JP7524432B2 - Surgical Instrument Having a Flexible Circuit - Google Patents

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,230, filed June 28, 2018, entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING A FLEXIBLE ELECTRODE," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,228, filed June 28, 2018, entitled "A METHOD OF USING REINFORCED FLEX CIRCUITS WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS WITH ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This application is a continuation of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,887, entitled "SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH OPTIMIZED SENSING CAPABILITIES," filed March 30, 2018, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,877, entitled "SURGICAL SMOK EVACUATION SENSING AND CONTROLS," filed March 30, 2018, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,877, entitled "SMOK EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSING AND CONTROLS," filed March 30, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e). This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,882, filed March 30, 2018, entitled "CAPACITIVE COUPLED RETURN PATH PAD WITH SEPARABLE ARRAY ELEMENTS," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,898, filed March 30, 2018, entitled "CAPACITIVE COUPLED RETURN PATH PAD WITH SEPARABLE ARRAY ELEMENTS."

This application further claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,417, filed March 8, 2018, entitled "TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN ULTRASONIC DEVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM THEREFOR," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,415, filed March 8, 2018, entitled "ESTIMATING STATE OF ULTRASONIC END EFFECTOR AND CONTROL SYSTEM THEREFOR," the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This application further claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM," filed December 28, 2017, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,340, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS," filed December 28, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,339, entitled "ROBOT ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORM," filed December 28, 2017, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This application discloses inventions relating generally and in various aspects to surgical systems, surgical instruments, and flexible circuits.

Surgical instruments include components that are required to move in various directions and/or are subject to various forces. For example, shafts rotate, articulate, and experience different tensions, jaws pivot open and close, and experience undesirable bending or deformation, and cutting members move axially in distal and proximal directions and experience different resistance forces.

The surgical instrument may also include additional components, such as electrodes, sensing devices, processing circuits, motors, and wiring and/or wiring traces, some of which may be located within various portions of the surgical instrument. For example, the sensing devices and/or processing circuits may be located within the end effector of the surgical instrument, within the shaft assembly of the surgical instrument, and/or within the handle assembly of the surgical instrument. Such additional components may form an electrical circuit of the surgical instrument, some of which may also be required to move in various directions and/or be subject to various forces.

Often, the jaw electrodes of various surgical instruments are rigid and are utilized as treatment electrodes that apply electrosurgical energy to tissue positioned between the jaws, collectively occupying nearly the entire width of the jaws and may undergo bending or deformation as the jaws open and close. In surgical instruments that include a knife that traverses a slot defined by the jaws, a first electrode may be positioned on a first side of the slot (e.g., the right hand side) and a second electrode may be positioned on a second side of the slot (e.g., the left hand side).

Due to their rigid nature, undesirable bending or deformation of the electrodes can lead to premature failure. Also, by collectively occupying nearly the entire width of the jaws, the electrodes have a relatively large surface area that contacts tissue positioned between the jaws. When the electrodes deliver radio frequency (RF) energy to the tissue, the large surface area of the electrodes can contribute to undesirable tissue adhesion. Additionally, the large surface area of the electrodes leaves little room for sensing and/or measuring devices to contact tissue positioned between the jaws.

In conventional electrical circuits within surgical instruments, portions of the electrical circuit that are required to move in various directions and/or are subject to various forces tend to become dislodged or detached from their connections to the surgical instrument and/or fail at a higher rate than desired.

A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The flexible circuit includes a rigid portion and a flexible portion. The rigid portion includes an interlocking mechanism for mechanically engaging a component of the surgical instrument. The rigid portion has at least one of a processor and a logic element mounted thereon. The flexible portion is aligned with one of an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and an articulation joint of the shaft assembly.

A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The flexible circuit comprises a rigid portion, a flexible portion, and conductive traces positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion. The rigid portion has at least one of a processing unit and a logic element mounted thereon. The flexible portion is aligned with one of an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and an articulation joint of the shaft assembly. The height and width of the conductive traces vary along the length of the surgical instrument.

A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The flexible circuit comprises a rigid portion, a flexible portion, a conductive trace, and an electromagnetic shield. The flexible portion is aligned with one of an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and an articulation joint of the shaft assembly. The conductive trace is positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion, and the height and width of the conductive trace varies along the length of the surgical instrument.

The features of the various aspects are set forth in detail in the appended claims, however the various aspects, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer-implemented interactive surgical system in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 is a surgical system used to perform a surgical procedure in an operating room, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 is a surgical hub paired with a visualization system, a robotic system, and an intelligent instrument according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view of a surgical hub housing and a combination generator module slidably receivable within a drawer of the surgical hub housing, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a combination generator module including bipolar, ultrasonic, and monopolar contacts and smoke evacuation components in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates individual power bus attachments for multiple lateral docking ports of a lateral modular housing configured to receive multiple modules, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a vertical modular housing configured to receive a plurality of modules in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 illustrates a surgical data network comprising a modular communications hub configured to connect modular devices located in one or more operating rooms of a medical facility, or any room in a medical facility equipped with specialized equipment for surgical procedures, to a cloud, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a computer-implemented interactive surgical system in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a surgical hub comprising a plurality of modules coupled to a modular control tower in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates one aspect of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) network hub device in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a logic diagram of a control system for a surgical instrument or tool, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a control circuit configured to control an aspect of a surgical instrument or tool in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a combinational logic circuit configured to control aspects of a surgical instrument or tool in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a sequential logic circuit configured to control aspects of a surgical instrument or tool in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a surgical instrument or tool with multiple motors that can be activated to perform various functions, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a robotic surgical instrument configured to manipulate a surgical tool described herein, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a surgical instrument programmed to control distal translation of a displacement member, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a surgical instrument configured to control various functions in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a generator configured to provide, among other advantages, inductorless tuning in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 21 illustrates an example of a generator, which is a form of the generator of FIG. 20, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates a surgical instrument according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 23 shows a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. 23 shows a flexible circuit of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. 23 shows a channel retainer of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 25 shows a cross-sectional view of a flexible circuit taken along line AA of FIG. 24 in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 25 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a flexible circuit taken along line BB of FIG. 24, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 23 shows an exploded view of a flexible electrode of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 23 shows a top view of a flexible electrode of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 23 shows a top view of a flexible electrode of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 23 shows an exploded view of a flexible electrode of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 23 shows an end view of a flexible electrode of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 23 shows a top perspective view of a flexible electrode of the surgical instrument of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one other aspect of the present disclosure.

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed June 29, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8542USNP/170755, entitled "CAPACITIVE COUPLED RETURN PATH PAD WITH SEPARABLE ARRAY ELEMENTS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP/170760, entitled "CONTROLLING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO SENSED CLOSURE PARAMETERS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP1/170760-1, entitled "SYSTEMS FOR ADJUSTING END EFFECTOR PARAMETERS BASED ON PERIOPERATIVE INFORMATION";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP2/170760-2, entitled "SAFETY SYSTEMS FOR SMART POWERED SURGICAL STAPLING";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP3/170760-3, entitled "SAFETY SYSTEMS FOR SMART POWERED SURGICAL STAPLING";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP4/170760-4, entitled "SURGICAL SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING END EFFECTOR TISSUE DISTRIBUTION IRREGULARITIES";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP5/170760-5, entitled "SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING PROXIMITY OF SURGICAL END EFFECTOR TO CANCEROUS TISSUE";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP6/170760-6, entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT CARTRIDGE SENSOR ASSEMBLIES";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8543USNP7/170760-7, entitled "VARIABLE OUTPUT CARTRIDGE SENSOR ASSEMBLY";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8544USNP/170761, entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING A FLEXIBLE ELECTRODE";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8544USNP2/170761-2, entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT WITH A TISSUE MARKING ASSEMBLY";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8544USNP3/170761-3, entitled "SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH PRIORITIZED DATA TRANSMISSION CAPABILITIES";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8545USNP/170762, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSING AND MOTOR CONTROL";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8545USNP1/170762-1, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSOR ARRANGEMENTS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8545USNP2/170762-2, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION FLOW PATHS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8545USNP3/170762-3, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSING AND GENERATOR CONTROL";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8545USNP4/170762-4, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSING AND DISPLAY";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. ______, Attorney Docket No. END8546USNP/170763, entitled "COMMUNICATION OF SMOKE EVACUATION SYSTEM PARAMETERS TO HUB OR CLOUD IN SMOKE EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. ____, Attorney Docket No. END8546USNP1/170763-1, entitled "SMOKE EVACUATION SYSTEM INCLUDING A SEGMENTED CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. ____, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SYSTEM WITH A COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A FILTER AND A SMOKE EVACUATION DEVICE", Attorney Docket No. END8547USNP/170764; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ____, entitled "DUAL IN-SERIES LARGE AND SMALL DROPLET FILTERS", Attorney Docket No. END8548USNP/170765.

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. provisional patent applications, filed June 28, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,228, entitled "A METHOD OF USING REINFORCED FLEX CIRCUITS WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS WITH ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES";
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,227, entitled "CONTROLLING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO SENSED CLOSURE PARAMETERS";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,230, entitled "SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING A FLEXIBLE ELECTRODE";
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,219, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSING AND MOTOR CONTROL";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,257, entitled "COMMUNICATION OF SMOKE EVACUATION SYSTEM PARAMETERS TO HUB OR CLOUD IN SMOKE EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM";
No. 62/691,262, entitled "SURGICAL EVACUATION SYSTEM WITH A COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A FILTER AND A SMOK EVACUATION DEVICE" and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,251, entitled "DUAL IN-SERIES LARGE AND SMALL DROPLET FILTERS."

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed March 29, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,641, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,648, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH CONDITION HANDLING OF DEVICES AND DATA CAPABILITIES";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,656, entitled "SURGICAL HUB COORDINATION OF CONTROL AND COMMUNICATION OF OPERATING ROOM DEVICES";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,666, entitled "SPECIAL AWARENESS OF SURGICAL HUB IN OPERATING ROOMS";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,670, entitled "COOPERATORY UTILIZATION OF DATA DERIVED FROM SECONDARY SOURCES BY INTELLIGENT SURGICAL HUBSM";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,677, entitled "SURGICAL HUB CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,632, entitled "DATA STRIPPING METHOD TO INTERROGATE PATIENT RECORDS AND CREATE ANONYMIZED RECORD";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,640, entitled "COMMUNICATION HUB AND STORAGE DEVICE FOR STORING PARAMETERS AND STATUS OF A SURGICAL DEVICE TO BE SHARED WITH CLOUD BASED ANALYTICS SYSTEMS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,645, entitled "SELF DESCRIBING DATA PACKETS GENERATED AT AN ISSUING INSTRUMENT";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,649, entitled "DATA PAIRING TO INTERCONNECT A DEVICE MEASURED PARAMETER WITH AN OUTCOME";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,654, entitled "SURGICAL HUB SITUATIONAL AWARENESS";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,663, entitled "SURGICAL SYSTEM DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,668, entitled "AGGREGATION AND REPORTING OF SURGICAL HUB DATA";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,671, entitled "SURGICAL HUB SPECIAL AWARENESS TO DETERMINATION DEVICES IN OPERATING THEATER";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,686, entitled "DISPLAY OF ALIGNMENT OF STAPLE CARTRIDGE TO PRIOR LINEAR STAPLE LINE";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,700, entitled "STERILE FIELD INTERACTIVE CONTROL DISPLAYS";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,629, entitled "COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,704, entitled "USE OF LASER LIGHT AND RED-GREEN-BLUE COLORATION TO DETERMINATION PROPERTIES OF BACK SCATTERED LIGHT";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,722, entitled "CHARACTERIZATION OF TISSUE IRREGULARITIES THROUGH THE USE OF MONO-CHROMATIC LIGHT REFRACTIONITY" and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,742, entitled "DUAL CMOS ARRAY IMAGING".

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed March 29, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,636, entitled "ADAPTIVE CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATES FOR SURGICAL DEVICES";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,653, entitled "ADAPTIVE CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATES FOR SURGICAL HUBS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,660, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR CUSTOMIZATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO A USER";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,679, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR LINKING OF LOCAL USAGE TRENDS WITH THE RESOURCE ACQUISITION BEHAVIORS OF LARGE DATA SET";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,694, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR MEDICAL FACILITY SEGMENTED INDIVIDUALIZATION OF INSTRUMENT FUNCTION";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,634, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR SECURITY AND AUTHENTICATION TRENDS AND REACTIVE MEASURES";
- U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,706, entitled "DATA HANDLING AND PRIORITIZATION IN A CLOUD ANALYTICS NETWORK"; and - U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,675, entitled "CLOUD INTERFACE FOR COUPLED SURGICAL DEVICES."

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed March 29, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,627, entitled "DRIVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,637, entitled "COMMUNICATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,642, entitled "CONTROLLERS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,676, entitled "AUTOMATIC TOOL ADJUSTMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,680, entitled "CONTROLLERS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
- U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/940,683, entitled "COOPERATORY SURGICAL ACTIONS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
- U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,690, entitled "DISPLAY ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS"; and - U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,711, entitled "SENSING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS".

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. provisional patent applications, filed March 28, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,302, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,294, entitled "DATA STRIPPING METHOD TO INTERROGATE PATIENT RECORDS AND CREATE ANONYMIZED RECORD";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,300, entitled "SURGICAL HUB SITUATIONAL AWARENESS";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,309, entitled "SURGICAL HUB SPECIAL AWARENESS TO DETERMINATION DEVICES IN OPERATING THEATER";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,310, entitled "COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS";
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,291, entitled "USE OF LASER LIGHT AND RED-GREEN-BLUE COLORATION TO DETERMINE PROPERTIES OF BACK SCATTERED LIGHT";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,296, entitled "ADAPTIVE CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATES FOR SURGICAL DEVICES";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,333, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR CUSTOMIZATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO A USER";
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,327, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR SECURITY AND AUTHENTICATION TRENDS AND REACTIVE MEASURES";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,315, entitled "DATA HANDLING AND PRIORITIZATION IN A CLOUD ANALYTICS NETWORK";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,313, entitled "CLOUD INTERFACE FOR COUPLED SURGICAL DEVICES";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,320, entitled "DRIVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,307, entitled "AUTOMATIC TOOL ADJUSTMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS", and - U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,323, entitled "SENSING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS".

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. provisional patent applications, filed April 19, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/659,900, entitled "METHOD OF HUB COMMUNICATION."

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. provisional patent applications, filed March 30, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,887, entitled "SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH OPTIMIZED SENSING CAPABILITIES";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,877, entitled "SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATION SENSING AND CONTROLS";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,882, entitled "SMOKE EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM", and - U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,898, entitled "CAPACITIVE COUPLED RETURN PATH PAD WITH SEPARABLE ARRAY ELEMENTS".

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. provisional patent applications, filed March 8, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,417, entitled "TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN ULTRASONIC DEVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM THEREFOR", and - U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,415, entitled "ESTIMATING STATE OF ULTRASONIC END EFFECTOR AND CONTROL SYSTEM THEREFOR".

The applicant of this application owns the following U.S. provisional patent applications, filed December 28, 2017, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein:
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM";
- U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,340, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS," and - U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,339, entitled "ROBOT ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORM."

At least some of the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to show elements relevant to a clear understanding of the present disclosure, but it should be understood that for purposes of clarity, the omission of other elements that would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art may form part of the present invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, descriptions of such elements are not provided herein.

In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. In the drawings, like symbols and reference characters generally refer to like elements throughout the several views, unless the content dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the Detailed Description, the Drawings, and the Claims are not intended to be limiting. Other embodiments may be used, and other changes may be made, without departing from the scope of the technology described herein.

The following description of a particular example of the technology should not be used to limit its scope. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the technology will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which is illustrative and is one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the technology. As will be understood, the technology described herein is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the technology. Thus, the drawings and description should be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.

It is further understood that any one or more of the teachings, expressions, aspects, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein can be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, aspects, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein. Thus, the teachings, expressions, aspects, embodiments, examples, etc. described below should not be considered in isolation from one another. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein can be combined will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art in light of the teachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the "claims."

Before describing the various aspects of the surgical system, surgical instrument, flexible circuit, and flexible electrode assembly in detail, it should be noted that the various aspects disclosed herein are not limited in their application or use to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and description. Rather, the disclosed aspects may be positioned as or incorporated in other aspects, embodiments, variations, and modifications thereof, and may be implemented or performed in various ways. Thus, the aspects of the surgical system, surgical instrument, flexible circuit, and flexible electrode assembly disclosed herein are exemplary in nature and are not intended to limit the scope or application thereof. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the terms and expressions used herein are selected for the purpose of describing the aspects for the convenience of the reader, and are not intended to limit the scope thereof. Furthermore, it should be understood that any one or more of the disclosed aspects, aspect expressions, and/or examples thereof may be combined, without limitation, with any one or more of the other disclosed aspects, aspect expressions, and/or examples thereof.

In addition, in the following description, terms such as inside, outside, upward, downward, upper, lower, left, right, inner surface, and outer surface should be understood as terms used for convenience and should not be construed as limiting terms. The terms used in this specification are not limiting insofar as the devices described herein, or portions thereof, can be installed or used in other orientations. Various aspects are described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

As described in more detail below, aspects of the invention may be implemented by a computing device and/or a computer program stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include a disk, a device, and/or a propagated signal.

With reference to FIG. 1, a computer-implemented interactive surgical system 100 includes one or more surgical systems 102 and a cloud-based system (e.g., a cloud 104 that may include a remote server 113 coupled to a storage device 105). Each surgical system 102 includes at least one surgical hub 106 in communication with the cloud 104 that may include a remote server 113. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the surgical systems 102 include a visualization system 108, a robotic system 110, and a handheld intelligent surgical instrument 112 configured to communicate with each other and/or with the hub 106. In some aspects, the surgical system 102 may include M hubs 106, N visualization systems 108, O robotic systems 110, and P handheld intelligent surgical instruments 112, where M, N, O, and P are integers equal to or greater than 1.

3 shows an example of a surgical system 102 used to perform a surgical procedure on a patient lying on an operating table 114 in a surgical room 116. A robotic system 110 is used as part of the surgical system 102 in the surgical procedure. The robotic system 110 includes a surgeon's console 118, a patient side cart 120 (surgical robot), and a surgical robot hub 122. The patient side cart 120 can manipulate at least one detachably coupled surgical tool 117 during minimally invasive incision of the patient's body while the surgeon views the surgical site via the surgeon's console 118. Images of the surgical site can be obtained by a medical imaging device 124, which can be manipulated by the patient side cart 120 to orient the imaging device 124. The robotic hub 122 can be used to process images of the surgical site for subsequent display to the surgeon via the surgeon's console 118.

Other types of robotic systems can be readily adapted for use with the surgical system 102. Various examples of robotic systems and surgical tools suitable for use with the present disclosure are described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,339, entitled "ROBOT ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORM," filed December 28, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Various examples of cloud-based analytics performed by cloud 104 and suitable for use with the present disclosure are described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,340, entitled "CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS," filed December 28, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In various aspects, the imager 124 includes at least one image sensor and one or more optical components. Suitable image sensors include, but are not limited to, charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors.

The optical components of the imaging device 124 may include one or more illumination sources and/or one or more lenses. The one or more illumination sources may be directed to illuminate a portion of the surgical field. The one or more image sensors may receive light reflected or refracted from the surgical field, including light reflected or refracted from tissue and/or surgical instruments.

The one or more illumination sources may be configured to emit electromagnetic energy in the visible and invisible spectrum. The visible spectrum, sometimes called the optical spectrum or emission spectrum, is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to (i.e., detectable by) the human eye and is sometimes called visible light, or simply light. A typical human eye responds to wavelengths in air between about 380 nm and about 750 nm.

The invisible spectrum (i.e., the non-radiative spectrum) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies below and above the visible spectrum (i.e., wavelengths below about 380 nm and above about 750 nm). The invisible spectrum is not detectable by the human eye. Wavelengths above about 750 nm are longer than the red visible spectrum, which are invisible infrared (IR), microwave, and wireless electromagnetic radiation. Wavelengths below about 380 nm are shorter than the violet spectrum, which are invisible ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray electromagnetic radiation.

In various aspects, the imaging device 124 is configured for use in minimally invasive surgery. Examples of imaging devices suitable for use with the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, arthroscopes, angioscopes, bronchoscopes, cholangioscopes, colonoscopes, cytoscopes, duodenoscopes, enteroscopes, esophagogastroduodenoscopes (gastroscopes), endoscopes, laryngoscopes, nasopharyngo-neproscopes, sigmoidoscopes, thoracoscopes, and ureteroscopes.

In one aspect, the imaging device uses multispectral monitoring to distinguish between topography and underlying structure. Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths can be separated by filters or by using instruments sensitive to light from specific wavelengths including frequencies beyond the visible light range, e.g., IR and ultraviolet light. Spectral imaging can allow for the extraction of additional information that the human eye cannot capture with its red, green, and blue receptors. The use of multispectral imaging is described in detail in the "Advanced Imaging Acquisition Module" section of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM," filed December 28, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Multispectral monitoring can be a useful tool to reposition the surgical field after a surgical procedure is completed to perform one or more of the above-mentioned tests on the treated tissue.

It is self-evident that any surgical procedure requires rigorous sterilization of the operating room and surgical equipment. The strict sanitary and sterile conditions required in the "surgical theater", i.e., operating room or procedure room, require the utmost sterility of all medical devices and equipment. Part of that sterilization process is the need to sterilize everything that comes into contact with the patient or enters the sterile field, including the imaging device 124 and its accessories and components. It will be understood that the sterile field may be considered a specific area that is deemed free of microorganisms, such as in a tray or on a sterile towel, or the sterile field may be considered the area immediately surrounding the patient who is prepared for the surgical procedure. The sterile field may include cleaned team members in appropriate clothing, as well as all the equipment and fixtures in the area.

In various aspects, the visualization system 108 includes one or more imaging sensors strategically positioned relative to the sterile field, as shown in FIG. 2, one or more image processing units, one or more storage arrays, and one or more displays. In one aspect, the visualization system 108 includes HL7, PACS, and EMR interfaces. The various components of the visualization system 108 are described in the "Advanced Imaging Acquisition Module" section of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM," filed December 28, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 2, the primary display 119 is positioned within the sterile field so as to be visible to an operator positioned at the operating table 114. In addition, the visualization tower 111 is positioned outside the sterile field. The visualization tower 111 includes a first non-sterile display 107 and a second non-sterile display 109 facing away from each other. The visualization system 108, guided by the surgical hub 106, is configured to utilize the displays 107, 109, and 119 to coordinate information flow to operators inside and outside the sterile field. For example, the surgical hub 106 can cause the visualization system 108 to display snapshots of the surgical site recorded by the imaging device 124 on the non-sterile displays 107 or 109 while maintaining a live image of the surgical site on the primary display 119. The snapshots on the non-sterile displays 107 or 109 can, for example, enable the non-sterile operator to perform diagnostic steps related to the surgical procedure.

