In some embodiments, the oscillatory motions in the first, second, and third directions, respectively, correspond to motions made by the operator to surgical instrument 2000, so a transition to an operational mode is desirable when accelerometer 1122 detects oscillatory motions in three directions.

In some embodiments, as the time since the last detection of motion increases, the predetermined threshold for motion required to transition the segmented circuit 1100 from the sleep mode also increases. For example, in some embodiments, the timer continues to run during the sleep mode. When the timer count increases, the secure processor 1104 increases a predetermined threshold of motion required to transition the segmented circuit 1100 to the operational mode. The security processor 1104 may increase the predetermined threshold to an upper limit. For example, in some embodiments, the secure processor 1104 transitions the segmented circuit 1100 to a sleep mode and resets a timer. The predetermined threshold for motion is initially set to a lower value, requiring only a small motion of the surgical instrument 2000 to transition the segmented circuit 1100 from the sleep mode. As the time since the transition to sleep mode (as measured by the timer) increases, the security processor 1104 increases the predetermined threshold of motion. At time T, the security processor 1104 has increased the predetermined threshold to the upper limit. The predetermined threshold value remains a constant upper limit value for all times after T.

In some embodiments, one or more additional and/or alternative sensors are used to transition segmented circuit 1100 between sleep mode and operational mode. For example, in one embodiment, the touch sensor is located on the surgical instrument 2000. The touch sensor is coupled to the security processor 1104 and/or the main processor 1106. The touch sensor is configured to detect contact of a user with the surgical instrument 2000. For example, the touch sensor may be located on the handle of the surgical instrument 2000 to detect when the operator picks up the surgical instrument 2000. In the event that the predetermined period has elapsed without the accelerometer 1122 detecting motion, the secure processor 1104 transitions the segmented circuit 1100 to the sleep mode. The safety processor 1104 monitors the touch sensor and transitions the segmented circuit 1100 to the operational mode when the touch sensor detects user contact with the surgical instrument 2000. The touch sensors may include, for example, capacitive touch sensors, temperature sensors, and/or any other suitable touch sensors. In some implementations, the touch sensors and accelerometers 1122 can be used to transition the device between a sleep mode and an operational mode. For example, the safety processor 1104 may only transition the device to sleep mode when the accelerometer 1122 does not detect motion within a predetermined threshold period and the touch sensor does not indicate user contact with the surgical instrument 2000. One skilled in the art will recognize that one or more additional sensors may be used to transition segmented circuit 1100 between sleep and operational modes. In some embodiments, the touch sensor is only monitored by the secure processor 1104 when the segmented circuit 1100 is in sleep mode.

In some embodiments, the safety processor 1104 is configured to transition the segmented circuit 1100 from the sleep mode to the operational mode when one or more handle controls are actuated. After transitioning to the sleep mode, e.g., because the accelerometer 1122 has not detected motion within a predetermined period, the security processor 1104 monitors one or more handle controls, e.g., the plurality of articulation switches 1158 a-1164 b. In other embodiments, the one or more handle controls include, for example, a grip control 1166, a release button 1168, and/or any other suitable handle control. An operator of the surgical instrument 2000 can actuate one or more handle controls, thereby transitioning the segmented circuit 1100 to an operational mode. When the security processor 1104 detects actuation of the handle control, the security processor 1104 causes the segmented circuit 1100 to begin transitioning to the operational mode. Since the main processor 1106 is inactive when the handle control is actuated, the operator may actuate the handle control without causing a corresponding action by the surgical instrument 2000.

Fig. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit 1900 that includes an accelerometer 1922 configured to monitor movement of a surgical instrument (e.g., the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3). The power section 1902 provides power from the battery 1908 to one or more circuit sections, e.g., an accelerometer 1922. An accelerometer 1922 is coupled to the processor 1906. The accelerometer 1922 is configured to monitor movement of the surgical instrument 2000. The accelerometer 1922 is configured to generate one or more signals representative of motion in one or more directions. For example, in some embodiments, the accelerometer 1922 is configured to monitor movement of the surgical instrument 2000 in three directions.

In some cases, processor 1906 may be, for example, LM4F230H5QR, which is available from Texas instruments. The processor 1906 is configured to monitor the accelerometer 1922 and transition the segmentation circuit 1900 to a sleep mode, e.g., when no motion is detected for a predetermined period of time. In some embodiments, segmentation circuit 1900 transitions to the sleep mode after a predetermined period of inactivity. For example, in the event that the predetermined period has been exceeded without the accelerometer 1922 detecting motion, the security processor 1904 transitions the segmented circuit 1900 to the sleep mode. In some cases, the accelerometer 1922 may be, for example, an LIS331DLM, which is commercially available from stmicroelectronics. The timer may be integral with the processor 1906 and/or may be a separate circuit component. The timer is configured to count the time since the last movement of the surgical instrument 2000 was detected by the accelerometer 1922 to the present time. When the counter exceeds a predetermined threshold, processor 1906 transitions segmented circuit 1900 to sleep mode. In some embodiments, the timer is reset each time the accelerometer 1922 detects motion.

In some embodiments, the accelerometer 1922 is configured to detect an impact event. For example, when the surgical instrument 2000 is dropped, the accelerometer 1922 will detect acceleration in a first direction due to gravity and then detect changes in acceleration (due to impact with the floor and/or other surface) in a second direction. As another example, when the surgical instrument 2000 strikes a wall, the accelerometer 1922 will detect acceleration peaks in one or more directions. Because the impact event may loosen mechanical and/or electrical components, the processor 1906 may prevent operation of the surgical instrument 2000 when the accelerometer 1922 detects the impact event. In some embodiments, operation of the surgical instrument is prevented only when the impact is above a predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, all impacts are monitored and operation of the surgical instrument 2000 may be prevented when the cumulative impact is above a predetermined threshold.

