A surgical device is disclosed which includes a handle portion, a central body portion and a SULU. The SULU includes a proximal body portion, an intermediate pivot member and a tool assembly. The intermediate pivot member is pivotally secured to the proximal body portion about a first pivot axis and the tool assembly is pivotally secured to the intermediate pivot member about a second pivot axis which is orthogonal to the first pivot axis. The SULU includes a plurality of articulation links which are operably connected to the tool assembly by non-rigid links. The articulation links are adapted to releasably engage articulation links positioned in the central body portion. The body portion articulation links are connected to an articulation actuator which is supported for omni-directional movement to effect articulation of the tool assembly about the first and second axes. The handle portion includes a spindle and barrel assembly drive mechanism for advancing and retracting a drive member positioned in the tool assembly. In one embodiment, the tool assembly includes a cartridge assembly having a plurality of staples and an anvil assembly.

A continuum instrument includes at least one proximal continuum and at least one distal continuum. The proximal continuum comprises a proximal base disk, a first proximal stop disk, a second proximal stop disk, a plurality of proximal structural backbones and a plurality of proximal drive backbones, with proximal ends of the plurality of proximal drive backbones being fixedly connected to the second proximal stop disk, and the plurality of proximal drive backbones passing through the first proximal stop disk and having distal ends fixedly connected to the proximal base disk. The distal continuum comprises a distal stop disk and a plurality of distal structural backbones, the plurality of distal structural backbones being connected to or integrally formed with the plurality of proximal structural backbones, and distal ends of the plurality of distal structural backbones being fixedly connected to the distal stop disk.

A computer-assisted teleoperated system includes a pre-load assembly in an instrument manipulator that is under the control of a controller. The controller can automatically cause the preload assembly to engage and disengage a preload. A surgical apparatus includes an instrument manipulator assembly and a sterile adapter assembly. The sterile adapter assembly is mounted in the distal face of the instrument manipulator assembly. When the preload assembly configures the instrument manipulator assembly to apply a preload force on the sterile adapter assembly, the sterile adapter assembly is removable from the distal face of the instrument manipulator. The sterile adapter assembly includes a mechanical sterile adapter assembly removal lockout and a mechanical instrument removal lockout.

A method for characterizing a state of an end effector of an ultrasonic device is disclosed. The ultrasonic device including an electromechanical ultrasonic system defined by a predetermined resonant frequency. The electromechanical ultrasonic system further including an ultrasonic transducer coupled to an ultrasonic blade. The method including applying, by an energy source, a power level to the ultrasonic transducer; measuring, by a control circuit coupled to a memory, an impedance value of the ultrasonic transducer; comparing, by the control circuit, the impedance value to a reference impedance value stored in the memory; classifying, by the control circuit, the impedance value based on the comparison; characterizing, by the control circuit, the state of the electromechanical ultrasonic system based on the classification of the impedance value; and adjusting, by the control circuit, the power level applied to the ultrasonic transducer based on the characterization of the state of the end effector.

An ultrasonic surgical instrument and method of deflecting an end effector includes the end effector having an ultrasonic blade, a shaft assembly defining a longitudinal axis, and a body assembly. The shaft assembly has an articulation section configured to articulate from a straight configuration to an articulated configuration and an acoustic waveguide with a flexible waveguide portion positioned within the articulation section. The body assembly proximally extends from the shaft assembly and includes a housing and a shiftable transducer. The shiftable transducer is secured to the acoustic waveguide and configured to generate an ultrasonic energy. In addition, the shiftable transducer assembly is movably mounted relative to the housing and configured to accommodate deflection of the end effector.

A steerable catheter system may include a flexible elongate catheter body, a drive mechanism at the proximal end of the catheter body, and at least one group of pullwires extending along a length of the catheter body. The catheter body may include a distal articulating section and a proximal non-articulating section. Each group of pullwires includes at least two pullwires, and each of the pullwires is anchored at a first end to the distal end of the catheter body and at a second end to the drive mechanism. The pullwires of each group are positioned close to one another in the catheter wall to concentrate the forces and cause deflection along the articulating section of the catheter body and diverge away from one another to reach a more separated distribution around a circumference of the catheter body to distribute the forces and prevent deflection along the non-articulating section.

Robotic systems and methods include a robotic manipulator and a skin incision tool to be coupled to the robotic manipulator and being configured to create an incision in skin of a patient. A skin tracker is attached to the skin of the patient to track the skin of the patient. A robotic controller controls the robotic manipulator to move the skin incision tool relative to a determined location on the skin of the patient. The robotic controller controls the robotic manipulator to constrain movement of the skin incision tool with a haptic object defined relative to the determined location to guide the skin incision tool to the determined location for making the incision in the skin.

Various surgical systems are disclosed. A surgical system can include a surgical robot and a surgical hub. The surgical robot can include a control unit in signal communication with a control console and a robotic tool. The surgical hub can include a display. The surgical hub can be in signal communication with the control unit. A facility can include a plurality of surgical hubs that communicate data from the surgical robots to a primary server. To alleviate bandwidth competition among the surgical hubs, the surgical hubs can include prioritization protocols for collecting, storing, and/or communicating data to the primary server.

Systems and methods for collision detection and avoidance are provided. In one aspect, a robotic medical system including a first set of links, a second set of links, a console configured to receive input commanding motion of the first set of links and the second set of links, a processor, and at least one computer-readable memory in communication with the processor. The processor is configured to access the model of the first set of links and the second set of links, control movement of the first set of links and the second set of links based on the input received by the console, determine a distance between the first set of links and the second set of links based on the model, and prevent a collision between the first set of links and the second set of links based on the determined distance.

A surgical tool mounted to a surgical robot includes a treatment portion including a movable part that may be displaced, a main body including a slider that generates a driving force to displace the movable part, the slider generating the driving force through reciprocating motion along a linear direction, and a manual releasing tool that, when inserted into the main body, may displace the movable part, the manual releasing tool being detachably insertable into the main body.