Surgical instruments employing sensors

摘要

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a surgical instrument for operating on tissue is provided. The surgical instrument includes an end effector including a first tissue engaging member and a second tissue engaging member in juxtaposed relation to the first tissue engaging member; a gap determination element operatively associated with each of the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member for measuring a gap distance between the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member; and a tissue contact determining element operatively associated with a respective tissue contacting surface of at least one of the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member. The present disclosure also relates to methods of using the surgical instrument.

主权项

1. A surgical instrument for operating on tissue, comprising:
an end effector including a first tissue engaging member and a second tissue engaging member in juxtaposed relation to the first tissue engaging member, the first tissue engaging member being movable from a first position where the first tissue engaging member is spaced from the second tissue engaging member, to a second position where the first tissue engaging member is closer to the second tissue engaging member; and a gap determination element disposed on the surgical instrument and configured to measure a gap distance between the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member; and a processor in operative communication with the gap determination element, the processor configured to measure an electrical property of the gap determination element; wherein the electrical property of the gap determination element includes at least one of capacitance, inductance, voltage, and resistance.