Referring again to fig. 5, in one embodiment, the segmentation circuit 1100 includes a power segment 1102 h. The power segment 1102h is configured to provide a segment voltage to each of the circuit segments 1102a-1102 g. The power segment 1102h includes a battery 1108. The battery 1108 is configured to provide a predetermined voltage, for example, 12 volts via battery connector 1110. One or

more power converters

1114a,1114b,1116 are coupled to the battery 1108 to provide a particular voltage. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the power stage 1102h includes an auxiliary switching converter 1114a, a switching converter 1114b, and a Low Dropout (LDO) converter 1116. The switching

converters

1114a,1114b are configured to provide a voltage of 3.3 volts to one or more circuit components. The LOD converter 1116 is configured to provide 5.0 volts to one or more circuit components. In some embodiments, the power stage 1102h includes a boost converter 1118. A transistor switch (e.g., an N-channel MOSFET)1115 is coupled to the

power converters

1114b, 1116. The boost converter 1118 is configured to provide an increased voltage that is greater than the voltage provided by the battery 1108 (e.g., 13 volts). The boost converter 1118 may include, for example, a capacitor, an inductor, a battery, a rechargeable battery, and/or any other suitable converter for providing an increased voltage. The boost converter 1118 provides a boosted voltage to prevent one or more of the circuit segments 1102a-1102g from falling in voltage or low power conditions during power intensive operations of the surgical instrument 2000. However, these embodiments are not limited to the voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

In some embodiments, the segmentation circuit 1100 is configured to start up sequentially. Before the next sequential circuit segment 1102a-1102g is energized, an error check is performed by each circuit segment 1102a-1102 g. FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a process for sequentially powering up a segmented circuit 1270, such as segmented circuit 1100. When the battery 1108 is coupled to the segmented circuit 1100, the safety processor 1104 is powered (step 1272). Secure processor 1104 performs an error self-check (step 1274). When an error is detected (step 1276a), the secure processor stops powering up the segmented circuit 1100 and generates an error code (step 1278 a). When no error is detected (step 1276b), the security processor 1104 begins powering up the main processor 1106 (step 1278 b). The main processor 1106 performs error self-checking. When no errors are detected, the primary processor 1106 begins sequentially powering on each of the remaining circuit segments (step 1278 b). Each circuit segment is powered and error checked by the main processor 1106. When no error is detected, power is supplied to the next circuit segment (step 1278 b). When an error is detected, the safety processor 1104 and/or the main processor stops energizing the current segment and generates an error code (step 1278 a). The sequential start-up continues until all of the circuit segments 1102a-1102g have been energized. In some implementations, the segmented circuit 1100 transitions from the sleep mode after a similar sequential power-up flow 1250.

Fig. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a power segment 1502 that includes a plurality of daisy chained

power converters

1514,1516,1518. The power segment 1502 includes a battery 1508. The battery 1508 is configured to provide a source voltage, such as 12V. A current sensor 1512 is coupled to the battery 1508 to monitor current consumption of the segmented circuit and/or one or more circuit segments. The current sensor 1512 is coupled to a FET switch 1513. The battery 1508 is coupled to one or

more voltage converters

1509,1514,1516. The always-on converter 1509 provides a constant voltage to one or more circuit components, such as the motion sensor 1522. The always-on converter 1509 includes, for example, a 3.3V converter. The always-on converter 1509 may provide a constant voltage to additional circuit components, such as a safety processor (not shown). The battery 1508 is coupled to a boost converter 1518. The boost converter 1518 is configured to provide a boosted voltage greater than the voltage provided by the battery 1508. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the battery 1508 provides a voltage of 12V. The boost converter 1518 is configured to boost the voltage to 13V. The boost converter 1518 is configured to maintain a minimum voltage during operation of a surgical instrument (e.g., the surgical instrument 2000 illustrated in fig. 1-3). Operation of the motor may cause the power provided to the main processor 1506 to drop below a minimum threshold and create a voltage drop or reset condition in the main processor 1506. The boost converter 1518 ensures that sufficient power is available to the primary processor 1506 and/or other circuit components, such as the motor controller 1543, during operation of the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, the boost converter 1518 is coupled directly to one or more circuit components, for example, an OLED display 1588.

Boost converter 1518 is coupled to one or more buck converters to provide a voltage below the boosted voltage level. The first voltage converter 1516 is coupled to the boost converter 1518 and provides a reduced voltage to one or more circuit components. In the embodiment shown, the first voltage converter 1516 provides a voltage of 5V. The first voltage converter 1516 is coupled to a rotary position encoder 1540. FET switch 1517 is coupled between first voltage converter 1516 and a rotary position encoder 1540. FET switch 1517 is controlled by processor 1506. The processor 1506 opens the FET switch 1517, for example, during power intensive operations, thereby deactivating the position encoder 1540. First voltage converter 1516 is coupled to a second voltage converter 1514 configured to provide a second reduced voltage. The second reduced voltage includes, for example, a voltage of 3.3V. The second voltage converter 1514 is coupled to the processor 1506. In some embodiments, boost converter 1518, first voltage converter 1516, and second voltage converter 1514 are coupled in a daisy chain configuration. The daisy chain configuration allows for the use of smaller and more efficient converters to bring the generated voltage level below the aforementioned boosted voltage level. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

Fig. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit 1600 that is configured to maximize power available to a circuit and/or power intensive functions. The segmented circuit 1600 includes a battery 1608. The battery 1608 is configured to provide a source voltage, such as 12V. The source voltage is provided to a plurality of

voltage converters

1609,1618. The always-on voltage converter 1609 provides a constant voltage to one or more circuit components, for example, the motion sensor 1622 and the safety processor 1604. An always-on voltage converter 1609 is coupled directly to the battery 1608. The always-on voltage converter 1609 provides a voltage of, for example, 3.3V. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

The segmented circuit 1600 includes a boost converter 1618. The boost converter 1618 provides a boosted voltage that is greater than the source voltage (e.g., 13V) provided by the battery 1608. The boost converter 1618 provides a boosted voltage directly to one or more circuit components, e.g., an OLED display 1688 and a motor controller 1643. By coupling the OLED display 1688 directly to the boost converter 1618, the segmented circuit 1600 no longer requires a power converter dedicated to the OLED display 1688. The boost converter 1618 provides a boosted voltage to the motor controller 1643 and the motor 1648 during one or more power intensive operations of the motor 1648, such as a cutting operation. The boost converter 1618 is coupled to the buck converter 1616. The buck converter 1616 is configured to provide a voltage (e.g., 5V) lower than the boosted voltage to one or more circuit components. The buck converter 1616 is coupled to, for example, the FET switch 1651 and the position encoder 1640. The FET switch 1651 is coupled to the main processor 1606. The main processor 1606 opens the FET switch 1651 when the segmented circuit 1600 transitions to the sleep mode, and/or during power intensive functions that require additional voltage to be delivered to the motor 1648. Opening the FET switch 1651 deactivates the position encoder 1640 and eliminates power consumption by the position encoder 1640. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

The buck converter 1616 is coupled to the linear converter 1614. The linear converter 1614 is configured to provide a voltage of, for example, 3.3V. The linear converter 1614 is coupled to the primary processor 1606. The linear converter 1614 provides an operating voltage to the main processor 1606. The linear converter 1614 may be coupled to one or more additional circuit components. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

The segmented circuit 1600 includes a rescue switch 1656. A rescue switch 1656 is coupled to a rescue door of the surgical instrument 2000. The rescue switch 1656 and the safety processor 1604 are coupled to an and gate 1619. And gate 1619 provides an input to FET switch 1613. When the rescue switch 1656 detects a voltage reduction condition, the rescue switch 1656 provides a rescue shutdown signal to the and gate 1619. When the security processor 1604 detects an unsafe condition, for example, due to a sensor mismatch, the security processor 1604 provides a shutdown signal to the and gate 1619. In some embodiments, both the rescue shutdown signal and the shutdown signal are high during normal operation and low when a reduced voltage condition or unsafe condition is detected. When the output of the and gate 1619 is low, the FET switch 1613 is open and operation of the motor 1648 is prevented. In some implementations, the secure processor 1604 transitions the motor 1648 to an off state in the sleep mode with an off signal. A third input is provided to FET switch 1613 by a current sensor 1612 coupled to battery 1608. A current sensor 1612 monitors the current drawn by the circuit 1600 and, when the current is detected to be greater than a predetermined threshold, opens the FET switch 1613 to shut off power to the motor 1648. The FET switch 1613 and motor controller 1643 are coupled to a set of FET switches 1645 configured to control the operation of the motor 1648.