In one aspect, the surgical hub 106 is also configured to send diagnostic input or feedback entered by a non-sterile operator located in the sterile field at the visualization tower 111 to the primary display 119 in the sterile field for viewing by a sterile operator located at the operating table. In one example, the input may be in the form of a correction to a snapshot displayed on the non-sterile display 107 or 109 that can be sent by the surgical hub 106 to the primary display 119.

2, the surgical instrument 112 is used as part of the surgical system 102 in a surgical procedure. The surgical hub 106 is also configured to coordinate information flow to the display of the surgical instrument 112. See, for example, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, filed December 28, 2017, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Diagnostic input or feedback entered by a non-sterile operator at the visualization tower 111 can be sent by the surgical hub 106 in the sterile field to the surgical instrument display 115, where the diagnostic input or feedback can be viewed by the operator of the surgical instrument 112. Exemplary surgical instruments suitable for use with the surgical system 102 are described, for example, in the section entitled "Surgical Instrument Hardware" and in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, filed December 28, 2017, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the surgical hub 106 is shown in communication with a visualization system 108, a robotic system 110, and a handheld intelligent surgical instrument 112. The surgical hub 106 includes a surgical hub display 135, an imaging module 138, a generator module 140, a communication module 130, a processor module 132, and a storage array 134. In certain aspects, as shown in FIG. 3, the surgical hub 106 further includes a smoke evacuation module 126 and/or a suction/irrigation module 128.

During a surgical procedure, the application of energy to tissue for sealing and/or cutting is typically accompanied by smoke evacuation, aspiration of excess fluid, and/or irrigation of tissue. Fluid, power, and/or data lines from different sources often become tangled during a surgical procedure. Valuable time may be lost during a surgical procedure addressing this issue. Untangling the lines may require unplugging the lines from their corresponding modules, which may require resetting the modules. The modular housing 136 of the surgical hub provides a unified environment for managing power, data, and fluid lines, reducing the frequency of such tangling between lines.

Aspects of the present disclosure present a surgical hub for use in a surgical procedure involving the application of energy to tissue at a surgical site. The surgical hub includes a surgical hub housing and a combination generator module slidably receivable within a docking station of the surgical hub housing. The docking station includes data and power contacts. The combination generator module includes two or more of an ultrasonic energy generator component, a bipolar RF energy generator component, and a monopolar RF energy generator component housed within a single unit. In one aspect, the combination generator module also includes a smoke evacuation component, at least one energy delivery cable for connecting the combination generator module to a surgical instrument, at least one smoke evacuation component configured to evacuate smoke, fluid, and/or particulates generated by the application of therapeutic energy to tissue, and a fluid line extending from a remote surgical site to the smoke evacuation component.

In one aspect, the fluid line is a first fluid line and a second fluid line extends from a remote surgical site to an aspiration and irrigation module that is slidably received within the surgical hub housing. In one aspect, the surgical hub housing includes a fluid interface.

Certain surgical procedures may require the application of more than one energy type to tissue. One energy type may be more beneficial for cutting tissue, while another, different energy type may be more beneficial for sealing tissue. For example, a bipolar generator may be used to seal tissue, while an ultrasonic generator may be used to cut the sealed tissue. Aspects of the present disclosure present a solution in which the modular housing 136 of the surgical hub is configured to house and facilitate bidirectional communication between various generators. One advantage of the modular housing 136 of the surgical hub is that it allows for quick removal and/or replacement of various modules.

Aspects of the present disclosure present a modular surgical housing for use in a surgical procedure involving application of energy to tissue. The modular surgical housing includes a first energy generator module configured to generate a first energy for application to tissue, and a first docking station including a first docking port including first data and power contacts, where the first energy generator module is slidably movable into electrical engagement with the power and data contacts, and the first energy generator module is slidably movable out of electrical engagement with the first power and data contacts.

In addition to the above, the modular surgical housing further includes a second energy generator module configured to generate a second energy for application to tissue, different from the first energy, and a second docking station including a second docking port including second data and power contacts, the second energy generator module being slidably movable into electrical engagement with the power and data contacts, and the second energy generator module being slidably movable out of electrical engagement with the second power and data contacts.

Additionally, the modular surgical housing further includes a communication bus between the first docking port and the second docking port configured to facilitate communication between the first energy generator module and the second energy generator module.

3-7, aspects of the disclosure are presented regarding a surgical hub modular housing 136 that allows for modular integration of the generator module 140, the smoke evacuation module 126, and the suction/irrigation module 128. The surgical hub modular housing 136 further facilitates bidirectional communication between the modules 140, 126, 128. As shown in FIG. 5, the generator module 140 may be a generator module with integrated monopolar, bipolar, and ultrasonic components supported in a single housing unit 139 that is slidably insertable into the surgical hub modular housing 136. As shown in FIG. 5, the generator module 140 may be configured to connect to a monopolar device 146, a bipolar device 147, and an ultrasonic device 148. Alternatively, the generator module 140 may comprise a series of monopolar, bipolar, and/or ultrasonic generator modules that interact via the surgical hub modular housing 136. The surgical hub modular housing 136 may be configured to facilitate insertion of multiple generators and bidirectional communication between the generators docked to the surgical hub modular housing 136 such that the multiple generators function as a single generator.

In one aspect, the surgical hub modular housing 136 includes a modular power and communications backplane 149 with external and wireless communication headers to enable removable attachment of and bidirectional communication between the modules 140, 126, 128.

In one aspect, the surgical hub modular housing 136 includes a docking station or drawer 151, also referred to herein as a drawer, configured to slidably receive the modules 140, 126, 128. FIG. 4 shows a partial perspective view of the surgical hub housing 136 and a combination generator module 145 slidably receivable in the docking station 151 of the surgical hub housing 136. A docking port 152 having power and data contacts on the rear side of the combination generator module 145 is configured to engage the corresponding docking port 150 with the power and data contacts of the corresponding docking station 151 of the hub modular housing 136 when the combination generator module 145 is slid into position within the corresponding docking station 151 of the surgical hub modular housing 136. In one aspect, the combination generator module 145 includes bipolar, ultrasonic, and monopolar modules and a smoke evacuation module integrated together with a single housing unit 139, as shown in FIG. 5.

In various aspects, the smoke evacuation module 126 includes fluid lines 154 that transport captured/collected smoke and/or fluid away from the surgical site, for example, to the smoke evacuation module 126. Vacuum suction generated from the smoke evacuation module 126 can draw the smoke into openings in utility conduits at the surgical site. Utility conduits coupled to the fluid lines may be in the form of flexible tubing that terminates at the smoke evacuation module 126. The utility conduits and fluid lines define a fluid path that extends toward the smoke evacuation module 126, which is received within the surgical hub housing 136.

In various aspects, the aspiration/irrigation module 128 is coupled to a surgical tool that includes an aspiration fluid line and a suction fluid line. In one embodiment, the aspiration and aspiration fluid lines are in the form of flexible tubing that extends from the surgical site toward the aspiration/irrigation module 128. One or more drive systems can be configured to cause irrigation and suction of fluids to and from the surgical site.

In one aspect, the surgical tool includes a shaft having an end effector at its distal end, at least one energy treatment portion associated with the end effector, a suction tube, and an irrigation tube. The suction tube can have an inlet port at its distal end, and the suction tube extends through the shaft. Similarly, the irrigation tube can extend through the shaft and have an inlet port proximate to the energy delivery instrument. The energy delivery instrument is configured to deliver ultrasonic and/or RF energy to the surgical site and is initially coupled to the generator module 140 by a cable extending through the shaft.

The irrigation tube can be in fluid communication with a fluid source and the suction tube can be in fluid communication with a vacuum source. The fluid source and/or vacuum source can be housed within the aspiration/irrigation module 128. In one embodiment, the fluid source and/or vacuum source can be housed within the surgical hub housing 136 separate from the aspiration/irrigation module 128. In such an embodiment, the fluid interface can be configured to connect the aspiration/irrigation module 128 to the fluid source and/or vacuum source.

In one aspect, the modules 140, 126, 128 and/or their corresponding docking stations on the surgical hub modular housing 136 may include alignment features configured to align the docking ports of the modules to engage with their counterparts in the docking stations of the surgical hub modular housing 136. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the combination generator module 145 includes a side bracket 155 configured to slidably engage with a corresponding bracket 156 of a corresponding docking station 151 of the surgical hub modular housing 136. The brackets cooperate to guide the docking port contacts of the combination generator module 145 into electrical engagement with the docking port contacts of the surgical hub modular housing 136.

In some aspects, the drawers 151 of the surgical hub modular housing 136 are the same or substantially the same size, and the modules are sized to be received within the drawers 151. For example, the side brackets 155 and/or 156 may be larger or smaller depending on the size of the module. In other aspects, the drawers 151 are different sizes, each designed to accommodate a particular module.

Furthermore, the contacts of a particular module may be keyed to engage with the contacts of a particular drawer to prevent inserting the module into a drawer with incompatible contacts.

As shown in FIG. 4, the docking port 150 of one drawer 151 can be coupled to the docking port 150 of another drawer 151 via a communication link 157 to facilitate bidirectional communication between modules housed within the surgical hub modular housing 136. Alternatively or additionally, the docking port 150 of the surgical hub modular housing 136 can facilitate wireless bidirectional communication between modules housed within the surgical hub modular housing 136. Any suitable wireless communication may be used, such as, for example, Air Titan-Bluetooth.

FIG. 6 illustrates individual power bus attachments of multiple lateral docking ports of a lateral modular housing 160 configured to receive multiple modules of a surgical hub 206. The lateral modular housing 160 is configured to laterally receive and interconnect modules 161. The modules 161 are slidably inserted into a docking station 162 of the lateral modular housing 160 that includes a backplane for interconnecting the modules 161. As shown in FIG. 6, the modules 161 are arranged laterally within the lateral modular housing 160. Alternatively, the modules 161 may be arranged vertically within a vertical modular housing.

7 illustrates a vertical modular housing 164 configured to receive a plurality of modules 165 of the surgical hub 106. The modules 165 are slidably inserted into a docking station or drawer 167 of the vertical modular housing 164 that includes a backplane for interconnecting the modules 165. Although the drawer 167 of the vertical modular housing 164 is vertically oriented, in certain cases the vertical modular housing 164 may include a horizontally oriented drawer. Additionally, the modules 165 may interact with each other via the docking ports of the vertical modular housing 164. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, a display 177 is provided for displaying data related to the operation of the modules 165. Additionally, the vertical modular housing 164 includes a master module 178 that houses a plurality of sub-modules that are slidably received within the master module 178.

In various aspects, the imaging module 138 includes an integrated video processor and a modular light source and is adapted for use with various imaging devices. In one aspect, the imaging device is configured with a modular housing that can be assembled with a light source module and a camera module. The housing can be a disposable housing. In at least one embodiment, the disposable housing is removably coupled with a reusable controller, a light source module, and a camera module. The light source module and/or the camera module can be selectively selected depending on the type of surgical procedure. In one aspect, the camera module includes a CCD sensor. In another aspect, the camera module includes a CMOS sensor. In another aspect, the camera module is configured for imaging of a scanned beam. Similarly, the light source module can be configured to deliver white light or a different light depending on the surgical procedure.

During a surgical procedure, it may be inefficient to remove a surgical device from the surgical field and replace it with another surgical device that includes a different camera or a different light source. Temporary loss of view of the surgical field may result in undesirable results. The modular imaging device of the present disclosure is configured to allow replacement of a light source module or a camera module midstream during a surgical procedure without the need to remove the imaging device from the surgical field.

In one aspect, the imaging device comprises a tubular housing including a plurality of channels. A first channel is configured to slidably receive a camera module that may be configured for snap-fit engagement with the first channel. A second channel is configured to slidably receive a light source module that may be configured for snap-fit engagement with the second channel. In another embodiment, the camera module and/or the light source module may be rotated into a final position within their corresponding channels. A threaded engagement may be employed in place of the snap-fit engagement.

In various embodiments, multiple imaging devices are positioned at various locations within the surgical field to provide multiple fields of view. The imaging module 138 can be configured to switch between the imaging devices to provide an optimal field of view. In various aspects, the imaging module 138 can be configured to integrate images from the different imaging devices.

Various image processors and imaging devices suitable for use with the present disclosure are described in U.S. Patent No. 7,995,045, issued Aug. 9, 2011, entitled "COMBINED SBI AND CONVENTIONAL IMAGE PROCESSOR," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additionally, U.S. Patent No. 7,982,776, issued Jul. 19, 2011, entitled "SBI MOTION ARTIFACT REMOVEAL APPARATUS AND METHOD," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes various systems for removing motion artifacts from image data. Such systems may be integrated with the imaging module 138. Additionally, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0306840, published December 15, 2011, entitled "CONTROLLABLE MAGNETIC SOURCE TO FIXTURE INTRACORPOREAL APPARATUS," and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0243597, published August 28, 2014, entitled "SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING A MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURE," are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIG. 8 illustrates a surgical data network 201 comprising a modular communications hub 203 configured to connect modular devices located in one or more operating rooms of a medical facility, or any room in a medical facility with specialized equipment for surgical procedures, to a cloud-based system (e.g., cloud 204 (FIG. 9) which may include a remote server 213 coupled to a storage device 205). In one aspect, the modular communications hub 203 comprises a network hub 207 and/or a network switch 209 in communication with a network router. The modular communications hub 203 may further be coupled to a local computer system 210 to provide local computer processing and data manipulation. The surgical data network 201 may be configured as passive, intelligent, or switched. A passive surgical data network acts as a conduit for data, allowing data to go from one device (or segment) to another device (or segment) and to cloud computing resources. An intelligent surgical data network includes additional mechanisms that allow traffic to pass through the monitored surgical data network and configure each port in the network hub 207 or network switch 209. An intelligent surgical data network can be referred to as a manageable hub or switch. A switching hub reads the destination address of each packet and then forwards the packet to the correct port.

Modular devices 1a-1n located in the operating room may be coupled to the modular communication hub 203. The network hub 207 and/or the network switch 209 may be coupled to the network router 211 to connect the devices 1a-1n to the cloud 204 or the local computer system 210. Data associated with the devices 1a-1n may be transferred to a cloud-based computer via the router for remote data processing and manipulation. Data associated with the devices 1a-1n may also be transferred to the local computer system 210 for local data processing and manipulation. Modular devices 2a-2m located in the same operating room may also be coupled to the network switch 209. The network switch 209 may be coupled to the network hub 207 and/or the network router 211 to connect the devices 2a-2m to the cloud 204. Data associated with the devices 2a-2m may be transferred to the cloud 204 via the network router 211 for data processing and manipulation. Data associated with the devices 2a-2m may also be transferred to the local computer system 210 for local data processing and manipulation.

It will be appreciated that the surgical data network 201 may be expanded by interconnecting multiple network hubs 207 and/or multiple network switches 209 with multiple network routers 211. The modular communications hub 203 may be housed in a modular control tower configured to receive multiple devices 1a-1n/2a-2m. A local computer system 210 may also be housed in the modular control tower. The modular communications hub 203 is connected to a display 212 to display images acquired by some of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m, for example, during a surgical procedure. In various aspects, devices 1a-1n/2a-2m may include various modules such as an imaging module 138 coupled to an endoscope, a generator module 140 coupled to an energy-based surgical device, a smoke evacuation module 126, an aspiration/irrigation module 128, a communications module 130, a processor module 132, a storage array 134, a surgical device coupled to a display, and/or a non-contact sensor module, among other modular devices that may be connected to a modular communications hub 203 of a surgical data network 201.

In one aspect, the surgical data network 201 may include a combination of network hub(s), network switch(es), and network router(s) that connect the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m to the cloud. Any one or all of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m coupled to the network hub or network switch can collect data in real time and transfer the data to a cloud computer for data processing and manipulation. It will be understood that cloud computing relies on shared computing resources rather than having local servers or personal devices to handle software applications. Although the term "cloud" may be used as a metaphor for the "internet," the term is not so limited. Thus, the term "cloud computing" may be used herein to refer to "a type of internet-based computing" where various services such as servers, storage, and applications are delivered to the modular communications hub 203 and/or computer system 210 located at the surgical site (e.g., fixed, mobile, temporary, or on-site operating room or space) and to devices connected to the modular communications hub 203 and/or computer system 210 via the internet. The cloud infrastructure may be maintained by a cloud service provider. In this context, the cloud service provider may be an entity that coordinates the use and control of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m located in one or more operating rooms. The cloud computing services may perform numerous calculations based on data collected by smart surgical instruments, robots, and other computerized devices located in the operating room. The surgical hub hardware allows multiple devices or connections to connect to a computer that communicates with cloud computing resources and storage.

By applying cloud computer data processing techniques to data collected by the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m, the surgical data network provides improved surgical outcomes, reduced costs, and improved patient satisfaction. At least some of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m can be used to observe tissue status and evaluate leakage or perfusion of the sealed tissue after tissue sealing and cutting procedures. At least some of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m can be used to diagnostically inspect data including images of samples of body tissue to identify pathologies such as disease effects using cloud-based computing. This includes tissue and phenotype localization and margin confirmation. At least some of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m can be used to identify anatomical structures of the body using techniques such as various sensors integrated with the imaging devices and overlaying images captured by multiple imaging devices. Data collected by the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m, including image data, may be transferred to the cloud 204 or a local computer system 210, or both, for data processing and manipulation, including image processing and manipulation. The data can be analyzed to improve the outcome of the surgical procedure by determining whether further treatments can be pursued, such as endoscopic interventions, emerging technologies, targeted radiation, targeted interventions, and application of precision robotics to tissue-specific sites and conditions. Such data analysis may further employ prognostic analysis processes, and using a standardized approach can provide useful feedback to either confirm or suggest modifications to surgical treatments and surgeon performance.

In one implementation, the operating room devices 1a-1n may be connected to the modular communication hub 203 via wired or wireless channels depending on the configuration of the devices 1a-1n relative to the network hub. The network hub 207 may be implemented in one aspect as a local network broadcast device that operates on the physical layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The network hub provides connectivity to the devices 1a-1n located in the same operating room network. The network hub 207 collects data in the form of packets and sends them to the router in half-duplex mode. The network hub 207 does not store any media access control/internet protocol (MAC/IP) for forwarding device data. Only one of the devices 1a-1n can send data at a time through the network hub 207. The network hub 207 does not have a routing table or intelligence on where to send the information and broadcasts all network data across each connection and to the remote server 213 (FIG. 9) on the cloud 204. Although the network hub 207 can detect basic network errors such as collisions, broadcasting all information to multiple ports can pose a security risk and cause bottlenecks.

In another implementation, the operating room devices 2a-2m may be connected to the network switch 209 via wired or wireless channels. The network switch 209 functions within the data link layer of the OSI model. The network switch 209 is a multicast device for connecting the devices 2a-2m located in the same operating room to the network. The network switch 209 transmits data in the form of frames to the network router 211 and functions in full duplex mode. Multiple devices 2a-2m can transmit data simultaneously through the network switch 209. The network switch 209 stores and uses the MAC addresses of the devices 2a-2m to forward data.

The network hub 207 and/or the network switch 209 are coupled to a network router 211 to connect to the cloud 204. The network router 211 functions within the network layer of the OSI model. The network router 211 creates a path for sending data packets received from the network hub 207 and/or the network switch 211 to cloud-based computer resources for further processing and manipulation of data collected by any one or all of the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m. The network router 211 may be used to connect two or more different networks located in different locations, such as, for example, different networks located in different operating rooms in the same medical facility, or different operating rooms in different medical facilities. The network router 211 transmits data in the form of packets to the cloud 204 and functions in full-duplex mode. Multiple devices can transmit data simultaneously. The network router 211 uses IP addresses to forward data.

In one embodiment, the network hub 207 may be implemented as a USB hub that allows multiple USB devices to be connected to a host computer. The USB hub may expand a single USB port into several tiers so that more ports are available for connecting devices to the host system computer. The network hub 207 may include wired or wireless capabilities for receiving information over wired or wireless channels. In one aspect, a wireless USB short-range, high-bandwidth wireless communication protocol may be used for communication between devices 1a-1n and 2a-2m located in the operating room.

In other embodiments, the operating room devices 1a-1n/2a-2m can communicate with the modular communications hub 203 via the Bluetooth wireless technology standard to exchange data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices (using short wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band of 2.4-2.485 GHz) and to create a personal area network (PAN). In other aspects, the operating room devices 1a-1n/2a-2m can communicate with the modular communications hub 203 via a number of wireless or wired communications standards or protocols, including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA, DECT, and Ethernet derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless and wired protocols designated 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The computing module may include multiple communications modules. For example, the first communication module may be dedicated to short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the second communication module may be dedicated to long-range wireless communication such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, and Ev-DO.

The modular communications hub 203 can act as a central connection for one or all of the operating room devices 1a-1n/2a-2m and handles data types known as frames. Frames carry data generated by the devices 1a-1n/2a-2m. Once the frames are received by the modular communications hub 203, they are amplified and transmitted to the network router 211, which forwards this data to cloud computing resources by using any number of wireless or wired communications standards or protocols described herein.

The modular communication hub 203 may be used as a stand-alone device or may be connected to compatible network hubs and network switches to form a larger network. The modular communication hub 203 is generally easy to install, configure, and maintain, making the modular communication hub 203 a good choice for networking the operating room devices 1a-1n/2a-2m.

9 illustrates a computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200. The computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200 is similar in many respects to the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 100. For example, the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200 includes one or more surgical systems 202 that are similar in many respects to the surgical system 102. Each surgical system 202 includes at least one surgical hub 206 that communicates with a cloud 204 that may include a remote server 213. In one aspect, the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200 includes a modular control tower 236 connected to a plurality of operating room devices, such as, for example, intelligent surgical instruments, robots, and other computerized devices located in the operating room. As shown in FIG. 10, the modular control tower 236 includes a modular communication hub 203 coupled to a computer system 210. As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the modular control tower 236 is coupled to an imaging module 238 coupled to an endoscope 239, a generator module 240 coupled to an energy device 241, a smoke evacuation module 226, a suction/irrigation module 228, a communication module 230, a processor module 232, a storage array 234, a smart device/instrument 235 optionally coupled to a display 237, and a non-contact sensor module 242. The operating room devices are coupled to cloud computing resources and data storage via the modular control tower 236. The robotic hub 222 may also be connected to the modular control tower 236 and cloud computing resources. The devices/instruments 235, visualization system 208, among others, may be coupled to the modular control tower 236 via wired or wireless communication standards or protocols described herein. The modular control tower 236 may be coupled to a surgical hub display 215 (e.g., monitor, screen) for displaying and overlaying images received from the imaging module, device/instrument display, and/or other visualization system 208. The surgical hub display may also display data received from devices connected to the modular control tower along with images and overlay images.

