A shaft assembly is disclosed which is usable with a surgical system, such as a surgical robot and/or a handle of a surgical instrument, for example. The shaft assembly is configured to receive a rotary input motion from the surgical system and a transmission, or clutch, which is shiftable between a first operating mode and a second operating mode to selectively transmit the rotary input motion to a first drive system and a second drive system.

A surgical tool includes a drive housing that houses a plurality of drive cable capstans, an elongate shaft that extends from the drive housing, and an end effector operatively coupled to a distal end of the elongate shaft. A plurality of drive cables extend between the drive housing and the end effector, wherein each drive cable is associated with a corresponding drive cable capstan and rotation of the drive cable capstans correspondingly moves the drive cables to articulate the end effector. A manual release assembly is coupled to the drive housing and includes a release switch that is manually movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position. When the release switch is manually moved to the engaged position, the drive cable capstans are rotated to move the drive cables and thereby manually articulate the end effector.

A system and method for tracking an object within a surgical field are described. A system may include a mesh of cameras distributed around the surgical field, the mesh of cameras including, for example at least three cameras. Cameras in the mesh of cameras may be in known positions or orientations relative to the surgical field or may be mobile with position or orientation to be determined by the system. The system may include a computing system communicatively coupled to the mesh of cameras, the computing system including a processor and a memory device. The computing system may be used to generate tracking data for a tracked object from images or image data taken by one or more cameras of the mesh of cameras.

A system including a flexible catheter configured to articulate along a degree of freedom. An actuator is disposed at a proximal portion of the flexible catheter. The actuator is configured to actuate the flexible catheter along the degree of freedom. An articulation sensor is configured to provide articulation sensor signals representing articulation of the flexible catheter. An actuator sensor is configured to provide actuator sensor signals representing movement of the actuator. A controller is coupled to the actuator and configured to, based on determining that a state of a first articulation sensor signal prevents or hinders the first articulation signal from being used as a feedback signal for controlling the actuator to: determine an articulation estimate of the flexible catheter based on a model of the flexible catheter applied to a first actuator sensor signal; and, control the actuator based on the articulation estimate.

A surgical stapling instrument comprising an elongate shaft assembly that includes a surgical end effector that is operably coupled thereto by an articulation joint. The surgical instrument may include a first distal articulation driver operably coupled to the surgical end effector and a second distal articulation driver that is coupled to the surgical end effector. At least one driver member may operably engage the first and second distal articulation drivers such that when the first distal articulation driver is moved in a distal direction, the least one driver moves the second distal articulation driver in a proximal direction and when the first distal articulation driver is moved in the proximal direction, the at least one driver member moves the second distal articulation driver in the distal direction.

A method for determining the position of a rotatable jaw of an attachment relative to a non-rotatable jaw is disclosed. The method comprises assembling the attachment to a surgical robot, rotating a first rotatable driver of the robot to align the first driver with a first rotatable drive of the attachment, and rotating a second rotatable driver of the robot to align the second driver with a second rotatable drive of the attachment. The method further comprises evaluating the amount of rotation required to align the first driver with the first drive and the amount of rotation required to align the second driver with the second drive, calculating a difference between the amount of rotation of the first driver and the amount of the rotation of the second driver, and determining the position of the rotatable jaw relative to the non-rotatable jaw based on the calculated difference.

A surgical instrument comprising an end effector, a firing member, a motor, and a control circuit is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw, a second jaw movable relative to the first jaw to grasp tissue therebetween, a staple cartridge comprising staples, a first sensor at a first position of the end effector, and a second sensor at a second position of the end effector. The firing member is movable in a firing motion to deploy the staples. The motor is configured to cause the firing motion. The control circuit is configured to receive a first output of the first sensor, receive a second output of the second sensor, and cause the motor to adjust the firing motion based on the first and second outputs. The first output is indicative of a tissue property and the second output is indicative of the tissue property.

An end effector for use with a surgical stapling instrument is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw, a second jaw movable relative to the first jaw to grasp tissue therebetween, and a staple cartridge. The staple cartridge comprises staples deployable into the tissue. The end effector further comprises a magnetic sensor configured to measure a parameter indicative of an identifying characteristic of the staple cartridge, an impedance sensor configured to measure a parameter indicative of an impedance of the tissue, and a processing unit in communication with the impedance sensor. The processing unit is configured to determine a property of the tissue based on an output of the impedance sensor.

A system for controlling a first robotic arm relative to a second robotic arm is disclosed. The system includes a two robotic arms each including a surgical tool and a tool driver. A central control circuit is configured to communicate with the robotic arms to determine a position of the robotic arms and modify a control algorithm for one of the robotic arms based on the relative position of the other robotic arm.

A system for controlling a robotic arm is disclosed. The system includes a robotic arm including a surgical tool, a tool driver, and at least two sensors disposed on the robotic arm to redundantly monitor a status of the robotic arm and to verify an operational parameter of the surgical robotic tool. A central control circuit is configured to measure a first physical property of the robotic arm based on readings from the first sensor, measure a second physical property of the robotic arm based on readings from the second sensor, and determine a status of the robotic arm based on the first and second measurements of the first and second physical properties of the robotic arm.