A motor current sensor 1646 is coupled in series with the motor 1648 to provide motor current sensor readings to a current monitor 1647. A current monitor 1647 is coupled to the main processor 1606. The current monitor 1647 provides a signal indicative of the current draw of the motor 1648. The main processor 1606 may utilize the signal from the motor current 1647 to control operation of the motor, for example, to ensure that the current draw of the motor 1648 is within an acceptable range, to compare the current draw of the motor 1648 to one or more parameters of the circuit 1600 (e.g., the position encoder 1640), and/or to determine one or more parameters of the treatment site. In some implementations, a current monitor 1647 can be coupled to the secure processor 1604.

In some embodiments, actuation of one or more handle controls, e.g., a firing trigger, causes the main processor 1606 to reduce power to one or more components when the handle controls are actuated. For example, in one embodiment, the firing trigger controls the firing stroke of the cutting member. The cutting member is driven by a motor 1648. Actuation of the firing trigger causes forward operation of the motor 1648 and advancement of the cutting member. During firing, the main processor 1606 closes the FET switch 1651, removing power from the position encoder 1640. Deactivation of one or more circuit components allows for higher power to be delivered to the motor 1648. When the firing trigger is released, full power is restored to the deactivated component, for example, by closing FET switch 1651 and deactivating position encoder 1640.

In some embodiments, the secure processor 1604 controls the operation of the segmented circuit 1600. For example, the secure processor 1604 may cause sequential power-up of the segmented circuit 1600, transition the segmented circuit 1600 to and from a sleep mode, and/or may override one or more control signals from the primary processor 1606. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the safety processor 1604 is coupled to a buck converter 1616. The safety processor 1604 controls the operation of the segmented circuit 1600 by activating or deactivating the buck converter 1616 to provide power to the rest of the segmented circuit 1600.

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a power system 1700 that includesA plurality of daisy

chain power converters

1714,1716,1718 configured to be energized sequentially; the plurality of daisy

chain power converters

1714,1716,1718 may be enabled sequentially during initial power-on and/or transition from sleep mode by, for example, a secure processor. The safety processor may be powered by a separate power converter (not shown). For example, in one embodiment, when the battery voltage V_BATTCoupled to the power system 1700 and/or the accelerometer detects motion in the sleep mode, the secure processor causes sequential activation of the daisy

chain power converter

1714,1716,1718. The secure processor enables the 13V boost section 1718. The boost section 1718 is powered on and performs a self test. In some embodiments, the boost section 1718 includes an integrated circuit 1720 configured to boost the source voltage and perform self-testing. The diode D prevents the 5V supply segment 1716 from energizing until the boost segment 1718 has completed the self-test and has provided a signal to the diode D indicating that the boost segment 1718 has not identified any errors. In some embodiments, the signal is provided by a secure processor. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

The 5V supply section 1716 is sequentially energized after the boost section 1718. The 5V supply segment 1716 performs a self test during power up to identify any errors in the 5V supply segment 1716. The 5V power segment 1716 includes an integrated circuit 1715 configured to provide a reduced voltage (which is derived from the increased voltage) and to be able to perform error checking. When no error is detected, the 5V supply segment 1716 completes the sequential power-up and provides a start signal to the 3.3V supply segment 1714. In some embodiments, the security processor provides an enable signal to the 3.3V power segment 1714. The 3.3V power segment includes an integrated circuit 1713 configured to provide a reduced voltage from the 5V power segment 1716 and to be able to perform error self-checking during power-up. The 3.3V supply segment 1714 provides power to the main processor when no errors are detected during the self-test. The primary processor is configured to sequentially power each of the remaining circuit segments. By sequentially powering the power system 1700 and/or the remainder of the segmented circuit, the power system 1700 reduces the risk of errors, achieves voltage level stability before applying a load, and prevents all hardware from being turned on simultaneously in an uncontrolled manner resulting in large current consumption. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

In one embodiment, the power system 1700 includes an over-voltage identification and mitigation circuit. The overvoltage identification and mitigation circuit is configured to detect a monopolar return current in the surgical instrument and interrupt power from the power section when the monopolar return current is detected. The overvoltage identification and mitigation circuit is configured to identify a ground float of the power system. The overvoltage identification and mitigation circuit includes a metal oxide varistor. The overvoltage identification and reduction circuit includes at least one transient voltage suppression diode.

Fig. 15 illustrates one embodiment of a segmented circuit 1800 including an isolation control segment 1802. Isolated control segment 1802 isolates the control hardware of segmented circuit 1800 from the power segment (not shown) of segmented circuit 1800. Control segment 1802 includes, for example, a main processor 1806, a safety processor (not shown), and/or additional control hardware, such as FET switch 1817. The power segment includes, for example, a motor driver, and/or a plurality of motor MOSFETs. The isolated control segment 1802 includes a charging circuit 1803 and a charging battery 1808 coupled to a 5V power converter 1816. Charging circuitry 1803 and charging battery 1808 isolate main processor 1806 from the power segment. In some embodiments, the rechargeable battery 1808 is coupled to the security processor and any additional support hardware. Isolating control segment 1802 from the power segment enables control segment 1802 (e.g., main processor 1806) to remain active even when main power is removed, provides a filter via charging battery 1808, thereby avoiding control segment 1802 from being affected by noise, also isolates control segment 1802 from large fluctuations in battery voltage to ensure proper operation even in the presence of heavy motor loads, and/or allows segmented circuit 1800 to use a real-time operating system (RTOS). In some embodiments, the rechargeable battery 1808 provides a reduced voltage, e.g., 3.3V, to the main processor. However, these embodiments are not limited to the particular voltage ranges described in the context of this specification.

FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment of a sequential startup procedure for a segmented circuit, such as segmented circuit 1100 shown in FIG. 5. The sequential startup flow 1820 begins when one or more sensors cause a transition from a sleep mode to an operational mode. When one or more sensors stop detecting a state change (step 1822), a timer is started (step 1824). The timer counts the time from the moment the last motion/last interaction with the surgical instrument 2000 was detected by the one or more sensors to the current moment. The timer count is compared to a table of sleep mode phases (step 1826), e.g., by the security processor 1104. When the timer count exceeds one or more counts for transitioning to a sleep mode phase (step 1828a), the secure processor 1104 stops powering up the segmented circuit 1100 (step 1830) and transitions the segmented circuit 1100 to a corresponding sleep mode phase. When the timer count is below the threshold for any sleep mode phase (step 1828b), the segmented circuit 1100 continues to sequentially power the next circuit segment (step 1832).

Referring again to fig. 5, in some embodiments, the segmented circuit 1100 includes one or more environmental sensors to detect improper storage and/or handling of surgical instruments. For example, in one embodiment, segmented circuit 1100 includes a temperature sensor. The temperature sensors are configured to detect maximum and/or minimum temperatures to which the segmented circuit 1100 is exposed. The surgical instrument 2000 and segmented circuit 1100 include maximum and/or minimum temperature exposure design limits. When the surgical instrument 2000 is exposed to temperatures exceeding a threshold, such as a maximum limit during a sterilization technique, the temperature sensor detects the overexposure and prevents operation of the device. The temperature sensor may include, for example, a bi-metallic strip configured to deactivate the surgical instrument 2000 upon exposure to a temperature greater than a predetermined threshold, a solid state temperature sensor configured to store temperature data and provide the temperature data to the safety processor 1104, and/or any other suitable temperature sensor.

In some embodiments, accelerometer 1122 is configured as an environmental safety sensor. The accelerometer 1122 records the acceleration experienced by the surgical instrument 2000. An acceleration greater than a predetermined threshold may indicate, for example, that the surgical instrument has been dropped. The surgical instrument includes a maximum acceleration tolerance. When the accelerometer 1122 detects an acceleration greater than a maximum acceleration tolerance, the safety processor 1104 prevents operation of the surgical instrument 2000.

In one embodiment, segmented circuit 1100 includes a humidity sensor. The humidity sensor is configured to indicate when the segmented circuit 1100 is exposed to moisture. The humidity sensor may include, for example, an immersion sensor configured to indicate when the surgical instrument 2000 has been fully immersed in the cleaning liquid, a humidity sensor configured to indicate when moisture is in contact with the segmented circuit 1100 when the segmented circuit 1100 is energized, and/or any other suitable humidity sensor.

In one embodiment, segmented circuit 1100 includes a chemical exposure sensor. The chemical exposure sensor is configured to indicate when the surgical instrument 2000 has been contacted by a hazardous and/or dangerous chemical. For example, during the sterilization step, an unsuitable chemical that causes degradation of the surgical instrument 2000 may be used. The chemical exposure sensor may indicate an improper chemical contacting the safety processor 1104, which may prevent operation of the surgical instrument 2000.

The segmented circuit 1100 is configured to monitor a plurality of usage cycles. For example, in one embodiment, the battery 1108 includes circuitry configured to monitor the usage period count. In some embodiments, the security processor 1104 is configured to monitor the usage period count. The usage period may include the surgical events initiated by the surgical instrument, e.g., the number of shafts 2004 used with the surgical instrument 2000, the number of cartridges inserted into and/or deployed by the surgical instrument 2000, and/or the number of firings of the surgical instrument 2000. In some embodiments, the use period may include environmental events, such as, for example, a crash event, exposure to inappropriate storage conditions and/or inappropriate chemicals, a disinfection procedure, a cleaning procedure, and/or a remediation procedure. In some embodiments, the use period may include replacement of power components (e.g., battery packs) and/or a charging period.

The segmentation circuit 1100 may maintain a total usage period count for all defined usage periods and/or may maintain its respective usage period count for one or more defined usage periods. For example, in one embodiment, the segmented circuit 1100 may maintain a single usage cycle count for all surgical events triggered by the surgical instrument 2000 and maintain its respective usage cycle count for each environmental event experienced by the surgical instrument 2000. The usage cycle count is used to constrain one or more behaviors of the segmentation circuit 1100. For example, the usage period count may be used to disable the segmented circuit 1100, e.g., by disabling the battery 1108, when the number of usage periods is detected to exceed a predetermined threshold or exposure to an inappropriate environmental event. In some embodiments, the usage cycle count is used to indicate when it is necessary to perform a proposed service and/or a mandatory service of the surgical instrument 2000.

Fig. 18 illustrates one embodiment of a method 1950 for controlling a surgical instrument that includes a segmented circuit, such as the segmented control circuit 1602 shown in fig. 12. At step 1952, the power assembly 1608 is coupled to the surgical instrument. The power component 1608 may include any suitable battery, such as the power component 2006 shown in fig. 1-3. The power component 1608 is configured to provide a source voltage to the segment control circuit 1602. The source voltage may include any suitable voltage, for example, a voltage of 12V. At step 1954, the power component 1608 powers the boost converter 1618. The boost converter 1618 is configured to provide a set voltage. The set voltage comprises a voltage greater than a source voltage provided by the power component 1608. For example, in some embodiments, the set voltage comprises a voltage of 13V. In a third step 1956, the boost converter 1618 powers one or more voltage regulators, thereby providing one or more operating voltages to one or more circuit components. The operating voltage includes a voltage less than a set voltage provided by the boost converter.

In some embodiments, the boost converter 1618 is coupled to a first voltage regulator 1616 configured to provide a first operating voltage. The first operating voltage provided by the first voltage regulator 1616 is less than the set voltage provided by the boost converter. For example, in some embodiments, the first operating voltage comprises a voltage of 5V. In one embodiment, the boost converter is coupled to the second voltage regulator 1614. The second voltage regulator 1614 is configured to provide a second operating voltage. The second operating voltage includes a voltage less than the set voltage and the first operating voltage. For example, in some embodiments, the second operating voltage comprises a voltage of 3.3V. In some embodiments, the battery 1608, the boost converter 1618, the first voltage regulator 1616, and the second voltage converter 1614 are configured in a daisy-chain configuration. The battery 1608 provides a source voltage to the boost converter 1618. The boost converter 1618 boosts the source voltage to a set voltage. The boost converter 1618 provides a set voltage to the first voltage regulator 1616. The first voltage regulator 1616 generates a first operating voltage and provides the first operating voltage to the second voltage regulator 1614. The second voltage regulator 1614 generates a second operating voltage.