10 illustrates a surgical hub 206 comprising a number of modules coupled to a modular control tower 236. The modular control tower 236 comprises a modular communications hub 203, e.g., a network-connected device, and a computer system 210, e.g., for providing local processing, visualization, and imaging. As shown in FIG. 10, the modular communications hub 203 can be connected in a hierarchical configuration to expand the number of modules (e.g., devices) that can be connected to the modular communications hub 203 to transfer data associated with the modules to the computer system 210, cloud computing resources, or both. As shown in FIG. 10, each of the network hubs/switches in the modular communications hub 203 includes three downstream ports and one upstream port. The upstream network hub/switch is connected to a processor to provide a communications connection to the cloud computing resources and a local display 217. Communications to the cloud 204 can be via either wired or wireless communication channels.

The surgical hub 206 uses a non-contact sensor module 242 to measure the dimensions of the operating room and generate a map of the operating site using either an ultrasound or laser-based non-contact measurement device. As described in the section entitled "Surgical Hub Spatial Awareness Within an Operating Room" of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, filed December 28, 2017, entitled "INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, the ultrasound-based non-contact sensor module is configured to scan the operating room by transmitting bursts of ultrasound and receiving echoes as the bursts of ultrasound reflect off the exterior walls of the operating room, where the sensor module determines the size of the operating room and adjusts the distance limit for Bluetooth pairing. The laser-based non-contact sensor module scans the operating room, for example, by transmitting laser light pulses, receiving laser light pulses that reflect off the exterior walls of the operating room, and comparing the phase of the transmitted pulses to the received pulses to determine the size of the operating room and adjust the Bluetooth pairing distance limits.

The computer system 210 includes a processor 244 and a network interface 245. The processor 244 is coupled to a communication module 247, a storage 248, a memory 249, a non-volatile memory 250, and an input/output interface 251 via a system bus. The system bus may be any of several types of bus structure(s), including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures, including, but not limited to, a 9-bit bus, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), a MicroChannel Architecture (MSA), an Enhanced ISA (EISA), an Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), a VESA Local Bus (VLB), a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), a USB, an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), or any other proprietary bus.

Processor 244 may be any single-core or multi-core processor, such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex manufactured by Texas Instruments. In one aspect, the processor may be, for example, an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F processor core available from Texas Instruments, including on-chip memory of 256 KB of single-cycle flash memory or other non-volatile memory up to 40 MHz, a pre-fetch buffer to improve performance beyond 40 MHz, 32 KB of single-cycle serial random access memory (SRAM), internal read-only memory (ROM) loaded with StellarisWare® software, 2 KB of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and/or 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, the details of which are available in the product data sheet.

In one aspect, the processor 244 may include a safety controller, including two controller families such as TMS570 and RM4x, also known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, manufactured by Texas Instruments. The safety controller may be specifically configured for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 safety limit applications, among others, to provide advanced integrated safety mechanisms while offering scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

System memory includes volatile and nonvolatile memory. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines for transferring information between elements within a computer system, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory. For example, nonvolatile memory may include ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), EEPROM, or flash memory. Volatile memory includes random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. In addition, RAM is available in many forms, such as SRAM, dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), SyncLink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAMbus RAM (DRRAM).

The computer system 210 also includes removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media, such as disk storage. Disk storage includes, but is not limited to, devices such as magnetic disk drives, floppy disk drives, tape drives, Jaz drives, Zip drives, LS-60 drives, flash memory cards, or memory sticks. In addition, disk storage can include storage media either independently or in combination with other storage media, including, but not limited to, optical disk drives, such as compact disk ROM drives (CD-ROM), compact disk recordable drives (CD-R drives), compact disk rewriteable drives (CD-RW drives), or digital versatile disk ROM drives (DVD-ROM). Removable or non-removable interfaces may be used to facilitate connection of disk storage devices to the system bus.

It should be appreciated that computer system 210 includes software that acts as an intermediary between users and basic computer resources as described in the preferred operating environment. Such software includes an operating system. The operating system, which may be stored on disk storage, functions to control and allocate resources of the computer system. System applications leverage resource management by the operating system through program modules and program data stored either in system memory or on disk storage. It should be appreciated that the various components described herein may be implemented with various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user inputs commands or information into the computer system 210 through input device(s) coupled to the I/O interface 251. Input devices include, but are not limited to, pointing devices such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touchpad, keyboard, microphone, joystick, gamepad, satellite dish, scanner, TV tuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, webcam, and the like. These and other input devices connect to the processor through the system bus via interface port(s). Interface port(s) include, for example, serial port, parallel port, game port, and USB. Output device(s) use some of the same types of ports as the input device(s). Thus, for example, a USB port may be used to provide input to the computer system and also to output information from the computer system to an output device. An output adapter is provided to illustrate that there are some output devices such as monitors, displays, speakers, and printers, among other output devices that require special adapters. Output adapters include, by way of example and not limitation, video and sound cards that provide a means of connection between an output device and a system bus. It should be noted that other devices and/or systems of devices, such as a remote computer(s), may provide both input and output capabilities.

The computer system 210 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as cloud computer(s), or local computers. The remote cloud computer(s) can be personal computers, servers, routers, network PCs, workstations, microprocessor-based devices, peer devices, or other general network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described with respect to a computer system. For simplicity, only memory storage devices are shown with the remote computer(s). The remote computer(s) are logically connected to the computer system through a network interface, which is then physically connected through a communication connection. The network interface encompasses communication networks such as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 802.3, Token Ring/IEEE 802.5, and the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-point links, circuit-switched networks such as Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet-switched networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

In various aspects, the computer system 210 of FIG. 10, the imaging module 238 of FIGS. 9-10, and/or the visualization system 208, and/or the processor module 232 may include an image processor, an image processing engine, a media processor, or any dedicated digital signal processor (DSP) used to process digital images. The image processor may use parallel computing with single instruction multiple data (SIMD) or multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD) technology to increase speed and efficiency. The digital image processing engine may perform a variety of tasks. The image processor may be a system on a chip with a multi-core processor architecture.

The communications connection(s) refers to the hardware/software used to connect the network interface to the bus. Although the communications connections are shown internal to the computer system for clarity of illustration, the communications connections may be external to computer system 210. By way of example only, the hardware/software required to connect to the network interface may include internal and external technologies such as modems, including regular telephone grade modems, cable modems, and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

11 illustrates a functional block diagram of one embodiment of a USB network hub 300 device in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the USB network hub device 300 employs a Texas Instruments TUSB2036 integrated circuit hub. The USB network hub 300 is a CMOS device that provides an upstream USB transmit/receive port 302 and up to three downstream USB transmit/receive ports 304, 306, 308 that conform to the USB 2.0 standard. The upstream USB transmit/receive port 302 is a differential rooted data port that includes a differential data minus (DM0) input paired with a differential data plus (DP0) input. The three downstream USB transmit/receive ports 304, 306, 308 are differential data ports, each including a differential data plus (DP1-DP3) output paired with a differential data minus (DM1-DM3) output.

The USB network hub 300 device is implemented with a digital state machine instead of a microcontroller and does not require firmware programming. A fully compliant USB transceiver is integrated into the circuitry of the upstream USB transmit/receive port 302 and all downstream USB transmit/receive ports 304, 306, 308. The downstream USB transmit/receive ports 304, 306, 308 support both full speed and low speed devices by automatically setting the slew rate depending on the speed of the device attached to the port. The USB network hub 300 device may be configured in either bus-powered or self-powered mode and includes surgical hub power logic 312 to manage power.

The USB network hub 300 device includes a serial interface engine 310 (SIE). The SIE 310 is the front end of the USB network hub 300 hardware and handles most of the protocol described in Chapter 8 of the USB specification. The SIE 310 typically understands signaling down to the transaction level. Functions it handles may include packet recognition, transaction reordering, detection/generation of SOP, EOP, RESET, and RESUME signals, clock/data separation, non-return to zero inverted (NRZI) data encoding/decoding and bit stuffing, CRC generation and checking (token and data), Packet ID (PID) generation and checking/decoding, and/or serial-to-parallel/parallel-to-serial conversion. The SIE 310 receives a clock input 314 and is coupled to a suspend/resume logic and frame timer 316 circuit and a surgical hub repeater circuit 318 for controlling communication between the upstream USB transmit/receive port 302 and the downstream USB transmit/receive ports 304, 306, 308 via port logic circuits 320, 322, 324. The SIE 310 is coupled to a command decoder 326 via interface logic for controlling commands from a serial EEPROM via a serial EEPROM interface 330.

In various aspects, the USB network hub 300 can connect up to 127 functions organized in up to six logical layers to a single computer. Additionally, the USB network hub 300 can connect to all peripherals using a standardized four-wire cable that provides both communication and power distribution. The power configurations are bus-powered and self-powered. The USB network hub 300 may be configured to support four modes of power management: bus-powered hub with either individual or ganged port power management, and self-powered hub with either individual or ganged port power management. In one aspect, using a USB cable, the USB network hub 300, the upstream USB transmit/receive port 302 is plugged into a USB host controller, and the downstream USB transmit/receive ports 304, 306, 308 are exposed for connecting USB compatible devices, and so on.

12 illustrates a logic diagram of a surgical instrument or tool control system 470 according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The system 470 includes a control circuit. The control circuit includes a microcontroller 461 with a processor 462 and a memory 468. For example, one or more of the sensors 472, 474, 476 provide real-time feedback to the processor 462. A motor 482 driven by a motor driver 492 operably couples the longitudinally movable displacement member to drive the I-beam knife element. A tracking system 480 is configured to determine the position of the longitudinally movable displacement member. The position information is provided to the processor 462, which may be programmed or configured to determine the position of the longitudinally movable drive member, as well as the position of the firing member, firing bar, and I-beam knife element. Additional motors may be provided to the tool driver interface to control the firing of the I-beam, the movement of the closure tube, the rotation of the shaft, and the articulation. A display 473 displays various operating conditions of the instrument and may include touch screen functionality for data entry. Information displayed on the display 473 can be overlaid with images acquired via the endoscopic imaging module.

In one aspect, the microcontroller 461 may be any single-core or multi-core processor, such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex manufactured by Texas Instruments. In one aspect, the main microcontroller 461 may be, for example, an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F processor core available from Texas Instruments, including on-chip memory of 256 KB of single-cycle flash memory or other non-volatile memory up to 40 MHz, a pre-fetch buffer to improve performance beyond 40 MHz, 32 KB of single-cycle SRAM, internal ROM loaded with StellarisWare® software, 2 KB of EEPROM, one or more PWM modules, one or more QEI analog, and/or one or more 12-bit ADCs with 12 analog input channels, details of which are available in the product data sheet.

In one aspect, the microcontroller 461 may include a safety controller, including two controller families such as TMS570 and RM4x, also known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, manufactured by Texas Instruments. The safety controller may be specifically configured for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 safety limit applications, among others, to provide advanced integrated safety mechanisms while offering scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

The microcontroller 461 may be programmed to perform a variety of functions, such as precise control over the speed and position of the knife and articulation system. In one aspect, the microcontroller 461 includes a processor 462 and a memory 468. The electric motor 482 may be a brushed direct current (DC) motor with a gearbox and mechanical linkage to the articulation or knife system. In one aspect, the motor driver 492 may be an A3941 available from Allegro Microsystems, Inc. Other motor drivers may be easily substituted for use with the tracking system 480 with an absolute positioning system. A detailed description of the absolute positioning system is provided in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0296213, published October 19, 2017, entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A SURGICAL STAPLING AND CUTTING INSTRUMENT," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The microcontroller 461 may be programmed to provide precise control over the speed and position of the displacement members and articulation system. The microcontroller 461 may be configured to calculate a response within the microcontroller 461 software. The calculated response is compared to the measured response of the actual system to obtain an "observed" response, which is used to determine the actual feedback. The observed response is a suitably adjusted value that balances the smooth, continuous nature of the simulated response with the measured response, which can detect external influences on the system.

In one aspect, the motor 482 may be controlled by a motor driver 492 and may be used by the surgical instrument or tool firing system. In various configurations, the motor 482 may be a brushed DC drive motor having a maximum rotational speed of, for example, about 25,000 RPM. In other configurations, the motor 482 may include a brushless motor, a cordless motor, a synchronous motor, a stepper motor, or any other suitable electric motor. The motor driver 492 may include, for example, an H-bridge driver including field effect transistors (FETs). The motor 482 may be powered by a power supply assembly releasably attached to the handle assembly or tool housing to provide control power to the surgical instrument or tool. The power supply assembly may include a battery that may include multiple battery cells connected in series that may be used as a power source to power the surgical instrument or tool. Under certain circumstances, the battery cells of the power supply assembly may be replaceable and/or rechargeable. In at least one example, the battery cells may be lithium ion batteries that may be connectable to and separable from the power supply assembly.

The motor driver 492 may be an A3941 available from Allegro Microsystems, Inc. The A3941 motor 492 is a full-bridge controller for use with an external N-channel power metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) specifically designed for inductive loads such as brushed DC motors. The driver 492 has an intrinsic charge pump regulator that provides full (>10V) gate drive for battery voltages up to 7V, allowing the A3941 to operate with reduced gate drive down to 5.5V. A bootstrap capacitor may be used to provide the required above battery supply voltage for the N-channel MOSFET. An internal charge pump for the high-side drive allows DC (100% duty cycle) operation. The full bridge may be driven in fast or slow decay mode with diode or synchronous rectification. In slow decay mode, current recirculation is possible with either the high-side or low-side FET. The power FETs are protected from shoot-through by resistor adjustable dead time. Integrated diagnostics indicate undervoltage, overtemperature, and power bridge faults and can be configured to protect the power MOSFETs under most short circuit conditions. Other motor drivers can be easily substituted for use in tracking system 480 with an absolute positioning system.

The tracking system 480 includes a controlled motor drive circuitry including a position sensor 472 according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The position sensor 472 for the absolute positioning system provides a unique position signal corresponding to the position of the displacement member. In one aspect, the displacement member represents a longitudinally movable drive member including a rack of drive teeth for meshing engagement with a corresponding drive gear of a gear reducer assembly. In another aspect, the displacement member represents a firing member that may be adapted and configured to include a rack of drive teeth. In yet another aspect, the displacement member represents a firing bar or an I-beam, each of which may be adapted and configured to include a rack of drive teeth. Accordingly, as used herein, the term displacement member is used to refer collectively to any movable member of a surgical instrument, such as a drive member, firing member, firing bar, I-beam, or any element that may be displaced. In one aspect, the longitudinally movable drive member is coupled to the firing member, firing bar, and I-beam. Thus, the absolute positioning system can actually track the linear displacement of the I-beam by tracking the linear displacement of the longitudinally movable drive member. In various other aspects, the displacement member may be coupled to any suitable position sensor 472 for measuring linear displacement. Thus, the longitudinally movable drive member, firing member, firing bar, or I-beam, or combinations thereof, may be coupled to any suitable displacement sensor. The linear displacement sensor may include contact or non-contact displacement sensors. The linear displacement sensor may include linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs), differential variable reluctance transducers (DVRTs), slide potentiometers, magnetic sensing systems including movable magnets and Hall effect sensors arranged in a series of linear positions, magnetic sensing systems including fixed magnets and Hall effect sensors arranged in a series of movable linear positions, optical sensing systems including movable light sources and photodiodes or photodetectors arranged in a series of linear positions, optical sensing systems including fixed light sources and photodiodes or photodetectors arranged in a series of movable linear positions, or any combination thereof.

The electric motor 482 may include a rotatable shaft operatively associated with a gear assembly mounted in meshing engagement with a set or rack of drive teeth on the displacement member. The sensor element may be operatively coupled to the gear assembly such that one revolution of the position sensor 472 element corresponds to some linear longitudinal translation of the displacement member. The gearing and sensor mechanism may be connected to a linear actuator by a rack and pinion mechanism or to a rotary actuator by a spur gear or other connection. A power source provides power to the absolute positioning system, and an output indicator may display the output of the absolute positioning system. The displacement member represents a longitudinally movable drive member with a rack of drive teeth formed thereon for meshing engagement with a corresponding drive gear of a gear reducer assembly. The displacement member represents a longitudinally movable firing member, firing bar, I-beam, or combination thereof.

One revolution of the sensor element associated with the position sensor 472 corresponds to a linear longitudinal displacement d1 of the displacement member, where d1 is the linear longitudinal distance traveled by the displacement member from point "a" to point "b" after the sensor element coupled to the displacement member has rotated once. The sensor mechanism may be connected via a gear reduction that results in the position sensor 472 completing one or more revolutions for a full stroke of the displacement member. The position sensor 472 may complete multiple revolutions for a full stroke of the displacement member.

A series of switches (where n is an integer greater than 1) may be used alone or in combination with gear reduction to provide a unique position signal for two or more revolutions of the position sensor 472. The state of the switches is fed back to the microcontroller 461, which applies logic to determine a unique position signal corresponding to the longitudinal linear displacement d1+d2+...dn of the displacement member. The output of the position sensor 472 is provided to the microcontroller 461. The position sensor 472 of the sensor mechanism may comprise a magnetic sensor, an analog rotation sensor such as a potentiometer, or an array of analog Hall effect elements that output a unique combination of position signals or values.

The position sensor 472 may comprise any number of magnetic sensing elements, such as magnetic sensors classified based on whether they measure the total magnetic field or vector components of a magnetic field. The technologies used to produce both types of magnetic sensors involve many aspects of physics and electronics. Technologies used to sense magnetic fields include search coils, fluxgates, optical pumping, nuclear precession, SQUIDs, Hall effect, anisotropic magnetoresistance, giant magnetoresistance, magnetic tunnel junctions, giant magnetoimpedance, magnetostrictive/piezoelectric composites, magnetodiodes, magnetotransistors, optical fiber, magneto-optical, and microelectromechanical systems based magnetic sensors, among others.

In one aspect, the position sensor 472 of the tracking system 480 with absolute positioning system comprises a magnetic rotation absolute positioning system. The position sensor 472 may be implemented as an AS5055EQFT single chip magnetic rotation position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 472 works with the microcontroller 461 to provide the absolute positioning system. The position sensor 472 is a low voltage, low power component and includes four Hall effect elements in the area of the position sensor 472 located above the magnet. Additionally, a high resolution ADC and a smart power management controller are provided on the chip. A Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer (CORDIC) processor, also known as the digit-by-digit method and Volder's algorithm, is provided to implement simple and efficient algorithms for calculating hyperbolic and trigonometric functions, requiring only addition, subtraction, bit shifting, and table lookup operations. The angular position, alarm bits, and magnetic field information are transmitted to the microcontroller 461 via a standard serial communication interface, such as a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) interface. The position sensor 472 provides 12-bit or 14-bit resolution. The position sensor 472 may be an AS5055 chip provided in a small QFN 16-pin 4x4x0.85mm package.

The tracking system 480 with absolute positioning system may include and/or be programmed to implement a feedback controller, such as PID, state feedback, and adaptive controllers. A power supply converts the signal from the feedback controller into a physical input to the system, in this case voltage. Other examples include PWM of voltage, current, and force. In addition to the position measured by the position sensor 472, other sensors (plural) may be provided to measure physical parameters of the physical system. In some aspects, the other sensor(s) may include any of the sensors described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,345,481, issued May 24, 2016, entitled "STAPLE CARTRIDGE TISSUE THICKNESS SENSOR SYSTEM," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0263552, published September 18, 2014, entitled "STAPLE CARTRIDGE TISSUE THICKNESS SENSOR SYSTEM," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0263552, published September 18, 2014, entitled "TECHNIQUES FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF MOTOR VELOCITY OF A SURGICAL STAPLING," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Sensor configurations such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/628,175, filed June 20, 2017, entitled "A CUTTING INSTRUMENT AND A CUTTING INSTRUMENT" may be included. In a digital signal processing system, the absolute positioning system is coupled to a digital data acquisition system, where the output of the absolute positioning system has a finite resolution and sampling frequency. The absolute positioning system may include comparison and combination circuitry to combine the calculated response with the measured response using algorithms such as weighted averages and theoretical control loops that drive the calculated response towards the measured response. The calculated response of the physical system takes into account properties such as mass, inertia, viscous friction, induced resistance, etc., to predict what the state and output of the physical system will be by knowing the input.

The absolute positioning system provides an absolute position of the displacement member upon powering up of the instrument without forcing the displacement member to retract or advance to a reset position (zero or home), as may be required with conventional rotary encoders that simply count the number of steps taken by the motor 482 forward or backward to estimate the position of the device actuator, drive bar, knife, etc.

The sensor 474, e.g., a strain gauge or microstrain gauge, is configured to measure one or more parameters of the end effector, e.g., the amplitude of strain exerted on the anvil during the clamping operation, which can be indicative of the closure force applied to the anvil. The measured strain is converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462. Instead of or in addition to the sensor 474, a sensor 476, e.g., a load sensor, can measure the closure force applied to the anvil by the closure drive system. For example, the sensor 476, e.g., a load sensor, can measure the firing force applied to the I-beam during the firing stroke of the surgical instrument or tool. The I-beam is configured to engage a wedge-shaped sled that is configured to cam the staple driver upward to drive the staples into deforming contact with the anvil. The I-beam also includes a sharp cutting edge that can be used to cut tissue as the I-beam is advanced distally by the firing bar. Alternatively, a current sensor 478 can be used to measure the current draw by the motor 482. The force required to advance the firing member may correspond, for example, to the current drawn by the motor 482. The measured force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462.

In one form, a strain gauge sensor 474 can be used to measure the force applied by the end effector to the tissue. A strain gauge can be coupled to the end effector to measure the force applied by the end effector to the tissue being treated. A system for measuring the force applied to the tissue gripped by the end effector includes a strain gauge sensor 474, such as a micro strain gauge, configured to measure one or more parameters of the end effector. In one aspect, the strain gauge sensor 474 can measure the amplitude or magnitude of the strain exerted on the jaw members of the end effector during the clamping operation, which can indicate compression of the tissue. The measured strain is converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462 of the microcontroller 461. The load sensor 476 can measure the force used to manipulate the knife element, for example, to cut the tissue captured between the anvil and the staple cartridge. A magnetic field sensor can be used to measure the thickness of the captured tissue. The magnetic field sensor measurements can also be converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462.

