A shaft assembly is disclosed which is selectively attachable to a variety of surgical systems, such as a handle of a surgical instrument and an arm of a robotic system, for example. The shaft assembly comprises, one, a firing member operably couplable with the surgical systems which is configured to perform a firing stroke and, two, a manually-operable crank for retracting the firing member after a portion of the firing stroke has been performed.

The present invention relates to a redundant reciprocal tracking system composed of at least two trackers 10. A first tracker is able to sense partial or full pose data (orientation and position) of a second tracker in a first reference frame and the second tracker is able to sense partial or full pose data of the first tracker in a second reference frame. Pose data of first and second trackers are further transferred to a central processor 30, which is able to compute the transformation between first and second reference frame. Data generated by the trackers are such designed that they define an over-determined mathematical system (e.g. more than 6 degrees of freedom in a 3D setup). The over-determined information can be used to qualify and/or improve the transformation of the reference frame. In an embodiment of the invention, the tracking system is an optical one and the over-determined information defines an error metric used to check the validity of the transformation. Such setup could be used in surgical navigation system in order to reduce the risk of injury or death of the patient.

Multi-component systems and methods for determining the proximity of surgical tools to key anatomical features are provided. The inventive systems and methods can be applied in any surgical procedure requiring precision to avoid damage to key anatomical features such as nerves, with a particular example being the robotic cochlear implantation minimally invasive approach to cochlear implantation. Use of purpose built surgical robots, electromyography and tissue impedance, stereotactic tracking and drilling force/bone density measurements are all key components, with inputs from these various modalities being dynamically weighted. In the example of robotic cochlear implantation, the inventive concepts are used to provide key surgical guidance so as to avoid damage to the facial nerve and the chorda tympani, among other anatomical features.

A surgical instrument includes an anvil and an elongate channel. The elongate channel includes a plurality of first electrical contacts and a plurality of electrical connectors comprising a plurality of second electrical contacts, wherein the electrical connectors are spring-biased such that a gap is maintained between the first electrical contacts and the second electrical contacts. The surgical instrument further includes a staple cartridge releasably attachable to the elongate channel, wherein the staple cartridge has a cartridge body comprising a plurality of staple cavities, a plurality of staples deployable from the staple cavities into the tissue, and a plurality of third electrical contacts, wherein the attachment of the staple cartridge to the elongate channel moves the electrical connectors causing the second electrical contacts to bridge the gap and become electrically coupled to the first electrical contacts.

An electronic system for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The electronic system comprises a main power supply circuit configured to supply electrical power to a primary circuit. A supplementary power supply circuit configured to supply electrical power to a secondary circuit. A short circuit protection circuit coupled between the main power supply circuit and the supplementary power supply circuit. The supplementary power supply circuit is configured to isolate itself from the main power supply circuit when the supplementary power supply circuit detects a short circuit condition at the secondary circuit. The supplementary power supply circuit is configured to rejoin the main power supply circuit and supply power to the secondary circuit, when the short circuit condition is remedied.

An electronic system for a surgical instrument is disclosed. The electronic system comprises a main power supply circuit configured to supply electrical power to a primary circuit. A supplementary power supply circuit configured to supply electrical power to a secondary circuit. A short circuit protection circuit coupled between the main power supply circuit and the supplementary power supply circuit. The supplementary power supply circuit is configured to isolate itself from the main power supply circuit when the supplementary power supply circuit detects a short circuit condition at the secondary circuit. The supplementary power supply circuit is configured to rejoin the main power supply circuit and supply power to the secondary circuit, when the short circuit condition is remedied.

An end effector is disclosed comprising a cartridge channel, a staple cartridge positionable in the cartridge channel, and a firing assembly configured to lock itself if the staple cartridge is not positioned in the cartridge channel. Moreover, the firing assembly is configured to lock itself if the staple cartridge has been at least partially spent.

An electrosurgical system includes: an electrosurgical supply device, and an electrosurgical instrument, wherein the electrosurgical instrument includes a memory element that can be read out and written to by the electrosurgical supply device when the electrosurgical instrument is connected to the electrosurgical supply device, and the electrosurgical supply device is configured to write operational data to the memory element. The electrosurgical system is characterized in that the operational data is or can be stored on the memory element in a data structure which includes a first operational data element and a second operational data element, and in that the electrosurgical supply device is configured to write operational data alternately to the first operational data element or the second operational data element.

An electrosurgical system includes: an electrosurgical supply device, and an electrosurgical instrument, wherein the electrosurgical instrument includes a memory element which can be read out by the electrosurgical supply device when the electrosurgical instrument is connected to the electrosurgical supply device, and configuration data is stored on the memory element, which can be evaluated by the electrosurgical supply device in order to configure operating parameters which are compatible with the electrosurgical instrument. The electrosurgical system is characterized in that the configuration data is arranged in a flexible data structure which allows the memory element to simultaneously store multiple sets of configuration data which can be read and evaluated by different types of electrosurgical supply devices.

A surgical light head and proximity detection method includes a housing, a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in the housing and configured to direct light at a target region of interest, and a plurality of distance sensors arranged in the housing. At least two of the distance sensors have field of views that overlap to define a common detection region of interest and the common detection region of interest at least partially overlaps with the target region of interest. The light head may have a plurality of integrally formed tilted seats that position the distance sensors relative to a center line of focus of the surgical light head. The distance sensors may be integrated in the housing via an optical component that is sealed relative to the housing and covers the distance sensor while enabling transmission and receipt of distance sensing signals therethrough.