In some embodiments, one or more circuit components are powered directly by the boost converter 1618. For example, in some embodiments, OLED display 1688 is coupled directly to boost converter 1618. The boost converter 1618 provides the set voltage to the OLED display 1688 without requiring that the OLEDs have an integral power generator within them. In some embodiments, a processor, for example, the safety processor 1604 shown in fig. 5, verifies the voltage provided by the boost converter 1618 and/or the one or

more voltage regulators

1616,1614. The safety processor 1604 is configured to verify the voltage provided by each of the boost converter 1618 and the

voltage regulator

1616,1614. In some implementations, the security processor 1604 verifies the set voltage. When the set voltage is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, the safety processor 1604 powers the first voltage regulator 1616. The safety processor 1604 verifies the first operating voltage provided by the first voltage regulator 1616. When the first operating voltage is equal to or greater than a second predetermined value, the safety processor 1604 powers the second voltage regulator 1614. The secure processor 1604 then verifies the second operating voltage. When the second operating voltage is equal to or greater than a third predetermined value, the safety processor 1604 powers each of the remaining circuit components of the segmented circuit 1600.

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to methods of controlling power management of a surgical instrument through a segmented circuit and variable voltage protection measures. In one embodiment, a method of controlling power management in a surgical instrument (the surgical instrument including a primary processor, a safety processor, and a segmented circuit including a plurality of circuit segments in signal communication with the primary processor, the plurality of circuit segments including a power segment) is provided, the method including providing variable voltage control of each segment by the power segment. In one embodiment, the method includes providing power stability for at least one segment voltage by a power segment including a boost converter. The method also includes providing power stability by the boost converter to the main processor and the safety processor. The method also includes providing, by the boost converter, a constant voltage to the primary processor and the safety processor that is greater than a predetermined threshold, independent of power consumption of the plurality of circuit segments. The method also includes detecting, by the overvoltage identification and mitigation circuit, a monopolar return current in the surgical instrument and interrupting power from the power section when the monopolar return current is detected. The method also includes identifying, by the overvoltage identification and mitigation circuit, a ground float of the power system.

In another embodiment, the method also includes sequentially powering each of the plurality of circuit segments by the power segment, and performing error checking on each circuit segment prior to powering the sequential circuit segments. The method also includes powering the safety processor by a power source coupled to the power segment, performing an error check by the safety processor when the safety processor is powered on, and performing an operation and powering the safety processor, the main processor, when no error is detected during the error check. The method also includes performing error checking by the primary processor when the primary processor is powered on, and wherein each of the plurality of circuit segments is powered sequentially by the primary processor when no error is detected during the error checking. The method also includes error checking, by the primary processor, each of the plurality of circuit segments.

In another embodiment, the method includes powering, by the boost converter, the safety processor when the power source is connected to the power section, performing, by the safety processor, an error check, and powering, by the safety processor, the main processor when no error is detected during the error check. The method also includes performing error checking by the primary processor, and sequentially powering each of the plurality of circuit segments by the primary processor when no errors are detected during the error checking. The method also includes error checking, by the primary processor, each of the plurality of circuit segments.

In another embodiment, the method also includes providing a segment voltage to the primary processor by the power segment, providing variable voltage protection for each segment, providing power stability to at least one of the segment voltage, the over-voltage identification and mitigation circuit by the boost converter, sequentially powering each of the plurality of circuit segments by the power segment, and performing error checking on each circuit segment prior to powering the sequential circuit segments.

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to methods of controlling a surgical instrument control circuit having a safety processor. In one embodiment, a method of controlling a surgical instrument (the surgical instrument including a control circuit including a primary processor, a safety processor in signal communication with the primary processor, and a segmented circuit including a plurality of circuit segments in signal communication with the primary processor) is provided and includes monitoring, by the safety processor, one or more parameters of the plurality of circuit segments. The method also includes verifying, by the safety processor, one or more parameters of the plurality of circuit segments, and verifying the one or more parameters independently of one or more control signals generated by the main processor. The method also includes verifying, by the safety processor, a speed of the cutting element. The method also includes monitoring a first property of the surgical instrument by a first sensor, monitoring a second property of the surgical instrument by a second sensor, wherein the first property and the second property comprise a predetermined relationship, and wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are in signal communication with the safety processor. The method also includes blocking, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when a fault is detected, wherein the fault includes a first property and a second property having values inconsistent with the predetermined relationship. The method also includes monitoring the cutting member position by a hall effect sensor and monitoring the motor current by a motor current sensor.

In another embodiment, the method includes disabling, by the safety processor, at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when a mismatch between the verification of the one or more parameters and the one or more control signals generated by the primary processor is detected. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, operation of the motor segment and interrupting power flow from the power segment to the motor segment. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, forward operation of the motor segment and allowing, by the safety processor, commutation of operation of the motor segment when the fault is detected.

In another embodiment, the segmented circuit includes a motor segment and a power segment, the method includes controlling one or more mechanical operations of the surgical instrument by the motor segment, and monitoring one or more parameters of the plurality of circuit segments by the safety processor. The method also includes verifying, by the safety processor, one or more parameters of the plurality of circuit segments, and independently verifying, by the safety processor, the one or more parameters independently of one or more control signals generated by the main processor.

In another embodiment, the method also includes independently verifying, by the safety processor, the speed of the cutting element. The method also includes monitoring, by a first sensor, a first property of the surgical instrument, monitoring, by a second sensor, a second property of the surgical instrument, wherein the first property and the second property include a predetermined relationship, and wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are in signal communication with a safety processor, wherein the fault includes the first property and the second property having values that are inconsistent with the predetermined relationship, and when the safety processor detects the fault, preventing, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments. The method also includes monitoring the cutting member position by a hall effect sensor and monitoring the motor current by a motor current sensor.

In another embodiment, the method includes disabling, by the safety processor, at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when a mismatch between the verification of the one or more parameters and the one or more control signals generated by the primary processor is detected. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, operation of the motor segment and interrupting power flow from the power segment to the motor segment. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, forward operation of the motor segment and allowing, by the safety processor, reversing operation of the motor segment when the fault is detected.

In another embodiment, the method includes monitoring, by a safety processor, one or more parameters of a plurality of circuit segments, verifying, by the safety processor, the one or more parameters of the plurality of circuit segments, verifying, by the safety processor, the one or more parameters independently of one or more control signals generated by a main processor, and disabling, by the safety processor, at least one of the plurality of circuits when a mismatch between the verification of the one or more parameters and the one or more control signals generated by the main processor is detected. The method also includes monitoring, by a first sensor, a first property of the surgical instrument, monitoring, by a second sensor, a second property of the surgical instrument, wherein the first property and the second property comprise a predetermined relationship, and wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are in signal communication with a safety processor, wherein the fault comprises the first property and the second property having values that are inconsistent with the predetermined relationship, and wherein operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments is blocked by the safety processor when the fault is detected. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, operation of the motor segment by interrupting power flow delivered from the power segment to the motor segment when the fault is detected.