Measurements of tissue compression, tissue thickness, and/or force required to close the end effector on the tissue, measured by sensors 474, 476, respectively, can be used by microcontroller 461 to characterize a selected position of the firing member and/or a corresponding value of the velocity of the firing member. In one example, memory 468 can store techniques, equations, and/or look-up tables that can be used by microcontroller 461 in the evaluation.

The surgical instrument or tool control system 470 may also include wired or wireless communication circuitry for communicating with the modular communication hub as shown in Figures 8-11.

13 illustrates a control circuit 500 configured to control aspects of a surgical instrument or tool according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The control circuit 500 may be configured to implement various processes described herein. The control circuit 500 may comprise a microcontroller comprising one or more processors 502 (e.g., microprocessors, microcontrollers) coupled to at least one memory circuit 504. The memory circuit 504 stores machine executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 502, cause the processor 502 to execute machine instructions to implement various processes described herein. The processor 502 may be any one of a number of single or multi-core processors known in the art. The memory circuit 504 may include volatile and non-volatile storage media. The processor 502 may include an instruction processing unit 506 and an arithmetic unit 508. The instruction processing unit may be configured to receive instructions from the memory circuit 504 of the present disclosure.

14 illustrates a combinational logic circuit 510 configured to control aspects of a surgical instrument or tool, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The combinational logic circuit 510 may be configured to implement various processes described herein. The combinational logic circuit 510 may include a finite state machine including combinational logic 512 configured to receive data associated with the surgical instrument or tool at an input 514, process the data through the combinational logic 512, and provide an output 516.

FIG. 15 illustrates a sequential logic circuit 520 configured to control aspects of a surgical instrument or tool according to one aspect of the disclosure. The sequential logic circuit 520 or combinatorial logic 522 can be configured to implement various processes described herein. The sequential logic circuit 520 may include a finite state machine. The sequential logic circuit 520 may include, for example, combinatorial logic 522, at least one memory circuit 524, and a clock 529. The at least one memory circuit 524 can store a current state of the finite state machine. In certain examples, the sequential logic circuit 520 may be synchronous or asynchronous. The combinatorial logic 522 is configured to receive data associated with the surgical instrument or tool from an input 526, process the data by the combinatorial logic 522, and provide an output 528. In other aspects, the circuit may include a combination of a processor (e.g., processor 502 of FIG. 13) and a finite state machine that implements various processes herein. In other aspects, the finite state machine may include a combination of combinational logic (e.g., combinational logic 510 of FIG. 14) and sequential logic 520.

16 illustrates a surgical instrument or tool with multiple motors that can be activated to perform various functions. In a particular example, a first motor can be activated to perform a first function, a second motor can be activated to perform a second function, a third motor can be activated to perform a third function, a fourth motor can be activated to perform a fourth function, and so on. In a particular example, the multiple motors of the robotic surgical instrument 600 can be individually activated to produce a firing, closing, and/or articulation motion in the end effector. The firing, closing, and/or articulation motion can be transmitted to the end effector via a shaft assembly, for example.

In certain examples, the surgical instrument system or tool may include a firing motor 602. The firing motor 602 may be operably coupled to a firing motor drive assembly 604, which may be configured to transmit a firing motion generated by the firing motor 602 to an end effector, specifically to displace an I-beam element. In certain examples, the firing motion generated by the firing motor 602 may, for example, deploy staples from a staple cartridge into tissue captured by the end effector and/or advance a cutting blade of the I-beam element to cut the captured tissue. The I-beam element may be retracted by reversing the direction of the firing motor 602.

In certain examples, the surgical instrument or tool may include a closure motor 603. The closure motor 603 may be operatively coupled to a closure motor drive assembly 605, which may be configured to transmit the closure motion generated by the motor 603 to the end effector, specifically to displace a closure tube to close the anvil and compress tissue between the anvil and the staple cartridge. The closure motion may, for example, transition the end effector from an open configuration to an approximated configuration to capture tissue. The end effector may be transitioned to the open position by reversing the direction of the motor 603.

In certain examples, a surgical instrument or tool may include, for example, one or more articulation motors 606a, 606b. The articulation motors 606a, 606b may be operatively coupled to corresponding articulation motor drive assemblies 608a, 608b that may be configured to transmit articulation motion generated by the articulation motors 606a, 606b to an end effector. In certain examples, the articulation motion may, for example, cause the end effector to articulate relative to the shaft.

As discussed above, a surgical instrument or tool may include multiple motors that may be configured to perform various independent functions. In certain examples, multiple motors of a surgical instrument or tool may be independently or separately activated to perform one or more functions while other motors remain stopped. For example, articulation motors 606a, 606b may be activated to articulate an end effector while firing motor 602 remains stopped. Alternatively, firing motor 602 may be activated to fire multiple staples and/or advance a cutting edge while articulation motor 606 is stopped. Additionally, closure motor 603 may be activated simultaneously with firing motor 602 to advance a closure tube and an I-beam element distally, as described in more detail herein below.

In certain examples, a surgical instrument or tool may include a common control module 610 that can be used with multiple motors of the surgical instrument or tool. In certain examples, the common control module 610 can accommodate one of the multiple motors at a time. For example, the common control module 610 may be capable of individually coupling and decoupling multiple motors of a robotic surgical instrument. In certain examples, multiple motors of a surgical instrument or tool may share one or more common control modules, such as the common control module 610. In certain examples, multiple motors of a surgical instrument or tool can be independently and selectively engaged with the common control module 610. In certain examples, the common control module 610 can be selectively switched from coupling with one of the multiple motors of the surgical instrument or tool to coupling with another of the multiple motors of the surgical instrument or tool.

In at least one example, the common control module 610 can be selectively switched between operative engagement with the articulation motors 606a, 606b and operative engagement with either the firing motor 602 or the closing motor 603. In at least one example, as shown in FIG. 16, the switch 614 can be moved or transitioned between a plurality of positions and/or states. For example, in a first position 616, the switch 614 can electrically couple the common control module 610 to the firing motor 602, in a second position 617, the switch 614 can electrically couple the common control module 610 to the closing motor 603, in a third position 618a, the switch 614 can electrically couple the common control module 610 to the first articulation motor 606a, and in a fourth position 618b, the switch 614 can electrically couple the common control module 610 to the second articulation motor 606b. In certain examples, a separate common control module 610 may be electrically coupled to the firing motor 602, the closing motor 603, and the articulation motors 606a, 606b at the same time. In certain examples, the switch 614 may be a mechanical switch, an electromechanical switch, a solid-state switch, or any suitable switching mechanism.

Each of the motors 602, 603, 606a, 606b may be equipped with a torque sensor to measure the output torque on the shaft of the motor. The force on the end effector may be sensed in any conventional manner, such as by a force sensor outside the jaws or by a torque sensor on the motor that actuates the jaws.

16, the common control module 610 may include a motor driver 626, which may include one or more H-bridge FETs. The motor driver 626 may modulate the power transferred from a power source 628 to a motor coupled to the common control module 610, for example, based on input from a microcontroller 620 ("controller"). In certain examples, the microcontroller 620 may be used to determine, for example, the current drawn by a motor while the motor is coupled to the common control module 610, as described above.

In certain examples, microcontroller 620 may include a microprocessor 622 ("processor") and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media or memory units 624 ("memory"). In certain examples, memory 624 may store various program instructions that, when executed, cause processor 622 to perform multiple functions and/or calculations described herein. In certain examples, one or more of memory units 624 may be coupled to processor 622, for example.

In certain examples, the power source 628 may be used to, for example, power the microcontroller 620. In certain examples, the power source 628 may include a battery (or "battery pack" or "power pack"), such as, for example, a lithium ion battery. In certain examples, the battery pack may be configured to be releasably attached to the handle to power the surgical instrument 600. Multiple battery cells connected in series may be used as the power source 628. In certain examples, the power source 628 may be, for example, replaceable and/or rechargeable.

In various examples, the processor 622 can control the motor driver 626 to control the position, direction, and/or speed of the motors coupled to the common control module 610. In certain examples, the processor 622 can signal the motor driver 626 to stop and/or disable the motors coupled to the common control module 610. The term "processor" as used herein should be understood to include any suitable microprocessor, microcontroller, or other basic computing device that integrates the functionality of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) on one integrated circuit or up to a few integrated circuits. A processor is a multipurpose programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes the data according to instructions stored in memory, and provides the results as output. It is an example of sequential digital logic because it has internal memory. The processor operates on numbers and symbols represented in the binary system.

In one example, the processor 622 may be any single-core or multi-core processor, such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex manufactured by Texas Instruments. In a particular example, the microcontroller 620 may be, for example, an LM 4F230H5QR available from Texas Instruments. In at least one embodiment, the Texas Instruments LM4F230H5QR is an ARM Cortex-M4F processor core that includes, among other characteristics readily available in the product data sheet, 256 KB of single-cycle flash memory or other NVM on-chip memory up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance beyond 40 MHz, 32 KB of single-cycle SRAM, internal ROM loaded with StellarisWare® software, 2 KB of EEPROM, one or more PWM modules, one or more QEI analog, one or more 12-bit ADCs with 12 analog input channels. Other microcontrollers may be readily substituted for use with module 4410. Thus, the present disclosure should not be limited in this context.

In certain examples, the memory 624 may include program instructions for controlling each of the motors of the surgical instrument 600 that may be coupled to a common control module 610. For example, the memory 624 may include program instructions for controlling the firing motor 602, the closing motor 603, and the articulation motors 606a, 606b. Such program instructions may cause the processor 622 to control the firing, closing, and articulation functions according to inputs from an algorithm or control program of the surgical instrument or tool.

In certain examples, one or more mechanisms and/or sensors, such as, for example, sensor 630, can be used to alert processor 622 to program instructions to be used in a particular setting. For example, sensor 630 can alert processor 622 to use program instructions associated with firing, closing, and articulating the end effector. In certain examples, sensor 630 can include a position sensor that can be used to sense the position of switch 614, for example. Thus, processor 622 can use program instructions associated with firing the I-beam of the end effector when it detects, for example, via sensor 630, that switch 614 is in the first position 616; processor 622 can use program instructions associated with closing the anvil when it detects, for example, that switch 614 is in the second position 617 via sensor 630; processor 622 can use program instructions associated with articulating the end effector when it detects, for example, that switch 614 is in the third position 618a or the fourth position 618b via sensor 630.

17 is a circuit diagram of a robotic surgical instrument 700 configured to operate a surgical tool described herein, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The robotic surgical instrument 700 may be programmed or configured to control the distal/proximal translation of the displacement member, the distal/proximal displacement of the closure tube, the shaft rotation, and the articulation, using either a single or multiple articulation drive couplings. In one aspect, the surgical instrument 700 may be programmed or configured to individually control the firing member, the closure member, the shaft member, and/or one or more articulation members. The surgical instrument 700 includes a control circuit 710 configured to control the motorized firing member, the closure member, the shaft member, and/or one or more articulation members.

In one aspect, the robotic surgical instrument 700 includes a control circuit 710 configured to control the anvil 716 and I-beam 714 (including sharp cutting blade) portions of the end effector 702, the removable staple cartridge 718, the shaft 740, and one or more articulating members 742a, 742b via a plurality of motors 704a-704e. A position sensor 734 may be configured to provide position feedback of the I-beam 714 to the control circuit 710. Another sensor 738 may be configured to provide feedback to the control circuit 710. A timer/counter 731 provides timing and counting information to the control circuit 710. An energy source 712 may be provided to operate the motors 704a-704e, and a current sensor 736 provides motor current feedback to the control circuit 710. The motors 704a-704e may be individually operated by the control circuit 710 in open-loop or closed-loop feedback control.

In one aspect, the control circuitry 710 may comprise one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other suitable processors for executing instructions that cause the processor or processors to perform one or more tasks. In one aspect, the timer/counter 731 provides an output signal, such as an elapsed time or digital count, to the control circuitry 710 to correlate the position of the I-beam 714 determined by the position sensor 734 with the output of the timer/counter 731, such that the control circuitry 710 can determine the position of the I-beam 714 at a particular time (t) relative to a starting position or time (t) when the I-beam 714 is at a particular position relative to the starting position. The timer/counter 731 may be configured to measure elapsed time, count external events, or measure the time of an external event.

In one aspect, the control circuitry 710 may be programmed to control the function of the end effector 702 based on one or more tissue conditions. The control circuitry 710 may be programmed to sense tissue conditions, such as thickness, either directly or indirectly, as described herein. The control circuitry 710 may be programmed to select a firing control program or a closing control program based on the tissue condition. The firing control program may describe the distal motion of the displacement member. Different firing control programs may be selected to better handle different tissue conditions. For example, when thicker tissue is present, the control circuitry 710 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a slower speed and/or with less power. When thinner tissue is present, the control circuitry 710 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a higher speed and/or with more power. The closing control program may control the closing force applied to the tissue by the anvil 716. Other control programs control the rotation of the shaft 740 and the articulating members 742a, 742b.

In one aspect, the control circuitry 710 may generate motor setpoint signals. The motor setpoint signals may be provided to various motor controllers 708a-708e. The motor controllers 708a-708e may include one or more circuits configured to provide motor drive signals to the motors 704a-704e to drive the motors 704a-704e as described herein. In some embodiments, the motors 704a-704e may be brushed DC electric motors. For example, the speed of the motors 704a-704e may be proportional to the respective motor drive signals. In some embodiments, the motors 704a-704e may be brushless DC electric motors, and the respective motor drive signals may include PWM signals provided to one or more stator windings of the motors 704a-704e. Also, in some embodiments, the motor controllers 708a-708e may be omitted, and the control circuitry 710 may generate the motor drive signals directly.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 may initially operate each of the motors 704a-704e in an open-loop configuration for a first open-loop portion of the stroke of the displacement member. Based on the response of the robotic surgical instrument 700 during the open-loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 710 may select a firing control program for a closed-loop configuration. The instrument response may include the translation distance of the displacement member during the open-loop portion, the time elapsed during the open-loop portion, the energy provided to one of the motors 704a-704e during the open-loop portion, the sum of the pulse widths of the motor drive signals, etc. After the open-loop portion, the control circuit 710 may implement the selected firing control program for a second portion of the displacement member stroke. For example, during the closed-loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 710 may modulate one of the motors 704a-704e in a closed-loop manner based on translation data describing the position of the displacement member to translate the displacement member at a constant velocity.

In one aspect, the motors 704a-704e can receive power from an energy source 712. The energy source 712 may be a DC power source driven by a mains AC power source, a battery, a supercapacitor, or any other suitable energy source. The motors 704a-704e may be mechanically coupled to the respective moving mechanical elements, such as the I-beam 714, the anvil 716, the shaft 740, the articulation section 742a, and the articulation section 742b, via corresponding transmissions 706a-706e. The transmissions 706a-706e may include one or more gears or other coupling components for coupling the motors 704a-704e to the moving mechanical elements. The position sensor 734 may sense the position of the I-beam 714. The position sensor 734 may be or include any type of sensor capable of generating position data indicative of the position of the I-beam 714. In some examples, the position sensor 734 may include an encoder configured to provide a series of pulses to the control circuitry 710 as the I-beam 714 translates distally and proximally. The control circuitry 710 may track the pulses to determine the position of the I-beam 714. Other suitable position sensors may be used, including, for example, a proximity sensor. Other types of position sensors may provide other signals indicative of the movement of the I-beam 714. Also, in some examples, the position sensor 734 may be omitted. If any of the motors 704a-704e are stepper motors, the control circuitry 710 may track the position of the I-beam 714 by summing up the number and direction of steps the motor 704 is instructed to perform. The position sensor 734 may be located in the end effector 702 or in any other part of the instrument. The output of each of the motors 704a-704e includes a torque sensor 744a-744e for sensing force and has an encoder for sensing rotation of the drive shaft.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to drive a firing member, such as the I-beam 714 portion of the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides motor settings to the motor controller 708a, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704a. The output shaft of the motor 704a is coupled to a torque sensor 744a. The torque sensor 744a is coupled to a transmission 706a, which is coupled to the I-beam 714. The transmission 706a includes a movable mechanical element, such as a rotating element and a firing member, for controlling the movement of the I-beam 714 in the distal and proximal directions along the longitudinal axis of the end effector 702. In one aspect, the motor 704a may be coupled to a knife gear assembly including a knife gear reduction set including a first knife drive gear and a second knife drive gear. The torque sensor 744a provides a firing force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The firing force signal represents the force required to fire or displace the I-beam 714. The position sensor 734 may be configured to provide the position of the I-beam 714 or the firing member along the firing stroke as a feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The end effector 702 may include additional sensors 738 configured to provide feedback signals to the control circuit 710. When ready for use, the control circuit 710 may provide a firing signal to the motor control 708a. In response to the firing signal, the motor 704a may drive the firing member distally along the longitudinal axis of the end effector 702 from a proximal start-of-stroke position to an end-of-stroke position distal to the start-of-stroke position. As the firing member translates distally, the I-beam 714 with a cutting element positioned at its distal end advances distally to cut tissue located between the staple cartridge 718 and the anvil 716.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to drive a closure member, such as the anvil 716 portion of the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides motor settings to a motor control 708b, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704b. The output shaft of the motor 704b is coupled to a torque sensor 744b. The torque sensor 744b is coupled to a transmission 706b, which is coupled to the anvil 716. The transmission 706b includes a movable mechanical element, such as a rotating element and a closure member, for controlling the movement of the anvil 716 from the open and closed positions. In one aspect, the motor 704b is coupled to a closure gear assembly including a closure reduction gear set supported in meshing engagement with a closure spur gear. The torque sensor 744b provides a closure force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The closure force feedback signal is representative of the closure force applied to the anvil 716. The position sensor 734 may be configured to provide the position of the closure member as a feedback signal to the control circuit 710. An additional sensor 738 in the end effector 702 can provide a closure force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The pivotable anvil 716 is positioned opposite the staple cartridge 718. When ready for use, the control circuit 710 can provide a closure signal to the motor control 708b. In response to the closure signal, the motor 704b advances the closure member to grasp tissue between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to rotate a shaft member, such as the shaft 740, to rotate the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides motor settings to a motor control 708c, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704c. The output shaft of the motor 704c is coupled to a torque sensor 744c. The torque sensor 744c is coupled to a transmission 706c, which is coupled to the shaft 740. The transmission 706c includes a movable mechanical element, such as a rotating element, to control the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 740 up to and beyond 360 degrees. In one aspect, the motor 704c is coupled to a rotational transmission assembly including a tubular gear segment formed on (or attached to) the proximal end of the proximal closure tube to be operably engaged by a rotational gear assembly operably supported on the tool mounting plate. The torque sensor 744c provides a rotational force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The rotational force feedback signal is indicative of the rotational force applied to the shaft 740. The position sensor 734 may be configured to provide the position of the closure member as a feedback signal to the control circuit 710. An additional sensor 738, such as a shaft encoder, may provide the rotational position of the shaft 740 to the control circuit 710.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to articulate the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides motor settings to a motor control 708d, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704d. The output shaft of the motor 704d is coupled to a torque sensor 744d. The torque sensor 744d is coupled to a transmission 706d, which is coupled to the articulation member 742a. The transmission 706d includes a movable mechanical element, such as an articulation element, for controlling the ±65° articulation of the end effector 702. In one aspect, the motor 704d is coupled to an articulation nut, which is rotatably journaled on a proximal end portion of the distal spine portion and rotatably driven by an articulation gear assembly on the proximal end portion of the distal spine portion. The torque sensor 744d provides an articulation force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The articulation force feedback signal is indicative of the articulation force applied to the end effector 702. A sensor 738, such as an articulation encoder, may provide the articulation position of the end effector 702 to the control circuit 710.

In another aspect, the articulation function of the robotic surgical system 700 may include two articulation members, or linkages 742a, 742b. These articulation members 742a, 742b are driven by separate disks on a robot interface (rack) driven by two motors 704d, 704e. When a separate firing motor 704a is provided, each of the articulation linkages 742a, 742b may be driven antagonistically relative to the other linkage to provide resistive holding motion and loading to the head when the head is not moving, and to provide articulation motion when the head is articulating. The articulation members 742a, 742b are attached to the head at a fixed radius as the head rotates. Thus, as the head rotates, the mechanical efficiency of the push-pull linkage changes. This change in mechanical efficiency may be more pronounced with other articulation linkage drive systems.

In one aspect, one or more of the motors 704a-704e may comprise brushed DC motors with gearboxes and mechanical connections to the firing members, closure members, or articulation members. Another example includes electric motors 704a-704e operating moving mechanical elements such as displacement members, articulation connections, closure tubes, and shafts. External influences are the unmeasured and unpredictable influences of things such as tissue, surroundings, and friction on a physical system. Such external influences may be referred to as drags that act against one of the electric motors 704a-704e. External influences such as drags may cause the operation of a physical system to deviate from the desired operation of the physical system.

In one aspect, the position sensor 734 may be implemented as an absolute positioning system. In one aspect, the position sensor 734 may comprise a magnetic rotary absolute positioning system implemented as an AS5055EQFT single chip magnetic rotary position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 734 may provide an absolute positioning system in conjunction with the control circuit 710. The position may include multiple Hall effect elements located above a magnet and coupled to a CORDIC processor, also known as the digit-by-digit and Boulder algorithms, which are provided to implement simple and efficient algorithms for calculating hyperbolic and trigonometric functions, requiring only addition, subtraction, bit shifting, and table lookup operations.

In one aspect, the control circuitry 710 may be in communication with one or more sensors 738. The sensors 738 may be positioned on the end effector 702 and adapted to operate with the robotic surgical instrument 700 to measure various derived parameters, such as gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 738 may comprise magnetic sensors, magnetic field sensors, strain gauges, load cells, pressure sensors, force sensors, torque sensors, inductive sensors such as eddy current sensors, resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, optical sensors, and/or any other suitable sensors for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 702. The sensors 738 may include one or more sensors. The sensors 738 may be located on the deck of the staple cartridge 718 to determine the position of the tissue using segmented electrodes. The torque sensors 744a-744e may be configured to sense forces, such as firing forces, closure forces, and/or articulation forces, among others. Thus, the control circuit 710 can sense (1) the closure load experienced by the distal closure tube and its position, (2) the firing member in the rack and its position, (3) which portion of the staple cartridge 718 has tissue thereon, and (4) the load and position on both articulation rods.

