PNEUMATICALLY POWERED SURGICAL CUTTING AND FASTENING INSTRUMENT WITH IMPROVED VOLUME STORAGE

摘要

A surgical instrument, a method of processing the same, and a power source for a gas driven device are provided to allow a surgeon to control and monitor the progress of a pneumatically powered surgical stapling device as it moves through firing and retraction cycles. A drive system is adapted to apply at least one actuation motion to a pneumatically powered tool when a flow of gas under pressure is received. A material storage member is fluidically coupled to the drive system, and contains a material in a first non-gaseous state that selectively vaporizes into the gas under pressure upon actuation of the drive system. The material storage member includes a cylinder, a discharge port in the cylinder, and a member located within the cylinder for preventing passage of the material in the liquid state through the discharge port while permitting passage of the material in the vapor state through the discharge port.