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to a method of controlling power management of a surgical instrument including a control circuit including a primary processor, a safety processor in signal communication with the primary processor, and a segmented circuit including a plurality of circuit segments in signal communication with the primary processor, the plurality of circuit segments including a power segment, by a safety processor, the method including transitioning, by the safety processor, the primary processor and at least one of the plurality of circuit segments from an active mode to a sleep mode, and from the sleep mode to the active mode. The method also includes tracking, by the timer, a time since an end of a last user-initiated event to a present time, and wherein transitioning, by the secure processor, at least one of the primary processor and the plurality of circuits to the sleep mode occurs when the time since the end of the last user-initiated event to the present time exceeds a predetermined threshold. The method also includes detecting one or more motions of the surgical instrument from the acceleration segment (including the accelerometer). The method includes tracking, by a timer, a time since an acceleration segment detected an end of a last motion to a present time. The method also includes maintaining, by the secure processor, the acceleration segment in an active mode when the plurality of circuit segments transition to the sleep mode.

In another embodiment, the method also includes transitioning to the sleep mode in multiple stages. The method also includes transitioning the segmented circuit to a first phase and dimming a backlight of the display segment after a first predetermined period, transitioning the segmented circuit to a second phase and turning off the backlight after a second predetermined period, transitioning the segmented circuit to a third phase and decreasing a polling rate of the accelerometer after a third predetermined period, transitioning the segmented circuit to a fourth phase and turning off the display after a fourth predetermined period, and transitioning the surgical instrument to a sleep mode.

In another embodiment, the method includes detecting, by the touch sensor, contact of a user with the surgical instrument, and transitioning, by the safety processor, the primary processor and the plurality of circuit segments from the sleep mode to the active mode when the touch sensor detects contact of the user with the surgical instrument. The method also includes monitoring, by the safety processor, the at least one handle control, and transitioning, by the safety processor, the primary processor and the plurality of circuit segments from the sleep mode to the active mode when the at least one handle control is actuated.

In another embodiment, the method includes transitioning, by the safety processor, the surgical device to an active mode when the accelerometer detects movement of the surgical instrument greater than a predetermined threshold. The method also includes monitoring, by the safety processor, movement of the accelerometer in at least a first direction and a second direction, and transitioning, by the safety processor, the surgical instrument from the sleep mode to the operational mode when movement greater than a predetermined threshold is detected in the at least first direction and the second direction. The method also includes monitoring, by the safety processor, oscillatory motion of the accelerometer in the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction that is greater than a predetermined threshold, and transitioning, by the safety processor, the surgical instrument from the sleep mode to the operational mode when the oscillatory motion is detected in the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction that is greater than the predetermined threshold. The method also includes increasing the predetermined threshold as the time since the end of the previous movement to the present time increases.

In another embodiment, the method includes transitioning, by the safety processor, the primary processor and at least one of the plurality of circuit segments from the active mode to the sleep mode and from the sleep mode to the active mode when a time since an end of a last user-initiated event exceeds a predetermined threshold and tracking, by the timer, a time since an end of a last motion was detected by the acceleration segment to a present time and transitioning, by the safety processor, the surgical device to the active mode when the acceleration segment detects motion of the surgical instrument that is greater than the predetermined threshold.

In another embodiment, a method of controlling a surgical instrument includes tracking a time since an end of a last user-initiated event to a present time, and disabling, by a safety processor, a backlight of a display when the time since the end of the last user-initiated event to the present time exceeds a predetermined threshold. The method also includes flashing, by the security processor, a backlight of the display to prompt a user to view the display.

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to a method of verifying sterilization of a surgical instrument by a sterilization verification circuit, the surgical instrument including a control circuit including a primary processor, a safety processor in signal communication with the primary processor, and a segmented circuit including a plurality of circuit segments in signal communication with the primary processor, the plurality of circuit segments including a storage verification segment, the method including indicating after the surgical instrument has been properly stored and sterilized. The method also includes detecting, by at least one sensor, one or more incorrect storage or sterilization parameters. The method also includes sensing, by the drop prevention sensor, when the instrument has been dropped, and preventing, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when the drop prevention sensor detects that the surgical instrument has been dropped. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when the temperature sensor detects a temperature greater than a predetermined threshold. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when the temperature sensor detects a temperature greater than a predetermined threshold.

In another embodiment, the method includes controlling, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when moisture is detected by the moisture detection sensor. The method also includes detecting autoclave cycling by a humidity detection sensor, and in the event autoclave cycling is not detected, preventing operation of the surgical instrument by the safety processor. The method also includes preventing, by the safety processor, operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when moisture is detected during startup of the grading circuit.

In one embodiment, the method includes indicating by a plurality of circuit segments (including a sterilization verification segment) when the surgical instrument has been properly sterilized. The method also includes detecting sterilization of the surgical instrument by at least one sensor of the sterilization verification segment. The method also includes indicating by the storage verification segment when the surgical instrument has been properly stored. The method also includes detecting, by at least one sensor of the storage validation segment, incorrect storage of the surgical instrument.

The entire disclosures of the following patents are hereby incorporated by reference herein:

U.S. patent 5,403,312 entitled "ELECTROSURURGICAL HEMOSTATIC DEVICE" published on 4.4.1995;

U.S. patent 7,000,818 entitled "SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENT HAVINGSEPARATE DISTINCT CLOSING AND FIRING SYSTEMS" published on 21.2.2006;

U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,139 entitled "MOTOR-DRIVEN SURGICAL CUTTING AND DFASTENING INSTRUMENT WITH TACTILE POSITION FEEDBACK" published on 9.9.2008;

U.S. patent 7,464,849 entitled "ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SURGICAL INSTRUMENTWITH CLOSURE SYSTEM AND ANVIL ALIGNMENT COMPONENTS" published on 16.12.2008;

U.S. patent 7,670,334 entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVARING AN ARTICULATED EFFECTOR" published on 3, 2.2010;

U.S. patent 7,753,245 entitled "SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENTS" published on 13.7.2010;

U.S. patent 8,393,514 entitled "SELECTIVELY ORIENTABLE IMPLANTABLEFASTENER CARTRIDGE" published on 12.3.2013;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/343,803 entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING RECORDING CAPABILITIES";

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,573 entitled "SURGICAL CUTTING AND FASTENING INSTRUMENTTHAVING RF ELECTRORODES" filed on 14.2.2008;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/031,873 entitled "END EFFECTORS FOR A SURGICAL CUTTING AND DSTAPLING INSTRUMENT" filed on 15.2.2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,443);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/235,782 entitled "MOTOR-DRIVEN SURGICAL CUTTING INSTRUMENT" (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,210,411);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/249,117 entitled "POWER SURGICAL CUTTING AND STAPLING APPATUS WITH MANUALLYRATRACTABLE FIRING SYSTEM" (now U.S. patent application publication 2010/0089970);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/647,100 entitled "MOTOR-DRIVEN SURGICAL CUTTING INSTRUMENTING METHOD ELECTRICAL ACTUATOR DIRECTIONAL CONTROL ASSEMBLY" filed 24.12.2009;