In one aspect, the one or more sensors 738 may include a strain gauge, such as a micro strain gauge, configured to measure the magnitude of strain in the anvil 716 during the clamping condition. The strain gauge provides an electrical signal that varies in amplitude with the magnitude of strain. The sensor 738 may include a pressure sensor configured to detect pressure generated by the presence of compressed tissue between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718. The sensor 738 may be configured to detect the impedance of a tissue portion located between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718, which impedance is indicative of the thickness and/or fullness of the tissue located therebetween.

In one aspect, the sensor 738 may be implemented as one or more limit switches, electromechanical devices, solid-state switches, Hall effect devices, magnetoresistive (MR) devices, giant magnetoresistive (GMR) devices, magnetometers, among others. In other implementations, the sensor 738 may be implemented as a solid-state switch that operates under the influence of light, such as a light sensor, an IR sensor, an ultraviolet sensor, among others. Additionally, the switch may be a solid-state device such as a transistor (e.g., FET, junction FET, MOSFET, bipolar, etc.). In other implementations, the sensor 738 may include a non-conductor-containing switch, an ultrasonic switch, an accelerometer, and an inertial sensor, among others.

In one aspect, the sensor 738 may be configured to measure the force exerted by the closure drive system on the anvil 716. For example, one or more sensors 738 may be located at an interaction point between the closure tube and the anvil 716 to detect the closure force exerted by the closure tube on the anvil 716. The force exerted on the anvil 716 may be representative of tissue compression experienced by tissue portions captured between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718. One or more sensors 738 may be positioned at various interaction points along the closure drive system to detect the closure force exerted by the closure drive system on the anvil 716. The one or more sensors 738 may be sampled in real time during the clamping operation by a processor of the control circuitry 710. The control circuitry 710 receives the real time sample measurements to provide and analyze time-based information to assess the closure force exerted on the anvil 716 in real time.

In one aspect, a current sensor 736 can be used to measure the current drawn by each of the motors 704a-704e. The force required to advance any of the moving mechanical elements, such as the I-beam 714, corresponds to the current drawn by one of the motors 704a-704e. The force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the control circuit 710. The control circuit 710 can be configured to simulate the response of the actual system of the instrument in the controller software. The displacement member can be actuated to move the I-beam 714 in the end effector 702 at or near a target velocity. The robotic surgical instrument 700 can include a feedback controller, which can be any one of any feedback controllers, including, but not limited to, a PID, a state feedback, a linear quadratic (LQR), and/or an adaptive controller. The robotic surgical instrument 700 can include a power supply to convert the signal from the feedback controller into a physical input, such as, for example, a case voltage, a PWM voltage, a frequency modulated voltage, a current, a torque, and/or a force. Further details are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 15/636,829, entitled "CLOSED LOOP VELOCITY CONTROL TECHNIQUES FOR ROBOTIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENT," filed June 29, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

18 illustrates a block diagram of a surgical instrument 750 programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the surgical instrument 750 is programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member, such as an I-beam 764. The surgical instrument 750 includes an anvil 766, an I-beam 764 (including a sharp cutting edge), and an end effector 752 that may include a removable staple cartridge 768.

The position, movement, displacement, and/or translation of a linear displacement member, such as the closure member 764, may be measured by an absolute positioning system, a sensor arrangement, and a position sensor 784. Because the I-beam 764 is coupled to a longitudinally movable drive member, the position of the I-beam 764 may be determined by measuring the position of the longitudinally movable drive member using the position sensor 784. Thus, in the following description, the position, displacement, and/or translation of the I-beam 764 may be achieved by the position sensor 784 described herein. The control circuitry 760 may be programmed to control the translation of a displacement member, such as the I-beam 764. In some embodiments, the control circuitry 760 may include one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other suitable processors for executing instructions that cause a processor or processors to control a displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, in the manner described. In one aspect, the timer/counter 781 provides an output signal, such as an elapsed time or a digital count, to the control circuit 760 to correlate the position of the I-beam 764 determined by the position sensor 784 with the output of the timer/counter 781 so that the control circuit 760 can determine the position of the I-beam 764 at a particular time (t) relative to a starting position. The timer/counter 781 may be configured to measure elapsed time, count external events, or measure the time of an external event.

The control circuitry 760 may generate a motor set point signal 772. The motor set point signal 772 may be provided to the motor controller 758. The motor controller 758 may include one or more circuits configured to provide a motor drive signal 774 to the motor 754 to drive the motor 754 as described herein. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushed DC electric motor. For example, the speed of the motor 754 may be proportional to the motor drive signal 774. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushless DC electric motor, and the motor drive signal 774 may include a PWM signal provided to one or more stator windings of the motor 754. Also, in some examples, the motor controller 758 may be omitted, and the control circuitry 760 may directly generate the motor drive signal 774.

The motor 754 may receive power from an energy source 762. The energy source 762 may be or may include a battery, a supercapacitor, or any other suitable energy source. The motor 754 may be mechanically coupled to the I-beam 764 via a transmission 756. The transmission 756 may include one or more gears or other coupling components for coupling the motor 754 to the I-beam 764. The position sensor 784 may sense the position of the I-beam 764. The position sensor 784 may be or may include any type of sensor capable of generating position data indicative of the position of the I-beam 764. In some examples, the position sensor 784 may include an encoder configured to provide a series of pulses to the control circuit 760 as the I-beam 764 translates in the distal and proximal directions. The control circuit 760 may track the pulses to determine the position of the I-beam 764. Other suitable position sensors may be used, including, for example, a proximity sensor. Other types of position sensors may provide other signals indicative of the movement of the I-beam 764. Also, in some embodiments, the position sensor 784 may be omitted. If the motor 754 is a stepper motor, the control circuitry 760 may track the position of the I-beam 764 by summing the number and direction of steps the motor 754 is commanded to take. The position sensor 784 may be located in the end effector 752 or in any other part of the instrument.

The control circuitry 760 may be in communication with one or more sensors 788. The sensors 788 may be positioned on the end effector 752 and adapted to operate with the surgical instrument 750 to measure various derived parameters, such as gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 788 may include magnetic sensors, magnetic field sensors, strain gauges, pressure sensors, force sensors, inductive sensors such as eddy current sensors, resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, optical sensors, and/or any other suitable sensors for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 752. The sensors 788 may include one or more sensors.

The one or more sensors 788 may include a strain gauge, such as a micro strain gauge, configured to measure the magnitude of strain in the anvil 766 during the clamping condition. The strain gauge provides an electrical signal that varies in amplitude with the magnitude of strain. The sensor 788 may include a pressure sensor configured to detect pressure generated by the presence of compressed tissue between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. The sensor 788 may be configured to detect the impedance of a tissue portion located between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768, which impedance is indicative of the thickness and/or fullness of the tissue located therebetween.

The sensor 788 may be configured to measure the force exerted on the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. For example, one or more sensors 788 may be located at an interaction point between the closure tube and the anvil 766 to detect the closure force exerted on the anvil 766 by the closure tube. The force exerted on the anvil 766 may be representative of tissue compression experienced by tissue portions captured between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. One or more sensors 788 may be positioned at various interaction points along the closure drive system to detect the closure force exerted on the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. The one or more sensors 788 may be sampled in real time during the clamping operation by a processor of the control circuit 760. The control circuit 760 receives the real time sample measurements to provide and analyze time-based information to assess the closure force exerted on the anvil 766 in real time.

A current sensor 786 can be used to measure the current drawn by the motor 754. The force required to advance the I-beam 764 corresponds to the current drawn by the motor 754. The force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the control circuit 760.

The control circuitry 760 may be configured to simulate the response of the actual system of the instrument in the controller software. The displacement member may be actuated to move the I-beam 764 in the end effector 752 at or near a target velocity. The surgical instrument 750 may include a feedback controller, which may be any one of any feedback controllers, including, but not limited to, a PID, state feedback, LQR, and/or adaptive controller. The surgical instrument 750 may include a power supply to convert the signal from the feedback controller into a physical input, such as, for example, a case voltage, a PWM voltage, a frequency modulated voltage, a current, a torque, and/or a force.

The actual drive system of the surgical instrument 750 is configured to drive the displacement member, cutting member, or I-beam 764 by a brushed DC motor with a gearbox and mechanical linkage to the articulation and/or knife system. Another example is an electric motor 754 operating, for example, the displacement member and articulation driver of an interchangeable shaft assembly. External influences are the unmeasured and unpredictable influences of things such as tissue, surroundings, and friction on the physical system. Such external influences may be referred to as impediments that act against the electric motor 754. External influences such as impediments may cause the operation of the physical system to deviate from the desired operation of the physical system.

Various exemplary aspects are directed to a surgical instrument 750 comprising an end effector 752 having a motor-driven surgical stapling and cutting means. For example, a motor 754 may drive a displacement member in a distal and proximal direction along a longitudinal axis of the end effector 752. The end effector 752 may include a pivotable anvil 766 and, if configured for use, a staple cartridge 768 positioned opposite the anvil 766. A clinician may grasp tissue between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768 as described herein. When the instrument 750 is ready to be used, the clinician may provide a firing signal, for example, by pressing a trigger of the instrument 750. In response to the firing signal, the motor 754 may drive the displacement member in a distal direction along a longitudinal axis of the end effector 752 from a proximal start-of-stroke position to an end-of-stroke position distal to the start-of-stroke position. As the displacement member translates distally, the I-beam 764 having a cutting element positioned at its distal end can cut tissue between the staple cartridge 768 and the anvil 766.

In various embodiments, the surgical instrument 750 may include a control circuit 760 programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member, such as, for example, an I-beam 764, based on one or more tissue conditions. The control circuit 760 may be programmed to sense tissue conditions, such as thickness, either directly or indirectly, as described herein. The control circuit 760 may be programmed to select a firing control program based on the tissue condition. The firing control program may describe the distal motion of the displacement member. Different firing control programs may be selected to better handle different tissue conditions. For example, when thicker tissue is present, the control circuit 760 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a slower speed and/or with lower power. When thinner tissue is present, the control circuit 760 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a higher speed and/or with higher power.

In some embodiments, the control circuit 760 may initially operate the motor 754 in an open loop configuration for a first open loop portion of the stroke of the displacement member. Based on the response of the instrument 750 during the open loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 760 may select a firing control program. The response of the instrument may include the translation distance of the displacement member during the open loop portion, the time elapsed during the open loop portion, the energy provided to the motor 754 during the open loop portion, the total pulse width of the motor drive signal, etc. After the open loop portion, the control circuit 760 may implement the selected firing control program for a second portion of the displacement member stroke. For example, during the closed loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 760 may modulate the motor 754 in a closed loop manner based on translation data describing the position of the displacement member to translate the displacement member at a constant velocity. Further details are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 15/720,852, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A DISPLAY OF A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT," filed September 29, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

19 is a schematic diagram of a surgical instrument 790 configured to control various functions, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the surgical instrument 790 is programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member, such as an I-beam 764. The surgical instrument 790 includes an end effector 792 that may include an anvil 766, an I-beam 764, and a removable staple cartridge 768 that may be replaced with an RF cartridge 796 (shown in dashed lines).

In one aspect, the sensor 788 may be implemented as a limit switch, an electromechanical device, a solid-state switch, a Hall effect device, an MR device, a GMR device, a magnetometer, among others. In other implementations, the sensor 638 may be a solid-state switch that operates under the influence of light, such as a light sensor, an IR sensor, an ultraviolet sensor, among others. Additionally, the switch may be a solid-state device, such as a transistor (e.g., FET, junction FET, MOSFET, bipolar, etc.). In other implementations, the sensor 788 may include a non-conductor-containing switch, an ultrasonic switch, an accelerometer, and an inertial sensor, among others.

In one aspect, the position sensor 784 may be implemented as an absolute positioning system including a magnetic rotary absolute positioning system implemented as an AS5055EQFT single chip magnetic rotary position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 784 may provide an absolute positioning system in conjunction with the control circuit 760. The position may include multiple Hall effect elements located above a magnet and coupled to a CORDIC processor, also known as the digit-by-digit and Boulder algorithms, which are provided to implement simple and efficient algorithms for calculating hyperbolic and trigonometric functions, requiring only addition, subtraction, bit shifting, and table lookup operations.

In one aspect, the I-beam 764 may be implemented as a knife member including a knife body operatively supporting a tissue cutting blade thereon, and may further include anvil engagement tabs or features and track engagement features or feet. In one aspect, the staple cartridge 768 may be implemented as a standard (mechanical) surgical fastener cartridge. In one aspect, the RF cartridge 796 may be implemented as an RF cartridge. These and other sensor configurations are described in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/628,175, entitled "TECHNIQUES FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF MOTOR VELOCITY OF A SURGICAL STAPLING AND CUTTING INSTRUMENT," filed Jun. 20, 2017, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The position, movement, displacement, and/or translation of a linear displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, can be measured by an absolute positioning system, sensor arrangement, and position sensor, represented as position sensor 784. Because the I-beam 764 is coupled to a longitudinally movable drive member, the position of the I-beam 764 can be determined by measuring the position of the longitudinally movable drive member using the position sensor 784. Thus, in the following description, the position, displacement, and/or translation of the I-beam 764 can be achieved by the position sensor 784 described herein. As described herein, the control circuitry 760 may be programmed to control the translation of a displacement member, such as the I-beam 764. In some embodiments, the control circuitry 760 may include one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other suitable processors for executing instructions that cause a processor or processors to control a displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, in the manner described. In one aspect, the timer/counter 781 provides an output signal, such as an elapsed time or a digital count, to the control circuit 760 to correlate the position of the I-beam 764 determined by the position sensor 784 with the output of the timer/counter 781 so that the control circuit 760 can determine the position of the I-beam 764 at a particular time (t) relative to a starting position. The timer/counter 781 may be configured to measure elapsed time, count external events, or measure the time of an external event.

The control circuitry 760 may generate a motor set point signal 772. The motor set point signal 772 may be provided to the motor controller 758. The motor controller 758 may include one or more circuits configured to provide a motor drive signal 774 to the motor 754 to drive the motor 754 as described herein. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushed DC electric motor. For example, the speed of the motor 754 may be proportional to the motor drive signal 774. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushless DC electric motor, and the motor drive signal 774 may include a PWM signal provided to one or more stator windings of the motor 754. Also, in some examples, the motor controller 758 may be omitted, and the control circuitry 760 may directly generate the motor drive signal 774.

The motor 754 may receive power from an energy source 762. The energy source 762 may be or may include a battery, a supercapacitor, or any other suitable energy source. The motor 754 may be mechanically coupled to the I-beam 764 via a transmission 756. The transmission 756 may include one or more gears or other coupling components for coupling the motor 754 to the I-beam 764. The position sensor 784 may sense the position of the I-beam 764. The position sensor 784 may be or may include any type of sensor capable of generating position data indicative of the position of the I-beam 764. In some examples, the position sensor 784 may include an encoder configured to provide a series of pulses to the control circuit 760 as the I-beam 764 translates in the distal and proximal directions. The control circuit 760 may track the pulses to determine the position of the I-beam 764. Other suitable position sensors may be used, including, for example, a proximity sensor. Other types of position sensors may provide other signals indicative of the movement of the I-beam 764. Also, in some embodiments, the position sensor 784 may be omitted. If the motor 754 is a stepper motor, the control circuitry 760 may track the position of the I-beam 764 by summing the number and direction of steps the motor is commanded to take. The position sensor 784 may be located in the end effector 792 or in any other part of the instrument.

The control circuitry 760 may be in communication with one or more sensors 788. The sensors 788 may be positioned on the end effector 792 and adapted to operate with the surgical instrument 790 to measure various derived parameters, such as gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 788 may include magnetic sensors, magnetic field sensors, strain gauges, pressure sensors, force sensors, inductive sensors such as eddy current sensors, resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, optical sensors, and/or any other suitable sensors for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 792. The sensors 788 may include one or more sensors.

The one or more sensors 788 may include a strain gauge, such as a micro strain gauge, configured to measure the magnitude of strain in the anvil 766 during the clamping condition. The strain gauge provides an electrical signal that varies in amplitude with the magnitude of strain. The sensor 788 may include a pressure sensor configured to detect pressure generated by the presence of compressed tissue between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. The sensor 788 may be configured to detect the impedance of a tissue portion located between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768, which impedance is indicative of the thickness and/or fullness of the tissue located therebetween.

The sensor 788 may be configured to measure the force exerted on the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. For example, one or more sensors 788 may be located at an interaction point between the closure tube and the anvil 766 to detect the closure force exerted on the anvil 766 by the closure tube. The force exerted on the anvil 766 may be representative of tissue compression experienced by tissue portions captured between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. One or more sensors 788 may be positioned at various interaction points along the closure drive system to detect the closure force applied to the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. The one or more sensors 788 may be sampled in real time during the clamping operation by a processor of the control circuit 760. The control circuit 760 receives the real time sample measurements to provide and analyze time-based information to evaluate the closure force exerted on the anvil 766 in real time.

A current sensor 786 can be used to measure the current drawn by the motor 754. The force required to advance the I-beam 764 corresponds to the current drawn by the motor 754. The force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the control circuit 760.

The RF energy source 794 is coupled to the end effector 792 and is applied to the RF cartridge 796 when the RF cartridge 796 is loaded into the end effector 792 in place of the staple cartridge 768. The control circuitry 760 controls the delivery of RF energy to the RF cartridge 796.

Further details are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 15/636,096, entitled "SURGICAL SYSTEM COUPLABLE WITH STAPLE CARTRIDGE AND RADIO FREQUENCY CARTRIDGE, AND METHOD OF USING SAME," filed June 28, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

20 is a simplified block diagram of a generator 800 configured to provide, among other advantages, inductorless tuning. Additional details of the generator 800 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,775, issued June 23, 2015, entitled "SURGICAL GENERATOR FOR ULTRASONIC AND ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The generator 800 may include a patient-isolated stage 802 in communication with a non-isolated stage 804 via a power transformer 806. The secondary winding 808 of the power transformer 806 is housed within the isolation stage 802 and may include a tap configuration (e.g., center tap or non-center tap configuration) to define drive signal outputs 810a, 810b, 810c for delivering drive signals to various surgical instruments, such as ultrasonic surgical instruments, RF electrosurgical instruments, and multifunction surgical instruments including ultrasonic and RF energy modes that can be delivered alone or simultaneously. Specifically, the drive signal outputs 810a, 810c may output an ultrasonic drive signal (e.g., a 420V root mean square (RMS) drive signal) to an ultrasonic surgical instrument, and the drive signal outputs 810b, 810c may output an RF electrosurgical drive signal (e.g., a 100V RMS drive signal) to an RF electrosurgical instrument, with the drive signal output 810b corresponding to the center tap of the power transformer 806.

In certain configurations, ultrasonic and electrosurgical drive signals may be provided simultaneously to separate surgical instruments and/or to a single surgical instrument, such as a multifunction surgical instrument capable of delivering both ultrasonic and electrosurgical energy to tissue. It will be understood that the electrosurgical signals provided to either the dedicated electrosurgical instrument and/or the combined multifunction ultrasonic/electrosurgical instrument may be either therapeutic or sub-therapeutic level signals, with the sub-therapeutic signals being used, for example, to monitor tissue or instrument conditions and provide feedback to the generator. For example, ultrasonic and RF signals may be delivered separately or simultaneously from a generator having a single output port to provide a desired output signal to the surgical instrument, as discussed in more detail below. Thus, the generator may combine ultrasonic and electrosurgical RF energy to deliver a combined energy to the multifunction ultrasonic/electrosurgical instrument. Bipolar electrodes may be positioned on one or both jaws of the end effector. One jaw may be driven by ultrasonic energy in addition to electrosurgical RF energy, working simultaneously. Ultrasonic energy may be used to cut tissue, and electrosurgical RF energy may be used to seal blood vessels.

The non-isolated stage 804 may include a power amplifier 812 having an output connected to a primary winding 814 of the power transformer 806. In one particular embodiment, the power amplifier 812 may include a push-pull amplifier. For example, the non-isolated stage 804 may further include a logic device 816 for providing a digital output to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit 818, which then provides a corresponding analog signal to the input of the power amplifier 812. In one particular embodiment, the logic device 816 may include, for example, a programmable gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), among other logic circuits. Thus, the logic device 816 may control any of a number of parameters (e.g., frequency, waveform, waveform amplitude) of the drive signal appearing at the drive signal output 810a, 810b, 810c by controlling the input of the power amplifier 812 via the DAC circuit 818. In certain aspects, as described below, the logic unit 816, in conjunction with a processor (e.g., a DSP, as described below), can implement a number of DSP-based and/or other control algorithms to control parameters of the drive signal output by the generator 800.

Power may be provided to the power rails of the power amplifier 812 by a switch-mode regulator 820, e.g., a power converter. In one particular embodiment, the switch-mode regulator 820 may include, for example, an adjustable buck regulator. The non-isolated stage 804 may further include a first processor 822, which in one embodiment may include, for example, a DSP processor, such as an Analog Devices ADSP-21469 SHARC DSP available from Analog Devices (Norwood, MA), although in various embodiments any suitable processor may be used. In a particular embodiment, the DSP processor 822 may control the operation of the switch-mode regulator 820 in response to voltage feedback data that the DSP processor 822 receives from the power amplifier 812 via the ADC circuit 824. In one embodiment, for example, the DSP processor 822 may receive as an input via the ADC circuit 824 the waveform envelope of the signal (e.g., an RF signal) amplified by the power amplifier 812. The DSP processor 822 may then control the switch-mode regulator 820 (e.g., a PWM output) so that the rail voltage supplied to the power amplifier 812 tracks the waveform envelope of the amplified signal. By dynamically modulating the rail voltage of the power amplifier 812 based on the waveform envelope, the efficiency of the power amplifier 812 may be significantly improved over a fixed rail voltage amplifier scheme.