U.S. patent application serial No. 12/893,461 (now U.S. patent application publication 2012/0074198), entitled "STAPLE CARTRIDGE," filed 9, 29, 2012;

U.S. patent application serial No. 13/036,647 entitled "SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENT" filed on 28.2.2011 (now U.S. patent application publication 2011/0226837);

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/118,241 entitled "SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENTS WITH ROTATABLE STAPLE DEPLOYMENT FOR MEANS" (now U.S. patent application publication 2012/0298719);

U.S. patent application serial No. 13/524,049 entitled "ARTICULATABLE surgicial interlocking international publication A FIRING DRIVE" filed on 6, 15/2012;

U.S. patent application serial No. 13/800,025 entitled "STAPLE CARTRIDGE TISSUE thickingess sensorstem" filed on 13/3/2013;

U.S. patent application serial No. 13/800,067 entitled "STAPLE CARTRIDGE TISSUE thickingess sensorstem" filed on 13/3/2013;

U.S. patent application publication 2007/0175955 entitled "SURGICAL CUTTING AND FASTENING INSTRUMENTENGENTWIT CLOSURE TRIGGER LOCKING MECHANISM" filed on 31.1.2006; and

U.S. patent application publication 2010/0264194 entitled "SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENT WITH ANARTICULATABLE END EFFECTOR" filed on 22.4.2010.

According to various embodiments, the surgical instruments described herein may include one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors, microcontrollers) coupled to various sensors. In addition, storage (having operating logic) and a communication interface are coupled to one or more processors.

As previously described, the sensors may be configured to detect and collect data associated with the surgical device. The processor processes sensor data received from the sensors.

The processor may be configured to execute operating logic. The processor may be any of a number of single-core or multi-core processors known in the art. The storage device may include volatile and non-volatile storage media configured to store permanent and temporary (working) copies of the operating logic.

In various embodiments, the operating logic may be configured to process the collected biometric data associated with the user's athletic data, as described above. In various embodiments, the operating logic may be configured to perform initial processing and transmit data to a computer hosting the application to determine and generate instructions. For these embodiments, the operating logic may be further configured to receive information from the hosted computer and provide feedback thereto. In alternative embodiments, the operating logic may be configured to play a more important role in receiving information and determining feedback. In either case, whether determined independently or in response to instructions from a hosted computer, the operating logic may be further configured to control and provide feedback to the user.

In various embodiments, the operating logic may be implemented by instructions supported by the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) of the processor, or in a higher level language, and compiled into a supported ISA. The operational logic may include one or more logical units or modules. The operational logic may be implemented in an object-oriented manner. The operating logic may be configured to execute in a multitasking manner and/or a multithreading manner. In other embodiments, the operational logic may be implemented in hardware (such as a gate array).

In various embodiments, the communication interface may be configured to facilitate communication between the peripheral device and the computing system. The communication may include transmitting the collected biometric data associated with the position, the gesture, and/or the movement data of the user's body part to a host computer, and transmitting data associated with the haptic feedback from the host computer to the peripheral device. In various implementations, the communication interface may be a wired or wireless communication interface. Examples of wired communication interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. Examples of wireless communication interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a bluetooth interface.

For various embodiments, a processor may be packaged with operating logic. In various implementations, the processor may be packaged together with the operating logic to form a System In Package (SiP). In various implementations, the processors may be integrated with the operating logic on the same die. In various embodiments, a processor may be packaged with operating logic to form a system on a chip (SoC).

Various embodiments may be described herein in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as software, program modules, and/or engines being executed by a processor. Generally, software, program modules, and/or engines include any software elements arranged to perform particular operations or implement particular abstract data types. Software, program modules, and/or engines may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Specific implementations of software, program modules, and/or engine components and techniques may be stored on and/or transmitted across some form of computer readable media. In this regard, computer readable media can be any available media that can be used to store information and that can be accessed by a computing device. Some embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where operations are performed by one or more remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, software, program modules, and/or engines may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices. A memory, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, may be employed to store information and instructions to be executed by the processor. The memory may also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by the processor.

While some embodiments may be illustrated and described as comprising functional components, software, engines, and/or modules performing various operations, it should be appreciated that such components or modules may be implemented by one or more hardware components, software components, and/or combinations thereof. The functional components, software, engines, and/or modules may be implemented by, for example, logic (e.g., instructions, data, and/or code) to be executed by a logic device (e.g., a processor). Such logic may be stored internally or externally to a logic device on one or more types of computer-readable storage media. In other embodiments, functional components such as software, engines, and/or modules may be implemented by hardware elements that may include processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integrated circuits, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips, chip sets, and so forth.

Examples of software, engines, and/or modules may include software components, programs, applications, computer programs, application programs, system programs, machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces, application interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code, computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodiment is implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may vary in accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computational rate, power levels, thermal tolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design or performance constraints.

One or more of the modules described herein may include one or more embedded applications implemented as firmware, software, hardware, or any combination thereof. One or more of the modules described herein may include various executable modules such as software, programs, data, drivers, Application Program Interfaces (APIs), and so forth. The firmware may be stored in memory of the controller 2016 and/or 2022, which may include non-volatile memory (NVM), such as bit-mask read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory. In various implementations, storing firmware in ROM may protect flash memory. Non-volatile memory (NVM) may include other types of memory including, for example, Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), or battery backed Random Access Memory (RAM), such as Dynamic RAM (DRAM), double data rate DRAM (DDRAM), and/or Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM).

In some cases, various embodiments may be implemented as an article of manufacture. The article of manufacture may comprise a computer-readable storage medium arranged to store logic, instructions, and/or data for performing various operations of one or more embodiments. In various embodiments, for example, the article of manufacture may comprise a magnetic disk, optical disk, flash memory, or firmware, each containing computer program instructions adapted to be executed by a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. However, the embodiments are not limited thereto.

The functions of the various functional elements, logic blocks, modules, and circuit elements described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as software executed by a processing unit, a control module, logic, and/or logic module. Generally, software, control modules, logic, and/or logic modules include any software elements arranged to perform particular operations. Software, control modules, logic, and/or logic modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Implementations of software, control modules, logic, and/or logic modules and techniques may be stored on and/or transmitted across some form of computer readable media. In this regard, computer readable media can be any available media that can be used to store information and that can be accessed by a computing device. Some embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where operations are performed by one or more remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, software, control modules, logic, and/or logic modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

Further, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein illustrate exemplary implementations, and that functional elements, logic blocks, modules, and circuit elements may be implemented in various other ways consistent with the described embodiments. Further, operations performed by such functional elements, logic blocks, modules, and circuit elements may be combined and/or separated for a given implementation and may be performed by a greater or lesser number of components or modules. As will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, each of the individual embodiments described and illustrated herein has discrete components and features which may be readily separated from or combined with the features of any of the other several aspects without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Any described method may be performed in the order of events described, or in any other logically possible order.