In certain forms, the logic unit 816, together with the DSP processor 822, may implement a digital synthesis circuit, such as a direct digital synthesizer control scheme, to control the waveform shape, frequency and/or amplitude of the drive signal output by the generator 800. In one form, for example, the logic unit 816 may implement a DDS control algorithm by calling waveform samples stored in a dynamically updated look-up table (LUT), such as a RAM LUT that may be embedded in an FPGA. This control algorithm is particularly useful in ultrasonic applications where an ultrasonic transducer, such as an ultrasonic transducer, may be driven by a well-defined sinusoidal current at its resonant frequency. Minimizing or reducing the total distortion of the operating branch current can correspondingly minimize or reduce undesirable resonant effects, since other frequencies may excite parasitic resonances. Because the waveform of the drive signal output by the generator 800 is affected by various sources of distortion present in the output drive circuit (e.g., power transformer 806, power amplifier 812), voltage and current feedback data based on the drive signal may be input to an algorithm, such as an error control algorithm implemented by the DSP processor 822, which compensates for the distortion by suitably pre-distorting or modifying the waveform samples stored in the LUT on a dynamic, on-the-fly basis (e.g., real-time). In one form, the amount or degree of pre-distortion applied to the LUT samples may be based on the error between the calculated motion branch current and the desired current waveform, the error being determined on a sample-by-sample basis. In this manner, the pre-distorted LUT samples, when processed by the drive circuit, may result in a motion branch drive signal having a desired waveform shape (e.g., sinusoidal) to optimally drive the ultrasonic transducer. In such a form, the LUT waveform samples thus do not represent the desired waveform of the drive signal, but rather the waveform required to ultimately generate the desired waveform of the motion branch drive signal when considering the distortion effects.

The non-isolated stage 804 may further include a first ADC circuit 826 and a second ADC circuit 828 coupled to the output of the power transformer 806 via corresponding isolation transformers 830, 832 to sample the voltage and current, respectively, of the drive signal output by the generator 800. In certain embodiments, the ADC circuits 826, 828 may be configured to sample at a high speed (e.g., 80 megasamples per second (MSPS)) to allow oversampling of the drive signal. In one embodiment, for example, the sampling rate of the ADC circuits 826, 828 may allow for approximately 200x (depending on frequency) oversampling of the drive signal. In certain embodiments, the sampling operation of the ADC circuits 826, 828 may be performed by a single ADC circuit that receives the input voltage and current signals via a bidirectional multiplexer. The use of high speed sampling in the form of generator 800 may allow, among other things, the calculation of complex currents flowing through the motional branches (which may be used in certain forms to implement the DDS-based waveform shape control described above), accurate digital filtering of the sampled signals, and calculation of real power consumption with high precision. The voltage and current feedback data output by ADC circuits 826, 828 may be received and processed by logic unit 816 (e.g., first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffers, multiplexers, etc.) and stored in a data memory, for example, for subsequent retrieval by DSP processor 822. As noted above, the voltage and current feedback data may be used as input to an algorithm to pre-distort or modify the LUT waveform samples on a dynamic and ongoing basis. In certain forms, this may require that when a voltage and current feedback data pair is obtained, each stored voltage and current feedback data pair is indexed based on or otherwise associated with the corresponding LUT sample output by logic unit 816. Synchronizing the LUT samples with the voltage and current feedback data in this manner contributes to precise timing and stability of the predistortion algorithm.

In certain configurations, the voltage and current feedback data may be used to control the frequency and/or amplitude (e.g., current amplitude) of the drive signal. For example, in one configuration, the voltage and current feedback data may be used to determine the impedance phase. The frequency of the drive signal may then be controlled to minimize or reduce the difference between the determined impedance phase and the impedance phase setpoint (e.g., 0°), thereby minimizing or reducing the effects of harmonic distortion and correspondingly improving the measurement accuracy of the impedance phase. The determination of the phase impedance and frequency control signal may be implemented, for example, in the DSP processor 822, with the frequency control signal being provided as an input to a DDS control algorithm implemented by the logic device 816.

In another embodiment, for example, current feedback data may be monitored to maintain the current amplitude of the drive signal at a current amplitude set point. The current amplitude set point may be directly specified or indirectly determined based on specified voltage amplitude and power set points. In a particular embodiment, control of the current amplitude may be implemented by a control algorithm, such as, for example, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm in the DSP processor 822. To suitably control the current amplitude of the drive signal, variables controlled by the control algorithm may include, for example, scaling of the LUT waveform samples stored in the logic device 816 and/or the full-scale output voltage of the DAC circuit 818 (which provides an input to the power amplifier 812) via the DAC circuit 834.

The non-isolated stage 804 may further include a second processor 836 to provide, among other things, user interface (UI) functionality. In one form, the UI processor 836 may include, for example, an Atmel AT91SAM9263 processor with an ARM 926EJ-S core, available from Atmel Corporation, San Jose, California. Examples of UI functions supported by the UI processor 836 may include audible and visual user feedback, communication with peripheral devices (e.g., via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface), communication with foot switches, communication with input devices (e.g., touch screen displays), and communication with output devices (e.g., speakers). The UI processor 836 may communicate with the DSP processor 822 and the logic device 816 (e.g., SPI bus). The UI processor 836 may primarily support UI functionality, but in certain configurations, the UI processor 836 may also cooperate with the DSP processor 822 to provide hazard mitigation. For example, the UI processor 836 may be programmed to monitor various aspects of user input and/or other input (e.g., touch screen input, foot switch input, temperature sensor input) and may disable the drive output of the generator 800 when an erroneous condition is detected.

In certain configurations, both the DSP processor 822 and the UI processor 836 may, for example, determine and monitor the operating state of the generator 800. With respect to the DSP processor 822, the operating state of the generator 800 may represent, for example, which control and/or diagnostic processes are implemented by the DSP processor 822. With respect to the UI processor 836, the operating state of the generator 800 may represent, for example, which elements of the UI (e.g., display screen, sound) are provided to the user. The DSP processor 822 and the UI processor 836 may each separately maintain the current operating state of the generator 800 and recognize and evaluate possible transitions from the current operating state. The DSP processor 822 may act as a master in this relationship and determine when transitions between operating states occur. The UI processor 836 may recognize valid transitions between operating states and may verify that a particular transition is appropriate. For example, when the DSP processor 822 commands the UI processor 836 to transition to a particular state, the UI processor 836 may verify that the requested transition is valid. If the requested transition between states is determined by the UI processor 836 to be invalid, the UI processor 836 may place the generator 800 in a failure mode.

The non-isolated stage 804 may further include a controller 838 for monitoring input devices (e.g., capacitive touch sensors used to turn the generator 800 on and off, capacitive touch screen). In certain forms, the controller 838 may include at least one processor and/or other controller device in communication with the UI processor 836. In one form, for example, the controller 838 may include a processor (e.g., a Meg168 8-bit controller available from Atmel) configured to monitor user input provided via one or more capacitive touch sensors. In one form, the controller 838 may include a touch screen controller (e.g., a QT5480 touch screen controller available from Atmel) for controlling and managing the acquisition of touch data from the capacitive touch screen.

In certain forms, when the generator 800 is in the "power off" state, the controller 838 may continue to receive operating power (e.g., via a line from a power source of the generator 800, such as the power source 854 described below). In this manner, the controller 838 may continue to monitor an input device (e.g., a capacitive touch sensor located on the front panel of the generator 800) for turning the generator 800 on and off. When the generator 800 is in the power off state, the controller 838 may activate the power source (e.g., enable operation of one or more DC/DC voltage transformers 856 of the power source 854) if activation of the "on/off" input device by a user is detected. Thus, the controller 838 may initiate a sequence to transition the generator 800 to the "power on" state. Conversely, if activation of the "on/off" input device is detected when the generator 800 is in the power on state, the controller 838 may initiate a sequence to transition the generator 800 to the power off state. For example, in certain configurations, the controller 838 may report activation of an "on/off" input device to the UI processor 836, which then implements the process sequence necessary to transition the generator 800 to a powered off state. In such configurations, the controller 838 may not have an independent capability to remove power from the generator 800 after the generator 800's powered on state has been established.

In certain forms, the controller 838 may cause the generator 800 to provide audible or other sensory feedback to alert the user that a power on or power off sequence has begun. Such an alert may be provided at the start of the power on or power off sequence and prior to the start of other processes associated with the sequence.

In certain configurations, the isolated stage 802 may include an instrument interface circuit 840 to provide a communication interface between, for example, the surgical instrument's control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry including handpiece switches) and components of the non-isolated stage 804, such as, for example, the logic device 816, the DSP processor 822, and/or the UI processor 836. The instrument interface circuit 840 may exchange information with components of the non-isolated stage 804 via a communication link that maintains a suitable degree of electrical isolation between the isolated stage 802 and the non-isolated stage 804, such as, for example, an IR-based communication link. For example, the instrument interface circuit 840 may be powered using a low dropout voltage regulator powered by an isolation transformer driven from the non-isolated stage 804.

In one form, the instrument interface circuit 840 may include a logic circuit 842 (e.g., logic circuit, programmable logic circuit, PGA, FPGA, PLD) in communication with a signal conditioning circuit 844. The signal conditioning circuit 844 may be configured to receive a periodic signal (e.g., a 2 kHz square wave) from the logic device 842 to generate a bipolar interrogation signal having the same frequency. The interrogation signal may be generated, for example, using a bipolar current source fed by a differential amplifier. The interrogation signal may be communicated to a surgical instrument control circuit (e.g., using a conductor pair in a cable connecting the generator 800 to the surgical instrument) and monitored to determine the state or configuration of the control circuit. The control circuit may include a number of switches, resistors, and/or diodes and may modify one or more characteristics (e.g., amplitude, rectification) of the interrogation signal such that the state or configuration of the control circuit is individually identifiable based on one or more characteristics. For example, in one form, the signal conditioning circuitry 844 may include an ADC circuit to generate samples of the voltage signal appearing across an input of the control circuit resulting from the path traversed by the interrogation signal. The logic circuitry 842 (or components of the non-isolated stage 804) may then determine a state or configuration of the control circuit based on the ADC circuit samples.

In one form, the instrument interface circuit 840 may include a first data circuit interface (DCI) 846 to enable the exchange of information between the logic circuit 842 (or other elements of the instrument interface circuit 840) and a first data circuit disposed in or otherwise associated with the surgical instrument. In certain forms, for example, the first data circuit may be disposed in a cable or adapter integrally attached to the surgical instrument handpiece to interface a particular surgical instrument type or model with the generator 800. The first data circuit may be implemented in any suitable manner and may communicate with the generator according to any suitable protocol, including, for example, those described herein with respect to the first data circuit. In certain forms, the first data circuit may include a non-volatile storage device, such as an EEPROM device. In certain forms, the first data circuit interface 846 may be implemented separately from the logic circuit 842 and may include suitable circuitry (e.g., separate logic, processor) to enable communication between the logic circuit 842 and the first data circuit. In other embodiments, the first data circuit interface 846 may be integral with the logic circuit 842.

In certain configurations, the first data circuit may store information regarding the particular surgical instrument with which the first data circuit is associated. Such information may include, for example, a model number, a serial number, the number of operations in which the surgical instrument was used, and/or any other type of information. This information may be read by the instrument interface circuit 840 (e.g., by logic circuit 842) and communicated to components of the non-isolated stage 804 (e.g., logic unit 816, DSP processor 822, and/or UI processor 836) for presentation to a user via an output device and/or for control of the function or operation of the generator 800. In addition, any type of information may be communicated to the first data circuit (e.g., using logic circuit 842) for internal storage via the first data circuit interface 846. Such information may include, for example, the most recent number of operations in which the surgical instrument was used and/or the date and/or time of its use.

As noted above, surgical instruments may be removable from the handpiece to facilitate instrument interchangeability and/or disposability (e.g., multi-function surgical instruments may be removable from the handpiece). In such cases, conventional generators may be limited in their ability to recognize the particular instrument configuration being used and correspondingly optimize their control and diagnostic processes. However, adding readable data circuitry to the surgical instrument to address this issue is problematic from a compatibility standpoint. For example, designing a surgical instrument to be backward compatible with a generator lacking the necessary data read functionality may not be practical due to, for example, different signaling schemes, design complexity, and expense. The instrument configurations discussed herein address these concerns by economically using data circuitry that may be implemented in existing surgical instruments and minimizing design changes to maintain compatibility of the surgical instrument with modern generator platforms.

Additionally, configurations of the generator 800 may allow for communication with an instrument-based data circuit. For example, the generator 800 may be configured to communicate with a second data circuit housed within the instrument (e.g., a multifunction surgical instrument). In some configurations, the second data circuit may be implemented in many similar ways to that of the first data circuit described herein. The instrument interface circuit 840 may include a second data circuit interface 848 that allows for this communication. In one configuration, the second data circuit interface 848 may include a tri-state digital interface, although other interfaces may also be used. In certain configurations, the second data circuit may generally be any circuit for transmitting and/or receiving data. In one configuration, for example, the second data circuit may store information regarding the particular surgical instrument with which the second data circuit is associated. Such information may include, for example, a model number, a serial number, the number of operations the surgical instrument has been used in, and/or any other type of information.

In some forms, the second data circuit may store information regarding electrical and/or ultrasonic characteristics of the associated ultrasonic transducer, end effector, or ultrasonic drive system. For example, the first data circuit may indicate a burn-in frequency slope, as described herein. Additionally or alternatively, any type of information may be communicated (e.g., using logic circuit 842) to the second data circuit for internal storage via second data circuit interface 848. Such information may include, for example, the most recent number of operations the instrument was used for, and/or the date and/or time of its use. In certain forms, the second data circuit may transmit data acquired by one or more sensors (e.g., instrument-based temperature sensors). In certain forms, the second data circuit may receive data from the generator 800 and provide an indication (e.g., a light emitting diode indication or other visual indication) to the user based on the received data.

In certain forms, the second data circuit and the second data circuit interface 848 may be configured such that communication between the logic circuit 842 and the second data circuit can be effected without the need to provide additional conductors for this purpose (e.g., dedicated conductors in the cable connecting the handpiece to the generator 800). In one form, a one-wire bus communication scheme implemented on existing cable wiring can be used to convey information to and from the second data circuit, for example, one of the conductors used transmits an interrogation signal from the signal conditioning circuit 844 to the control circuitry in the handpiece. In this way, design changes or modifications to the surgical instrument that may otherwise be required are minimized or reduced. Furthermore, because different types of communications carried out on a common physical channel can be frequency band separated, the presence of the second data circuit is "invisible" to generators that do not have the necessary data reading capabilities, thus enabling backward compatibility of the surgical instrument.

In certain configurations, the isolation stage 802 may include at least one blocking capacitor 850-1 connected to the drive signal output 810b to avoid passing DC current to the patient. A single blocking capacitor may be required, for example, to comply with medical regulations or standards. Although failure in a single capacitor design is relatively rare, such failure may nevertheless have negative consequences. In one configuration, a second blocking capacitor 850-2 may be provided in series with the blocking capacitor 850-1, and leakage from a point between the blocking capacitors 850-1 and 850-2 is monitored, for example, by an ADC circuit 852 to sample the voltage induced by the leakage current. The samples may be received, for example, by the logic circuit 842. Based on the change in leakage current (as indicated by the voltage sample), the generator 800 can determine when at least one of the blocking capacitors 850-1, 850-2 has failed, thus providing an advantage over a single capacitor design having a single point of failure.

In certain forms, the non-isolated stage 804 may include a power supply 854 for delivering DC power at a suitable voltage and current. The power supply may include, for example, a 400 W power supply for delivering a 48 VDC system voltage. The power supply 854 may further include one or more DC/DC voltage converters 856 for receiving the output of the power supply and generating a DC output at the voltage and current required by the various components of the generator 800. As described above in connection with the controller 838, one or more of the DC/DC voltage converters 856 may receive input from the controller 838 when activation of an "on/off" input device by a user is detected by the controller 838, allowing operation or activation of the DC/DC voltage converters 856.

21 shows an example of a generator 900, which is a form of generator 800 (FIG. 20). The generator 900 is configured to deliver multiple energy modalities to a surgical instrument. The generator 900 provides RF and ultrasonic signals, either alone or simultaneously, for delivering energy to the surgical instrument. The RF and ultrasonic signals may be provided alone or in combination, and may be provided simultaneously. As described above, at least one generator output can deliver multiple energy modalities (e.g., ultrasonic, bipolar or monopolar RF, irreversible and/or reversible electroporation, and/or microwave energy, among others) through a single port, which signals can be delivered individually or simultaneously to an end effector to treat tissue.

The generator 900 comprises a processor 902 coupled to a waveform generator 904. The processor 902 and waveform generator 904 are configured to generate various signal waveforms based on information stored in a memory (not shown for clarity of disclosure) coupled to the processor 902. Digital information related to the waveform is provided to the waveform generator 904 which includes one or more DAC circuits to convert the digital input to an analog output. The analog output is fed to an amplifier 1106 for signal conditioning and amplification. The conditioned and amplified output of the amplifier 906 is coupled to a power transformer 908. The signal is coupled across the power transformer 908 to a secondary on the patient isolated side. A first signal of a first energy modality is provided between terminals labeled ENERGY ₁ and RETURN on the surgical instrument. A second signal of a second energy modality is coupled across capacitor 910 and provided between terminals labeled ENERGY ₂ and RETURN on the surgical instrument. It will be understood that more than two energy modalities may be output, and thus the subscript "n" may be used to indicate that up to n ENERGYn terminals may be provided, where n is a positive integer greater than 1. It will also be understood that up to "n" return paths (RETURNn) may be provided without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

A first voltage sense circuit 912 is coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY ₁ and RETURN paths and measures the output voltage therebetween. A second voltage sense circuit 924 is coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY ₂ and RETURN paths and measures the output voltage therebetween. A current sense circuit 914 is disposed in series with the RETURN section of the secondary side of the illustrated power transformer 908 to measure the output current of either energy modality. If different return paths are provided for each energy modality, a separate current sense circuit must be provided in each return section. The outputs of the first voltage sense circuit 912 and the second voltage sense circuit 924 are provided to corresponding isolation transformers 916, 922, and the output of the current sense circuit 914 is provided to another isolation transformer 918. The outputs of the isolation transformers 916, 928, 922 on the primary side (non-patient isolated side) of the power transformer 908 are provided to one or more ADC circuits 926. The digitized output of the ADC circuit 926 is provided to the processor 902 for further processing and calculations. Output voltage and output current feedback information can be used to adjust the output voltage and current provided to the surgical instrument and to calculate output impedance, among other parameters. Input/output communication between the processor 902 and the patient isolation circuitry is provided through an interface circuit 920. Sensors may also be in electrical communication with the processor 902 via the interface circuit 920.

In one aspect, the impedance may be determined by the processor 902 by dividing the output of either the first voltage sense circuit 912 coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY ₁ /RETURN or the second voltage sense circuit 924 coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY ₂ /RETURN by the output of a current sense circuit 914 placed in series with the RETURN section on the secondary side of the power transformer 908. The outputs of the first voltage sense circuit 912 and the second voltage sense circuit 924 are provided to separate isolation transformers 916, 922, and the output of the current sense circuit 914 is provided to another isolation transformer 916. Digitized voltage and current sense measurements from the ADC circuit 926 are provided to the processor 902 to calculate the impedance. By way of example, the first energy modality ENERGY ₁ may be ultrasonic energy and the second energy modality ENERGY ₂ may be RF energy. Yet, in addition to ultrasonic energy modalities and bipolar or monopolar RF energy modalities, other energy modalities include irreversible and/or reversible electroporation and/or microwave energy, among others. Also, while the example illustrated in FIG. 21 shows that a single return path RETURN may be provided to two or more energy modalities, in other aspects, multiple return paths RETURNn may be provided to each energy modality ENERGYn. Thus, as described herein, the impedance of the ultrasonic transducer may be measured by dividing the output of the first voltage sensing circuit 912 by the current sensing circuit 914, and the impedance of the tissue may be measured by dividing the output of the second voltage sensing circuit 924 by the current sensing circuit 914.

As shown in FIG. 21 , a generator 900 including at least one output port can include a power transformer 908 with a single output and multiple taps to provide power to an end effector in the form of one or more energy modalities, such as, for example, ultrasonic, bipolar or monopolar RF, irreversible and/or reversible electroporation, and/or microwave energy, among others, depending on the type of tissue treatment being performed. For example, the generator 900 can deliver energy with either monopolar or bipolar RF electrosurgical electrodes, at high voltage and low current to drive an ultrasonic transducer, at low voltage and high current to drive an RF electrode for tissue sealing, or in a coagulation waveform for spot coagulation. The output waveform from the generator 900 can be directed, switched, or filtered to provide the frequency to the end effector of the surgical instrument. The connection to the generator 900 output of the ultrasonic transducer would preferably be located between the output labeled ENERGY ₁ and RETURN as shown in FIG. 21 . In one embodiment, the RF bipolar electrode connection to the generator 900 output would preferably be located between the output labeled ENERGY ₂ and RETURN. In the case of a monopolar output, the preferred connection would be an active electrode (e.g., a pencil or other probe) to suitable return pads connected to the ENERGY ₂ and RETURN outputs.

Further details are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0086914, published March 30, 2017, entitled "TECHNIQUES FOR OPERATING GENERATOR FOR DIGITALLY GENERATING ELECTRICAL SIGNAL WAVEFORMS AND SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

22 illustrates a surgical instrument 29000 according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In the aspect shown in FIG. 22, the surgical instrument includes a handle 29002, a bendable shaft assembly 29004, an end effector 29006, a motor (not visible through the outer surface of the handle 29002), and a flexible circuit 29008. Although FIG. 22 illustrates the surgical instrument 29000 as having a bendable shaft assembly 29004, it will be understood that according to other aspects, the surgical instrument 29000 may include a shaft assembly having an articulation joint instead of a bendable portion.

FIG. 23 illustrates a shaft assembly 29005 of a surgical instrument 29000 according to at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 23, the shaft assembly 29005 includes an articulation joint 29010 and is coupled to an end effector 29006 including a first jaw 29012 and a second jaw 29014, at least one of which is configured to pivot between an open position and a closed position to clamp tissue between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014. Although the end effector 29006 is illustrated as including a staple cartridge 29016, it will be understood that according to other aspects, the end effector 29006 may include an electrode instead of or in addition to the staple cartridge 29016.

24 illustrates the flexible circuit 29008 of the surgical instrument 29000 of FIG. 22. The flexible circuit 2900 resides in the handle 29002, shaft assembly 29004/29005, and end effector 29006 and includes a processor 29018, logic elements 29020, conductive traces 29022, and conductive pads 29024. Although only one processor 29018 and one logic element 29020 are shown in FIG. 23, it will be understood that the flexible circuit 29008 may include any number of processors 29018 and/or logic elements 29020. The conductive pads 29024 are configured to connect to other components of the surgical instrument 29000, such as sensing devices, motors (see conductive pads A and B in FIG. 24), and slip rings (see conductive pads C and D in FIG. 24), as described above. The conductive traces 29022 carry signals from sensors, signals to and from the processing unit 29018, signals to and from the logic elements 29020, signals to and from the control circuitry, signals to the motors, etc. Although not shown for simplicity, the flexible circuit 29008 may also include a substrate, one or more insulating layers, and an overlay. The processing unit 29018, logic elements 29020, etc. may be mounted on a substrate, and the conductive traces 29022 and conductive pads 29024 may be patterned on/across the substrate. One or more insulating layers electrically insulate the conductive traces from one another. The overlay covers the insulating layers and/or the processing unit 29018, logic elements 29020, conductive traces 29022, and conductive pads 29024. The flexible circuit 29008 may be single sided as shown in FIG. 24, double sided, or multi-layered. The conductive traces 29022 and conductive pads 29024 may include copper, gold, tin, and/or other suitable conductive materials.