It is worthy to note that any reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in one aspect" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, such as a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, that is designed to perform the functions described herein, manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical quantities (e.g., electronic) within registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

It is worthy to note that some embodiments may be described using the expression "coupled" and "connected" along with their derivatives. These terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example, some embodiments may be described using the terms "connected" and/or "coupled" to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. However, the term "coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet cooperate or interact with each other. In terms of software elements, for example, the term "coupled" may refer to an interface, a message interface, an Application Program Interface (API), an exchange of messages, and the like.

It should be understood that any patent, publication, or other disclosure material, in whole or in part, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to the extent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth in this disclosure. Thus, to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein is only incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention have application to conventional endoscopy and open surgical instruments as well as to robotic-assisted surgery.

Embodiments of the devices disclosed herein can be designed to be disposed of after a single use, or they can be designed for multiple uses. In either or both of the above cases, the embodiments can be reconditioned for reuse after at least one use. The repair may include any combination of the following steps: disassembly of the device, followed by cleaning or replacement of particular parts and subsequent reassembly. In particular, embodiments of the device may be disassembled, and any number of the particular pieces or parts of the device may be selectively replaced or removed in any combination. Upon cleaning and/or replacement of particular components, embodiments of the device may be reassembled for subsequent use either at a reconditioning facility, or by a surgical team immediately prior to a surgical procedure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that device reconditioning can utilize a variety of techniques for disassembly, cleaning/replacement, and reassembly. The use of these techniques and the resulting reconditioned device are all within the scope of the present application.

By way of example only, embodiments described herein may be processed prior to surgery. First, new or used instruments may be obtained and cleaned as needed. The instrument may then be sterilized. In one sterilization technique, the instrument is placed in a closed and sealed container, such as a plastic or TYVEK bag. The container and instrument may then be placed in a field of radiation that can penetrate the container, such as gamma radiation, X-rays, or high-energy electrons. The radiation may kill bacteria on the instrument and in the container. The sterilized instrument may then be stored in a sterile container. Sealing the container may maintain the instrument in a sterile state until the container is opened in a medical facility. The device may also be sterilized using any other technique known in the art, including but not limited to beta or gamma radiation, ethylene oxide, or steam.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the components (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and their accompanying discussion described herein are for conceptual clarity purposes only and that various configuration modifications are possible. Thus, as used herein, the specific examples set forth and the accompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their more general categories. In general, the use of any particular example is intended to be representative of its class, and non-included portions of particular components (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be taken to be limiting.

With respect to substantially any plural and/or singular terms used herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. Various singular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for the sake of clarity.

The subject matter described herein sometimes sets forth different components contained within or connected with different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected," or "operably coupled," to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable," to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include, but are not limited to, physically mateable and/or physically interacting components, and/or wirelessly interactable, and/or wirelessly interacting components, and/or logically interacting components.

Some aspects may be described using the expression "coupled" and "connected" along with their derivatives. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example, some aspects may be described using the term "connected" to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. In another example, some aspects may be described using the term "coupled" to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, the term "coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet cooperate or interact with each other.

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as "configured," "configurable," "operable/operable," "adapted/adapted," "able," "adapted/adapted," or the like. Those skilled in the art will recognize that "configured to" may generally encompass components in an active state and/or components in an inactive state and/or components in a standby state unless the context indicates otherwise.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein, and it is intended to cover in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims all such changes and modifications as are within the true scope of the subject matter described herein. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that when a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should typically be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); this also applies to the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even when a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Further, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended to have a meaning that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B and C" would include, but not be limited to, systems having a alone, B alone, C, A and B together alone, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "A, B or at least one of C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended to have a meaning that one of skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B or C" would include, but not be limited to, systems having a alone, B alone, C, A and B together alone, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). It will also be understood by those within the art that, in general, disjunctive words and/or phrases having two or more alternative terms, whether appearing in the detailed description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to encompass the possibility of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms, unless the context indicates otherwise. For example, the phrase "a or B" will generally be understood to include the possibility of "a" or "B" or "a and B".

Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the appended claims that the operations listed therein can generally be performed in any order. In addition, while the various operational flows are listed in a certain order, it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in an order other than that shown, or may be performed simultaneously. Examples of such alternative orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preliminary, complementary, simultaneous, reverse, or other altered orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, unless the context dictates otherwise, terms like "responsive," "related," or other past adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variations.

In summary, a number of benefits have been described that result from employing the concepts described herein. The foregoing description of one or more embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The description is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment or embodiments selected and described are intended to illustrate the principles and practical application of the present invention, thereby enabling one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The claims as filed herewith are intended to define the full scope.

Claims

1. A surgical instrument control circuit (1100), comprising:

a main processor (1106);

a secure processor (1104) in signal communication with the main processor; and

a segmented circuit (1100) comprising a plurality of circuit segments (1102a-1102g) in signal communication with the primary processor, the plurality of circuit segments including a storage verification segment configured to indicate when a surgical instrument has been properly stored and sterilized, wherein the storage verification segment includes at least one sensor configured to detect one or more improper storage or sterilization parameters, wherein at least one sensor includes a temperature sensor, and wherein the safety processor is configured to prevent operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when the temperature sensor detects a temperature above a predetermined threshold.

2. The control circuit of claim 1, further comprising an anti-drop sensor, and wherein the safety processor is configured to: preventing operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when the drop prevention sensor detects that the surgical instrument has been dropped.

3. The control circuit of claim 2, wherein the drop prevention sensor comprises an impact sensor.

4. The control circuit of claim 2, wherein the drop prevention sensor comprises an accelerometer.

5. The control circuit of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor comprises a bimetallic temperature strip.

6. The control circuit of claim 1, further comprising a humidity detection sensor, and wherein the safety processor is configured to control operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when the humidity detection sensor detects moisture.

7. The control circuit of claim 6, wherein the humidity detection sensor is configured to detect an autoclave cycle, wherein the safety processor is configured to prevent operation of the surgical instrument if the autoclave cycle is not detected.

8. The control circuit of claim 6, wherein the safety processor is configured to prevent operation of at least one of the plurality of circuit segments when moisture is detected during a segmented circuit start-up.

9. The control circuit of any preceding claim, wherein the temperature sensor is configured to detect sterilization of the surgical instrument.

10. The control circuit of claim 8, wherein proper sterilization of the surgical instrument corresponds to a temperature between a first predetermined value and a second predetermined value.