According to various aspects, to insulate the conductive traces 29022 from the high frequency energy delivered by the surgical instrument 29000, the flexible circuit 29008 includes electromagnetic shielding (e.g., guard traces or guard rings) that block high frequency electromagnetic radiation and/or minimize signal crosstalk between the various conductive traces 29022. The electromagnetic shielding need not be included in the entire flexible circuit 29008. For example, according to various aspects, the electromagnetic shielding may be positioned only in selected locations of the flexible circuit 29008 to protect the conductive traces 29022 from undesirable effects or signals caused by an external high frequency generator or magnet. For simplicity, the electromagnetic shielding is not shown in FIG. 24.

The flexible circuit 29008 includes both a rigid portion 29026 and a flexible portion 29028. Thus, the flexible circuit 29008 may also be referred to as a rigid-flex circuit. The rigid portion 29026 may be reinforced and configured not to bend/flex to any significant extent. The rigid portion 29026 includes portions of the conductive traces 29022 and may also include, for example, one or more processors 29018, one or more integrated circuits, one or more logic elements 29020, and/or conductive pads 29024 as shown in FIG. 24. The actual positioning of devices such as non-chip gates and other logic elements 29020 allows for low-level decision-making (e.g., distributed processing) local to the actuators of the surgical instrument 29000.

According to various aspects, a first rigid portion 29026 of the flexible circuit 29008 proximal to the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005 includes an interlocking mechanism 29030 configured to snap into a recess 29032 defined by a first channel retainer 29034 (see FIG. 25 ), and a second rigid portion 29026 of the flexible circuit 29008 distal to the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005 includes an interlocking mechanism configured to snap into a recess defined by a second channel retainer. 24 for simplicity, but it will be understood that other than positioning (proximal vs. distal to the articulation joint), the interlocking feature of the second rigid portion may be similar or identical to the interlocking feature 29030 of the first rigid portion 29026, the second channel retainer may be similar or identical to the first channel retainer 29034, and the recess of the second channel retainer may be similar or identical to the recess 29032 of the first channel retainer 29034. The first and second channel retainers 29034 are fixed within the surgical instrument 29000 and do not move relative to the surgical instrument 29000. The snap-fit connection between the rigid portion 29026 and the channel retainer 29034 allows the flexible circuit 29008 to be attached to the surgical instrument 29000 and prevents the flexible circuit 29008 from "falling out" of position when the surgical instrument 29000 needs to be moved in various directions and/or when the flexible circuit 29008 is subjected to various forces.

The flexible portion 29028 is configured to bend and fold as needed. For example, in the case of a flexible portion 29028 aligned with an active bending portion of the shaft assembly 20004 of the surgical instrument 29000 or an articulating portion of the shaft assembly 29005, the flexible portion 29028 must be similarly foldable to prevent undesirable stresses on the flexible portion 29028 and/or failure of the flexible portion 29028. Similarly, if the flexible portion 29028 needs to step across a mechanical component of the surgical instrument 29000 (e.g., an articulating rod of the surgical instrument), the flexible portion 29028 of the flexible circuit 29008 makes this possible (see, e.g., FIG. 23). When the flexible circuit 29008 is subjected to a force, twist, or deformation, the flexible portion 29028 allows the flexible circuit 29008 to bend more in one direction than in another direction, thereby preventing damage to the flexible circuit 29008 due to the load.

The flexible portion 29028 includes portions of the conductive traces 29022 and may be stepped to cross one or more mechanical components as described above and/or may be folded in certain potentially high stress areas (e.g., within an active bending portion of the shaft assembly 29004 as shown in FIG. 22 or within an articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005) to enhance maneuverability, strength, and/or resistance to failure.

According to various aspects, the cross-section of each of the conductive traces 29022 may vary throughout the flexible circuit 29008, even though the conductive traces 29022 still have the same or substantially similar current carrying capacity. The height (h) or thickness of each of the conductive traces 29022 may be altered, and/or the width (w) of each of the conductive traces 29022 may also be altered. For example, for a given conductive trace 29022 present in both the rigid portion 29026 and the flexible portion 29028, the height (h) of the conductive trace 29022 may be greater in the rigid portion 29026 than in the flexible portion 29028, and the width (W) of the conductive trace 29022 may be greater in the flexible portion 29028 than in the rigid portion 29026. The combination of a lower height and a greater width in the flexible portion 29028 allows the conductive trace 29022 to better withstand high stresses introduced by movements such as articulation and/or jaw closing movements. The length L shown in FIG. 24 represents the length of the articulating portion of the shaft assembly 29005 relative to the conductive trace 29022 aligned with the articulation joint 29010.

Figure 26 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the flexible circuit 29008 along line A-A in Figure 24, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The portion of the flexible circuit 29008 along line A-A is distal to the bent portion of the shaft assembly 29004/articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005 and may be considered a rigid portion 29026. As shown in Figures 24 and 26, the flexible circuit 29008 is not separated along line A-A and the corresponding conductive traces 29022 in this portion of the flexible circuit 29008 have a height h _a and a width W _a .

Figure 27 illustrates a cross-section of the flexible circuit 29008 along line B-B in Figure 24, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The portion of the flexible circuit 29008 along line B-B is proximal to the bend portion of the shaft assembly 29004/articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005 and may be considered the flexible portion 29028. As shown in Figures 24 and 27, the flexible circuit 29008 defines a separation or opening 29036 along line B-B, with the corresponding conductive traces 29022 in this portion of the flexible circuit 29008 having a height h _b and a width W _b .

26 and 27, it is apparent that the height (h _a ) of the portion of the corresponding conductive trace 29022 along line A-A (the portion of the conductive trace 29022 in rigid portion 29026) is greater than the height (h _b ) of the corresponding portion of the conductive trace 29022 along line B-B (the portion of the conductive trace 29022 in flexible portion 29028). Similarly, it is also apparent that the width (W a ) of the portion of the corresponding conductive trace 29022 along line A-A (the portion of the conductive trace 29022 in rigid portion 29026) is less than the width (W _b ) of the corresponding portion of the conductive trace 29022 along line B-B (the portion of the conductive trace 29022 in flexible portion 29028). In other words, h _a >h _b and W _a <W _{b ,} as shown in FIG.

In aspects of the surgical instrument 29000 that include an articulation joint 29010 within the shaft assembly 29005, for the portion of the flexible circuit 29008 that passes through the articulation joint 29010 (flexible portion 29028 of the flexible circuit 29008), the portion of the corresponding conductive trace 29022 is shorter/thinner and wider than the portion of the corresponding conductive trace 29022 in the rigid portion 29026 that is adjacent distal to the flexible portion 29028. While conventional wires in this region typically must be augmented with strain relief, the conductive traces 29022 of the flexible circuit 29008 in this region are made shorter/thinner and wider so that the conductive traces 29022 of this flexible portion 29028 can have the same current carrying capacity as those in the rigid portion 29026 while increasing their flexibility. In view of the above, it will be appreciated that the flexible portion 29028 of the flexible circuit 29008 may be aligned with the pivot axis of the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005, thereby allowing the flexible circuit 29008 to bend up to 90° (or more) relative to the longitudinal axis 29038 of the shaft assembly 29005 and/or the surgical instrument 29000. Similar functionality may be achieved for portions of the flexible circuit 29008 that pass through the pivot joint of the end effector 29006 and/or the first and/or second jaw 29012, 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. In this manner, the flexible circuit 29008 can be seen to include elements having a variable cross-section (e.g., conductive traces 29022) that are aligned with joints of the surgical instrument 29000 (e.g., the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005 and/or the pivot joint of the end effector 29006).

22, for the portion of the flexible circuit 29008 that passes through the bendable portion of the shaft assembly 29004 (or through the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005), the flexible circuit 29008 may be folded on either side of the separation or opening 29040 in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 22. The folding on either side of the separation or opening 29040, and the flexibility of the conductive traces 29022, allows a wider portion of the conductive traces 29022 of the flexible portion 29028 to fit within the limited area available within the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005.

According to various aspects, the flexible circuit 29008 may include a torsion or strain relief portion 29042 incorporated into the flexible circuit 29008. As shown in FIG. 22, according to various aspects, the torsion or strain relief portion 29042 may be positioned between the rigid portion 29026 including the interlocking mechanism 29030 and the flexible portion 29028 passing through the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005. The torsion or strain relief portion 29042 allows the flexible circuit 29008 to first attach to the first channel retainer 29034 (along a first plane along the length of the shaft assembly 29005 proximal to the articulation joint 29010) and then twist approximately 90° relative to the first plane to articulate about an axis perpendicular to the first plane. The torsion or strain relief portion 29042 is configured to safely relieve strain imposed on the flexible circuit 29008.

By incorporating both rigid portions 29026 and flexible portions 29028 into the flexible circuit 29008 of the surgical instrument 29000, the flexible circuit 29008 can mirror the movement of the active bending portion of the shaft assembly 29004 or the articulation joint 29010 of the shaft assembly 29005 of the surgical instrument 29000 while remaining properly positioned within the surgical instrument 29000. Such a combination provides a flexible circuit 29008 that is more resistant to failure than those typically associated with the surgical instrument 29000.

28 illustrates an exploded view of the flexible electrode 29100 of the surgical instrument 29000 of FIG. 22, according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. According to various aspects, the flexible electrode 29100 can be incorporated into or at least electrically coupled to the flexible circuit 29008 of FIG. 22. Although not shown for clarity, it will be understood that the flexible electrode 29100 can be coupled to an electrosurgical generator and can receive electrosurgical energy (alternating current at RF levels) provided by the electrosurgical generator.

The flexible electrodes 29100 may be positioned on the first or second jaws 29012, 29014 of the end effector 29006 of the surgical instrument 29000 and include a therapeutic electrode 29102 and a sensing electrode 29104. The therapeutic electrode 29102 and the sensing electrode 29104 may include copper, gold, tin, or any other suitable material for conducting electricity.

The therapeutic electrode 29102 may have a rectangular shape and is configured to deliver RF energy to tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. According to various aspects, the therapeutic electrode 29102 may have a thickness in the range of about 0.003 inches.

The sensing electrodes 29104 are configured to aid in determining one or more parameters associated with tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. For example, the sensing electrodes 29104 may be configured to aid in determining the impedance of tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. By sensing the amplitude, frequency, phase shift, etc. of the current passing through the tissue, the sensing electrodes 29104 may pass a sensed "value" to a processing circuit of the surgical instrument 29000, which may then determine the impedance of the tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. An example of such a sensing electrode is described in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 5,817,093, entitled "IMPEDANCE FEEDBACK MONITOR WITH QUERY ELECTRODE FOR ELECTROSURGICAL INSTRUMENT," issued October 6, 1998, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The sensing electrode 29104 may sense continuously even when RF energy is being delivered to the tissue by the therapeutic electrode 29102 to weld the tissue. According to various aspects, the sensing electrode 29104 may have a thickness similar or the same as that of the therapeutic electrode 29102 (e.g., within about 0.003 inches).

According to various aspects, the sensing electrode 29104 may also be configured to aid in determining tissue contraction and/or temperature transition points within the tissue. For example, by sensing the amplitude, frequency, phase shift, etc., of the current passing through the tissue, the sensing electrode 29104 may pass a sensed "value" to the processing circuitry of the surgical instrument 29000, which may then utilize the sensed "value" to determine electrical continuity of the tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. The processing circuitry may then utilize the determined electrical continuity of the tissue to aid in determining tissue contraction. The sensing electrode 29104, when utilized in conjunction with the therapeutic electrode 29102, may enable detection of the approach of a transition temperature point associated with tissue welding since the sensing electrode 29104 is at a higher pressure than the therapeutic electrode 29102. By utilizing the sensing capabilities of the sensing electrodes 29104, the sensed "values" can be passed to the processing circuitry of the surgical instrument 29000, which can then utilize the sensed "values" to identify impedance events before they occur in the low pressure zone of the tissue at a temperature transition/inflection point.

The sensing electrode 29104 has a pattern shape that overlaps the therapeutic electrode 29102 and may have the same overall length and width as the therapeutic electrode 29102, but does not completely cover the therapeutic electrode 29102 due to its pattern shape. As shown in FIG. 28, according to various aspects, the sensing electrode 29104 may be patterned as a modified "E-shape" with multiple rectangular fingers 29106. When the sensing electrode 29104 overlaps the therapeutic electrode 29102, the spaces 29108 between the multiple rectangular fingers 29106 of the modified E-shape of the sensing electrode 29104 are aligned with the portions of the therapeutic electrode 29102 that remain uncovered. According to other aspects, the pattern shape of the sensing electrode 29104 may be a modified E-shape with multiple triangular fingers or other shaped fingers.

The flexible electrode 29100 also includes a first insulating layer 29110 positioned between the therapeutic electrode 29102 and the sensing electrode 29104. The first insulating layer 29110 may be patterned in the same manner as the sensing electrode 29104 (e.g., a modified E-shape with multiple rectangular fingers 29112) and is aligned with and electrically insulates the sensing electrode 29104 from the therapeutic electrode 29102. According to various aspects, the first insulating layer 29110 is coincident with the sensing electrode 29104. According to various aspects, when the first insulating layer 29110 overlaps the therapeutic electrode 29102, the spaces 29114 between the rectangular fingers 29112 of the modified E-shaped first insulating layer 29110 are aligned with the portions of the therapeutic electrode 29102 that remain uncovered and are aligned with the spaces 29108 between the rectangular fingers 29106 of the modified E-shaped sensing electrode 29104. According to other aspects, the rectangular fingers 29112 of the modified E-shaped first insulating layer 29110 may be slightly wider than the rectangular fingers 29106 of the modified E-shaped sensing electrode 29104 (see FIGS. 29 and 30 ), such that the spaces 29114 are slightly narrower than the spaces 29108. According to various aspects, the first insulating layer 29110 has a thickness in the range of approximately 0.001 inches to 0.0003 inches. The first insulating layer 29110 may comprise any suitable non-conductive material and may be more flexible than either the therapeutic electrical 29102 or the sensing electrode 29104.

The flexible electrode 29100 also includes a second insulating layer 29116 positioned to cover a surface of the therapeutic electrode 29102 opposite the surface of the therapeutic electrode 29102 that is partially covered by the first insulating layer 29110 and the sensing electrode 29104. The second insulating layer 29116 may have a rectangular shape having the same overall length and width as the therapeutic electrode 29102. According to various aspects, the second insulating layer 29116 may have a thickness in the range of about 0.0001 inches to 0.003 inches. The second insulating layer 29116 may include any suitable non-conductive material and may have a greater flexibility than either the therapeutic electrode 29102 or the sensing electrode 29104.

For clarity, only one flexible electrode 29100 is shown in FIG. 28, however, it is understood that the surgical instrument 29000 may include at least two of the flexible electrodes 29100 (e.g., one on the left side of the knife slot and one on the right side of the knife slot of the end effector 29006 of the surgical instrument 29000). In addition, it will be understood that when the flexible electrode 29100 includes multiple components and multiple layers, the flexible electrode 29100 may be considered a flexible electrode assembly and/or a multi-layer flexible electrode.

29 and 30 show plan views of a flexible electrode assembly 29200 according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The flexible electrode assembly 29200 includes two of the flexible electrodes 29100 of FIG. 28, with a first one of the flexible electrodes 29100a positioned to the left of the knife slot 29202 of the end effector 29006 of the surgical instrument 29000 and a second one of the flexible electrodes 29100b positioned to the right of the knife slot 29202. With respect to the plan views shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, the sensing electrodes 29104a and 29104b are positioned above and partially cover the therapeutic electrodes 29102a and 29102b.

The surfaces of the corresponding sensing electrodes 29104a, 29104b that may be in direct contact with tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000 are shown in dark in FIG. 29. The dark surfaces in FIG. 29 may be considered as the sensing electrode pattern. As described above, the sensing electrodes 29104 may help determine the impedance of tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. When utilized in conjunction with the therapeutic electrodes 29102, the sensing electrodes 29104 may allow for detection of the approach of the transition temperature point associated with tissue welding since the sensing electrodes 29104 are at a higher pressure than the therapeutic electrodes 29102. By utilizing the measurement capabilities of the sensing electrodes 29104, impedance events may be identified before an inflection point occurs in the low pressure zone of the tissue. In addition, the sensing electrodes 29014 may also allow for measurement of tissue contraction when electrical continuity is measured by them. By using the sensing electrode 29104 to measure continuity rather than impedance, the measured parameter may indicate tissue contraction rather than water expelled from the tissue. Additionally, the sensing electrode 29104 may be utilized to measure both tissue impedance and continuity. According to various aspects, the sensing electrode 29104 may also be used as a conductive gap spacer to control the minimum gap between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000.

The concave, discontinuous portions of the surfaces of the corresponding therapeutic electrodes 29102a, 29102b that may be in direct contact with tissue positioned between the jaws of the surgical instrument 29000 are shown in dark in FIG. 30. The dark surfaces in FIG. 30 may be considered a therapeutic electrode pattern. Due to the concave, segmented, discontinuous nature of the surfaces of the therapeutic electrodes 29102a, 29102b that may be in direct contact with tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000, the therapeutic electrodes 29102 may mitigate any undesirable tissue adhesion when the therapeutic electrodes 29102 are energized. According to various aspects, a given concave, non-continuous portion of the therapeutic electrode 29102 between two adjacent rectangular-shaped fingers 29106 of the sensing electrode 29104 can be greater in the longitudinal direction than the "length" of one of the rectangular-shaped fingers 29106 by a range of about 0.005" to 0.0008". In other words, the surface area of a given concave, non-continuous portion of the therapeutic electrode 29102 between two adjacent rectangular-shaped fingers 29106 of the sensing electrode 29104 can be greater than the surface area of one of the rectangular-shaped fingers 29106 of the sensing electrode 29104. According to various aspects, at least one of the concave, divided, non-continuous portions of the surface of the therapeutic electrode 29102 can be positioned in an offset or opposing electrode configuration and can be coupled to a current return path and thence to an electrosurgical generator.

In view of the above, it will be appreciated that the flexible electrode assembly 29200 is a multi-level flexible electrode that may measure one or more parameters associated with the surgical instrument 29000 and/or tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000 and may cauterize tissue.

31 illustrates an exploded view of the flexible electrode 29300 of the surgical instrument 29000 of FIG. 22 according to at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. The flexible electrode 29300 of FIG. 31 is similar to the flexible electrode 29100 of FIG. 28, except that the flexible electrode 29300 of FIG. 31 further includes a third insulating layer 29302 positioned to partially cover a surface of the sensing electrode 29104 opposite the surface of the sensing electrode 29104 covered by the first insulating layer 29110. The third insulating layer 29302 may have a rectangular shape having the same overall length as the sensing electrode 29104, the first insulating layer 29110, and/or the therapeutic electrode 29102, but a width less than the width of the sensing electrode 29104, the first insulating layer 29110, the therapeutic electrode 29102, and/or the second insulating layer 29116. For example, according to various aspects, the third insulating layer 29302 may have a width that covers all of the sensing electrodes 29104 except for the rectangular shaped fingers 29106. According to other aspects, the third insulating layer 29302 may have a width that does not cover the rectangular shaped fingers 29106 and only partially covers the remaining portions of the sensing electrodes 29104. According to various aspects, the third insulating layer 29302 may have a thickness in the range of about 0.0001 inches to 0.003 inches. The third insulating layer 29302 may include any suitable non-conductive material and may be more flexible than either the therapeutic electricity 29102 or the sensing electrodes 29104.

32 illustrates an end view of a flexible electrode 29400 of the surgical instrument 29000 of FIG. 22 in accordance with at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. The flexible electrode 29400 of FIG. 32 is similar to, but different from, the flexible electrode of FIG. 31. In the flexible electrode 29400 of FIG. 32, the first insulating layer 29110 extends over the left and right sides of the sensing electrode 29104 (relative to FIG. 32), the second insulating layer 29116 extends over the left and right sides of the therapeutic electrode 29102, and the third insulating layer 29302 extends over one of the sides of the sensing electrode 29104. 32 also includes an insulating material 29402 that covers one of the sides of the therapeutic electrode 29102 and one of the sides of the sensing electrode 29102 and connects together the first, second, and third insulating layers 29110, 29116, 29302. The insulating material 29402 may be similar or the same as the material of the first, second, and/or third insulating layers 29110, 29116, 29302 and may be more flexible than either the therapeutic electrode 29102 or the sensing electrode 29104. Additionally, the flexible electrode 29400 of FIG. 32 may be a layered composite structure that includes portions of the sensing electrode 29104 and/or therapeutic electrode 29102 embedded within a laminated structure that allows portions of the sensing electrode 29104 and/or therapeutic electrode 29102 to contact tissue positioned between the jaws of the surgical instrument 29000.

33 illustrates a top perspective view of the flexible electrode 29500 of the surgical instrument 29000 of FIG. 22 according to at least one other aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 33, the flexible electrode 29500 further includes an additional insulating material 29504 covering a side of the sensing electrode 29104 opposite the side covered by the insulating material 29402. The additional insulating material 29504 may be similar or identical to the material of the insulating material 29402 and the first, second, and/or third insulating layers 29110, 29116, 29302. The additional insulating material 29504 may be more flexible than either the therapeutic electrode 29102 or the sensing electrode 29104. As shown in FIG. 33, the long, thin portion 29506 of the therapeutic electrode 29104 is uncovered and may directly contact tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000. The limited surface area of the long, thin, uncovered portion 29506 of the therapeutic electrode 29104 may mitigate any undesirable tissue adhesion. Similarly, the non-continuous portion of the therapeutic electrode 29102 that is not covered by the first insulating member 29110 and/or the sensing electrode 29104 may also directly contact tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000, further mitigate any undesirable tissue adhesion.

As described above, one or more of the flexible electrodes 29100, 29200, 29300, 29400, 29500 may form part of the flexible circuit 29008 of the surgical instrument 29000. According to various aspects, the termination contact configuration may allow the flexible circuit 29008 to be easily attached or connected to other connections and/or circuits within the surgical instrument 29000. The termination contact configuration may provide strain relief to the flexible circuit 29008, which may mitigate damage to portions of the flexible circuit 29008 adjacent to the connections. The termination contact configuration may also maintain the connection watertight. According to various aspects, the termination contact configuration may be a zero insertion force (ZIF) connector that electrically connects the flexible circuit 29008 with other connections and/or circuits within the surgical instrument 29000. Such a ZIF connector may include a self-sealing connection to the fluid and provide strain relief for the portion of the flexible circuit 29008 adjacent to the ZIF connector.

By incorporating the therapeutic electrode 29102 and the sensing electrode 29104 into a flexible electrode, the flexible electrode may apply RF energy to tissue positioned between the first jaw 29012 and the second jaw 29014 of the surgical instrument 29000 while also measuring parameters associated with the tissue and/or the surgical instrument 29000. In the above configuration, the sensing electrode 29104 may continuously sense a parameter even as the therapeutic electrode 29102 applies RF energy to the tissue to weld it. In addition, due to the partial overlap of the "contact surface" of the therapeutic electrode 29102 by the sensing electrode 29104 and/or the first insulating layer 29110, the therapeutic electrode 29102 has less surface area in contact with the tissue and is therefore less likely to contribute to undesirable tissue adhesion. Furthermore, due to the inherent flexibility of the flexible electrodes, the therapeutic electrodes 29102 are less likely to experience premature failure due to undesired bending or deformation than electrodes typically associated with surgical instruments.

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein are illustrated in the following numbered examples.

Example 1 - A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The flexible circuit comprises a rigid portion and a flexible portion. The rigid portion includes an interlocking mechanism for mechanically engaging a component of the surgical instrument. The rigid portion has at least one of a processor and a logic element mounted thereon. The flexible portion is aligned with one of an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and an articulation joint of the shaft assembly.

Example 2 - A flexible circuit as described in Example 1, in which the flexible portion is configured to bend laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft assembly.

Example 3 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 1 and 2, wherein the component includes a channel retainer, the channel retainer including a recess configured to receive the rigid portion.

Example 4 - The flexible circuit of any one of Examples 1 to 3, further comprising a conductive trace.

Example 5 - A flexible circuit as described in example 4, in which the height of the conductive traces varies along the length of the conductive traces.

Example 6 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 4 and 5, wherein the width of the conductive trace varies along the length of the conductive trace.

Example 7 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 4 to 6, wherein the conductive traces vary in height along the length of the conductive traces and vary in width along the length of the conductive traces.

Example 8 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 4 to 7, wherein the height of the first portion of the conductive trace positioned on the flexible portion is less than the height of the second portion of the conductive trace positioned on the rigid portion.

Example 9 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 4 to 8, wherein the width of the first portion of the conductive trace positioned on the flexible portion is smaller than the width of the second portion of the conductive trace positioned on the rigid portion.

Example 10 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 4 to 9, wherein the height of the first portion of the conductive trace positioned on the flexible portion is less than the height of the second portion of the conductive trace positioned on the rigid portion, and the width of the first portion of the conductive trace is greater than the width of the second portion of the conductive trace.

Example 11 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the flexible circuit includes a strain relief portion.

Example 12 - A flexible circuit according to any one of Examples 1 to 11, further comprising a conductive pad.

Example 13 - A flexible circuit according to any one of Examples 1 to 12, further comprising an electromagnetic shield.

Example 14 - A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The flexible circuit comprises a rigid portion, a flexible portion, and conductive traces positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion. The rigid portion has at least one of a processing unit and a logic element mounted thereon. The flexible portion is aligned with one of an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and an articulation joint of the shaft assembly. The height and width of the conductive traces vary along the length of the surgical instrument.

Example 15 - A flexible circuit as described in Example 14, wherein the rigid portion is configured to mechanically interlock with a component of a surgical instrument.

Example 16 - The flexible circuit of example 15, wherein the component includes a channel retainer, the channel retainer including a recess configured to receive the rigid portion.

Example 17 - A flexible circuit according to any one of Examples 14 to 16, wherein the flexible portion is configured to bend laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft assembly.

Example 18 - A flexible circuit as described in any one of Examples 14 to 17, wherein the height of the first portion of the conductive trace positioned on the flexible portion is less than the height of the second portion of the conductive trace positioned on the rigid portion, and the width of the first portion of the conductive trace is greater than the width of the second portion of the conductive trace.

Example 19 - A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The flexible circuit comprises a rigid portion, a flexible portion, a conductive trace, and an electromagnetic shield. The flexible portion is aligned with one of an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and an articulation joint of the shaft assembly. The conductive trace is positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion, and the height and width of the conductive trace varies along the length of the surgical instrument.

Example 20 - The flexible circuit of Example 19, wherein the height of the first portion of the conductive trace positioned on the flexible portion is less than the height of the second portion of the conductive trace positioned on the rigid portion, and the width of the first portion of the conductive trace is greater than the width of the second portion of the conductive trace.

While several embodiments have been illustrated and described, it is not the applicant's intention to restrict or limit the appended "claims" to such details. Numerous modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, combinations, and equivalents of these embodiments can be implemented and will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the structure of each element associated with the described embodiments can alternatively be described as a means for providing the function performed by that element. Also, although materials are disclosed with respect to specific components, other materials may be used. It is therefore to be understood that the above description and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, combinations, and variations as falling within the scope of the disclosed embodiments. The appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, modifications, and equivalents.

The above detailed description has described various forms of apparatus and/or processes using block diagrams, flow charts, and/or examples. To the extent that such block diagrams, flow charts, and/or examples include one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation included in such block diagrams, flow charts, and/or examples may be implemented individually and/or collectively by a variety of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or a portion of some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein may be equivalently implemented on an integrated circuit as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or virtually any combination thereof, and that designing circuits and/or writing software and/or firmware code is within the skill of those skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subject matter described herein may be distributed as one or more program products in a variety of formats, and that the specific form of the subject matter described herein may be used regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually effect the distribution.

The instructions used to program the logic to execute the various disclosed aspects may be stored in a system memory such as DRAM, cache, flash memory, or other storage. Additionally, the instructions may be distributed over a network or by other computer-readable media. Thus, machine-readable media may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer), but is not limited to floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, as well as magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, flash memories, or tangible machine-readable storage used to transmit information over the Internet via electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, IR signals, digital signals, etc.). Thus, non-transitory computer-readable media includes any type of tangible machine-readable media suitable for storing or transmitting electronic instructions or information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).

As used throughout this description, the term "wireless" and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communication channels, etc. that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation over a non-solid medium. This term does not imply that the associated devices do not include any wires, although in some aspects they may not be present. The communication modules may implement any of a number of wireless or wired communication standards or protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, LTE, Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA, DECT, Bluetooth, Ethernet derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless and wired protocols designated 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. A computing module may include multiple communication modules. For example, the first communication module may be dedicated to short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the second communication module may be dedicated to long-range wireless communication such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, and Ev-DO.

As used in any aspect of this specification, the term "control circuitry" may refer to, for example, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry (e.g., a computer processor including one or more individual instruction processing cores, a processing unit, a processor, a microcontroller, a microcontroller unit, a controller, a DSP, a PLD, a programmable logic array (PLA), or an FPGA), a state machine circuit, firmware that stores instructions executed by the programmable circuit, and any combination thereof. The control circuitry may be embodied, collectively or individually, as circuits that form part of a larger system, such as, for example, an integrated circuit (IC), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on a chip (SoC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a server, a smartphone, etc. Thus, as used herein, a "control circuit" includes, but is not limited to, an electrical circuit having at least one discrete electrical circuit, an electrical circuit having at least one integrated circuit, an electrical circuit having at least one application specific integrated circuit, an electrical circuit forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program that at least partially executes the processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program that at least partially executes the processes and/or devices described herein), an electrical circuit forming a memory device (e.g., a form of random access memory), and/or an electrical circuit forming a communication device (e.g., a modem, a communication switch, or an optical-electrical facility). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in analog or digital form, or some combination thereof.

As used herein, a processor or processing unit is an electronic circuit that performs operations on some external data source, usually a memory or some other data stream. The term is used herein to refer to a system that combines many dedicated "processors" or the central processor (central processing unit) in a computer system (especially a SoC).

As used herein, a SoC or system on a chip (SOC) is an IC that integrates all the components of a computer or other electronic system. It can include digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often high-frequency functions, all on a single substrate. A SoC integrates a microcontroller (or microprocessor) with modern peripherals such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), Wi-Fi module, or co-processor. A SoC may or may not include built-in memory.

As used herein, a microcontroller or controller is a system that integrates a microprocessor with peripheral circuits and memory. A microcontroller (or MCU for Microcontroller Unit) may be implemented as a small computer on a single integrated circuit. This may be similar to a SoC, which may include a microcontroller as one of its components. A microcontroller may house one or more core processing units (CPUs) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of ferroelectric RAM, NOR flash, or OTP ROM, and a small amount of RAM are often also included on the chip. Microcontrollers may be employed for embedded applications, as opposed to microprocessors used in personal computers or other general purpose applications that are made up of a variety of separate chips.

As used herein, the term controller or microcontroller may be a standalone IC or chip device that interfaces with a peripheral device. It may also be the link between two parts of a computer or controller on an external device that manages the operation of (and connections to) that device.

Any of the processors or microcontrollers described herein may be any single-core or multi-core processor, such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex manufactured by Texas Instruments. In one aspect, the processor may be, for example, an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F processor core available from Texas Instruments, including 256 KB of single-cycle flash memory or other NVM up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance beyond 40 MHz, 32 KB of single-cycle SRAM, internal ROM loaded with StellarisWare® software, 2 KB of electrical EEPROM, one or more PWM modules, one or more QEI analog, or one or more 12-bit ADCs with 12 analog input channels, details of which are available in the product data sheet.

In one aspect, the processor may include a safety controller, including two controller families such as TMS570 and RM4x, also known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, manufactured by Texas Instruments. The safety controller may be specifically configured for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 safety limit applications, among others, to provide advanced integrated safety mechanisms while offering scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

As used in any aspect of this specification, the term "logic" may refer to an application, software, firmware, and/or circuitry configured to perform any of the operations described above. Software may be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instruction sets, and/or data recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions, or instruction sets, and/or hard-coded (e.g., non-volatile) data in a memory device.

When used in any aspect of this specification, the terms "component," "system," "module," etc. may refer to a computer-related entity that is either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution.

As used in any aspect of this specification, an "algorithm" refers to a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result, and the "steps" refer to the manipulation of physical quantities and/or logical states, which may, but need not, take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It is common practice to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. These and similar terms may be associated with the appropriate physical quantities or are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities and/or states.

The network may include a packet-switched network. The communication devices may communicate with each other using a selected packet-switched network communication protocol. One exemplary communication protocol may include an Ethernet communication protocol that may enable communication using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The Ethernet protocol may conform to or be compatible with the Ethernet standard entitled "IEEE 802.3 Standard" issued December 2008 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and/or later versions of this standard. Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may communicate with each other using the X.25 communication protocol. The T.25 communication protocol may conform to or be compatible with standards promulgated by the International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T). Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may communicate with each other using a frame relay communication protocol. The frame relay communication protocol may conform to or be compatible with standards promulgated by the Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) and/or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Alternatively or additionally, the transceivers may be capable of communicating with each other using an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication protocol. The ATM communications protocol may conform to or be compatible with the ATM standard published by the ATM Forum in August 2001, entitled "ATM-MPLS Network Interworking 2.0," and/or any later version of this standard. Of course, different and/or later developed connection-oriented network communications protocols are equally contemplated herein.

Unless expressly specified otherwise, as will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure, discussions throughout the foregoing disclosure using terms such as "processing," "calculating," "computing," "determining," and "displaying" will be understood to refer to the operations and processing of a computer system or similar electronic computing device that manipulates and converts data represented as physical (electronic) quantities in the registers and memory of the computer system into other data similarly represented as physical quantities in the memory or registers of the computer system or such information storage, transmission, or display devices.

One or more components may be referred to herein as being "configured to," "configurable to," "operable/operative to," "adapted/adaptable," "able to," "conformable/conformed to," and the like. Those skilled in the art will understand that "configured to" may generally encompass active and/or inactive and/or standby components, unless the context requires otherwise.

The terms "proximal" and "distal" are used herein with reference 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 be further understood that for convenience and clarity, spatial terms such as "vertical," "horizontal," "up," "down," "left," and "right" may be used herein with respect to the drawings. However, surgical instruments are used in many orientations and positions, and these terms are not intended to be limiting and/or absolute.

Modular devices include modules that can be received in a surgical hub (e.g., as described in connection with FIGS. 3 and 9 ) and surgical devices or instruments that can be connected to various modules to connect or pair with corresponding surgical hubs. Modular devices include, for example, intelligent surgical instruments, medical imaging devices, suction/irrigation devices, smoke evacuators, energy generators, ventilators, aspirators, and displays. The modular devices described herein can be controlled by a control algorithm. The control algorithm can be executed on the modular device itself, on the surgical hub to which a particular modular device is paired, or on both the modular device and the surgical hub (e.g., via a distributed computing architecture). In some examples, the control algorithm of the modular device controls the device based on data sensed by the modular device itself (i.e., by sensors in, on, or connected to the modular device). This data can relate to the patient during surgery (e.g., tissue characteristics or injection pressure) or the modular device itself (e.g., advancing knife speed, motor current, or energy level). For example, a control algorithm for a surgical stapling and severing instrument can control the speed at which the instrument's motor drives the knife through tissue based on the resistance the knife encounters as it advances.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms used herein in general, and in the appended claims in particular (e.g., the body 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.). Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that where a specific number is intended in an introduced claim recitation, such intent is clearly set forth in the claim, and in the absence of such a recitation, no such intent exists. For example, as an aid to understanding, the appended claims may include the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce the claim recitation. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed as implying that when a claim recitation is introduced by the indefinite article "a" or "an," any particular claim containing such an introduced claim recitation is limited to claims containing only one such recitation, even if the same claim contains an introductory phrase such as "one or more" or "at least one" and the indefinite article "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should generally be construed to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same applies when a definite article is used to introduce a claim recitation.

Furthermore, even when a specific number is specified in an introduced claim description, those skilled in the art will recognize that such a description should typically be interpreted to mean at least the number recited (e.g., a description of "two items" without other qualifiers generally means at least two items, or more than two items). Furthermore, when a notation similar to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, such syntax is generally intended in the sense that a person skilled in the art would understand the notation (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, both A and B, both A and C, both B and C, and/or all of A, B, and C, etc.). When a notation similar to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, such syntax is generally intended in the sense that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the notation (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" includes, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, both A and B, both A and C, both B and C, and/or all of A, B, and C, etc.). Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that any disjunctive word and/or phrase expressing two or more alternative terms should typically be understood to contemplate the possibility of including one of those terms, either of those terms, or both of those terms, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, unless the context requires otherwise. For example, the phrase "A or B" will typically be understood to include the possibility of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

With respect to the appended claims, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the recited operations herein may generally be performed in any order. Also, while flow diagrams of various operations are shown in sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in orders other than those illustrated, or may be performed simultaneously. Examples of such alternative orderings may include overlapping, interleaving, interrupting, reordering, incremental, preliminary, additional, simultaneous, reverse, or other different orderings, unless the context requires otherwise. Moreover, terms such as "responsive to," "related to," or other past tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variations, unless the context requires otherwise.

It is worth noting that any reference to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example," "an example," or the like means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," "in an example," and "in one example" in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Any patent application, patent, non-patent publication, or other disclosure material referenced herein and/or listed in any Application Data Sheet is incorporated herein by reference to the extent that the incorporated material is not inconsistent with this specification. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure material explicitly set forth in this specification shall take precedence over any conflicting statements incorporated herein by reference. Any content, or portions thereof, that conflicts with current definitions, opinions, or other disclosure material set forth herein shall be incorporated herein by reference, but only to the extent that no conflict arises between the reference material and the current disclosure material.

In summary, many benefits have been described that result from using the concepts described herein. The foregoing description of one or more embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The one or more embodiments have been selected and described in order to illustrate the principles and practical applications, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to utilize various embodiments, with various modifications, as suitable for the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the claims presented herewith define the overall scope.

[Embodiment]
(1) A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument, the flexible circuit comprising:
a rigid portion, the rigid portion including an interlock mechanism for mechanically engaging a component of the surgical instrument, the rigid portion comprising:
A processing device;
a rigid portion on which at least one of the logic elements is mounted;
A flexible portion, the flexible portion comprising:
an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
a flexible circuit comprising: an articulation joint of the shaft assembly; and a flexible portion aligned with one of the articulation joints of the shaft assembly.
(2) The flexible circuit of claim 1, wherein the flexible portion is configured to bend laterally relative to a longitudinal axis of the shaft assembly.
3. The flexible circuit of claim 1, wherein the component includes a channel retainer, the channel retainer including a recess configured to receive the rigid portion.
4. The flexible circuit of claim 1, further comprising conductive traces.
5. The flexible circuit of claim 4, wherein the height of the conductive traces varies along the length of the conductive traces.

6. The flexible circuit of claim 4, wherein a width of the conductive trace varies along a length of the conductive trace.
(7) The conductive traces include
5. The flexible circuit of claim 4, wherein the conductive traces vary in height along their length; and the conductive traces vary in width along their length.
8. The flexible circuit of claim 4, wherein a height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is less than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion.
9. The flexible circuit of claim 4, wherein a width of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is greater than a width of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion.
(10) a height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is smaller than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion;
5. The flexible circuit of claim 4, wherein a width of the first portion of the conductive trace is greater than a width of the second portion of the conductive trace.

11. The flexible circuit of claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit further comprises a strain relief portion.
12. The flexible circuit of claim 1, further comprising a conductive pad.
13. The flexible circuit of claim 1, further comprising an electromagnetic shield.
(14) A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument, comprising:
A rigid portion, the rigid portion comprising:
A processing device;
a rigid portion on which at least one of the logic elements is mounted;
A flexible portion, the flexible portion comprising:
an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
a flexible portion aligned with one of the articulation joints of the shaft assembly;
a conductive trace positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion, the height and width of the conductive trace varying along the length of the surgical instrument.
15. The flexible circuit of claim 14, wherein the rigid portion is configured to mechanically interlock with a component of the surgical instrument.

16. The flexible circuit of claim 15, wherein the component includes a channel retainer, the channel retainer including a recess configured to receive the rigid portion.
17. The flexible circuit of claim 14, wherein the flexible portion is configured to bend laterally relative to a longitudinal axis of the shaft assembly.
(18) A height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is smaller than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion;
15. The flexible circuit of claim 14, wherein a width of the first portion of the conductive trace is greater than a width of the second portion of the conductive trace.
(19) A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument, comprising:
A rigid portion;
A flexible portion, the flexible portion comprising:
an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
a flexible portion aligned with one of the articulation joints of the shaft assembly;
conductive traces positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion, the height and width of the conductive traces varying along a length of the surgical instrument;
and an electromagnetic shield.
(20) A height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is smaller than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion;
20. The flexible circuit of claim 19, wherein a width of the first portion of the conductive trace is greater than a width of the second portion of the conductive trace.

Claims (13)

1. A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument, the flexible circuit comprising:
a rigid portion, the rigid portion including an interlock mechanism for mechanically engaging a component of the surgical instrument, the rigid portion comprising:
A processing device;
a rigid portion on which at least one of the logic elements is mounted;
a flexible portion aligned with a portion configured to bend transversely relative to a longitudinal axis of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
a conductive trace;
The portion aligned with the flexible portion is
an active bending portion of the shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
an articulation joint of the shaft assembly;
1. A flexible circuit, wherein the conductive traces have the same or substantially similar current carrying capacity in the flexible portion and the rigid portion adjacent to the flexible portion, and wherein a height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is smaller than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion adjacent to the flexible portion, and a width of the first portion of the conductive trace is larger than a width of the second portion of the conductive trace, such that the flexible portion can be more resistant to high stresses due to bending. The flexible circuit of claim 1, wherein the conductive trace has a rectangular cross-section perpendicular to the length of the conductive trace at the flexible portion along the length of the conductive trace. The flexible circuit of claim 2, wherein the flexible portion has an opening extending along the length. The flexible circuit of claim 2, wherein the rigid portion adjacent the flexible portion has an increasing height and decreasing width from the flexible portion seamlessly to the rigid portion along the length such that the conductive traces have the same or substantially similar current carrying capacity along the length in the flexible portion and the rigid portion adjacent the flexible portion. The flexible circuit of claim 1, wherein the component includes a channel retainer, the channel retainer including a recess configured to receive the rigid portion. The flexible circuit of claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit further comprises a strain relief portion. The flexible circuit of claim 1 further comprising a conductive pad. The flexible circuit of claim 1, further comprising an electromagnetic shield. 1. A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument, the flexible circuit comprising:
A rigid portion, the rigid portion comprising:
A processing device;
a rigid portion on which at least one of the logic elements is mounted;
a flexible portion aligned with a portion configured to bend transversely relative to a longitudinal axis of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
conductive traces positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion;
The portion aligned with the flexible portion is
an active bending portion of the shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
an articulation joint of the shaft assembly;
1. A flexible circuit, wherein the conductive traces have the same or substantially similar current carrying capacity in the flexible portion and the rigid portion adjacent to the flexible portion, and wherein a height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is smaller than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion adjacent to the flexible portion, and a width of the first portion of the conductive trace is larger than a width of the second portion of the conductive trace, such that the flexible portion can be more resistant to high stresses due to bending. The flexible circuit of claim 9, wherein the rigid portion is configured to mechanically interlock with a component of the surgical instrument. The flexible circuit of claim 10, wherein the component includes a channel retainer, the channel retainer including a recess configured to receive the rigid portion. The flexible circuit of claim 9, wherein the flexible portion is configured to bend laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft assembly. 1. A flexible circuit for a surgical instrument, the flexible circuit comprising:
A rigid portion;
a flexible portion aligned with a portion configured to bend transversely relative to a longitudinal axis of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
conductive traces positioned on both the rigid portion and the flexible portion;
an electromagnetic shield;
The portion aligned with the flexible portion is
an active bending portion of the shaft assembly of the surgical instrument;
an articulation joint of the shaft assembly;
1. A flexible circuit, wherein the conductive traces have the same or substantially similar current carrying capacity in the flexible portion and the rigid portion adjacent to the flexible portion, and wherein a height of a first portion of the conductive trace located on the flexible portion is smaller than a height of a second portion of the conductive trace located on the rigid portion adjacent to the flexible portion, and a width of the first portion of the conductive trace is larger than a width of the second portion of the conductive trace, such that the flexible portion can be more resistant to high stresses due to bending.

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