A surgical instrument system comprising a first motor, a second motor, and a third motor is disclosed. The surgical instrument system comprises a first handle comprising a first number of controls, a second handle comprising a second number of controls, and a shaft assembly. The shaft assembly is attachable to the first handle in a first orientation in order to engage one of the motors. The shaft assembly is attachable to the second handle in a second orientation to engage a different motor. The surgical instrument system is configured to perform a different function of an end effector in the first orientation and the second orientation.

A retractor member is configured for insertion through a channel of an access member and for moving soft tissue at a treatment site that is accessible through the channel. The retractor includes a body having a proximal end and a distal end and spaced from each other along a longitudinal direction. The distal end defines a retractor blade and the body defines a first surface and a second surface opposite each other along a transverse direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The retractor includes an attachment device configured to selectively attach the body to a portion of the access member such that the body is extendable through the working channel while the body is attached to the portion of the access member.

A navigation system or combination of navigation systems can be used to provide one or more navigation modalities to track a position and navigate a single instrument in a volume. For example, both an Electromagnetic (EM) and Electropotential (EP) navigation system can be used to navigate an instrument within the volume. The two navigation systems may be used separately to selectively individually navigate the single instrument in the volume. Disclosed are also systems and processes to determine a shape of the single instrument either alone or in combination with the position of the instrument. The instrument may be navigated with the addition of tracking devices or with native or inherent portions of the instrument.

Disclosed herein are apparatus, systems, and methods for ablating tissue in a patient by electroporation. Embodiments generally include an ablation catheter having a hand, a shaft, and an electroporation electrode arrangement. The shaft has a distal end and defines a longitudinal axis of the ablation catheter. The electroporation electrode arrangement is at the distal end of the shaft and is configured to generate a multidirectional electric field when at least one pulse sequence is delivered thereto. The multidirectional electric field includes at least two of the following directions relative to the longitudinal axis: generally axial, circumferential, and transverse. The electroporation electrode arrangement is configured to operatively couple to an electroporation generator that is configured to generate the at least one pulse sequence and is configured to receive the at least one pulse sequence from the electroporation generator.

Various systems and methods for controlling an ultrasonic surgical instrument according to the location of tissue grasped within an end effector are disclosed. A control circuit can be configured to apply varying power levels, via a generator, to an ultrasonic transducer driving an ultrasonic electromechanical system to oscillate an ultrasonic blade. Further, the control circuit can measure impedances of the ultrasonic transducer corresponding to the varying power levels and determine a location of tissue positioned within the end effector according to a difference between the impedances of the ultrasonic transducer relative to a threshold.

An electrosurgical system includes a supply apparatus and a neutral electrode. A measurement signal is applied or impressed to the neutral electrode and the resulting impedance actual value (Z.sub.ist) of the neutral electrode current circuit can be determined. The measurement signal (US, IS) is applied at different measurement frequencies (ω) and one impedance actual value (Z.sub.ist) for each measurement frequency (ω) is determined. The impedance actual values characterize a frequency-dependent progress of the impedance and can be checked by a predefined frequency-dependent check criterion. It can thereby be recognized whether the conductive connection between the neutral electrode and the patient complies with the specifications defined by the check criterion. Particularly it is checked whether a sufficiently large area portion of the neutral electrode is conductively connected to the patient, so that excessive current densities in the region of the neutral electrode inside the tissue of the patient can be avoided.

An ultrasonic surgical apparatus including a first signal generator outputting a drive signal at a predetermined voltage and frequency, a first oscillating structure receiving the drive signal and oscillating at the frequency of the drive signal, and a bridge circuit, detecting the mechanical motion of the first oscillating structure and outputting a signal representative of the mechanical motion. The apparatus also includes a second oscillating structure integrally formed within a portion of the first oscillating structure, the second oscillating structure outputting an electrical signal, and a microcontroller receiving the signal output by the bridge circuit and output by the second oscillating structure, the microcontroller determining an instantaneous frequency at which the first oscillating structure is oscillating based on the received signal, comparing the electrical signal from the second oscillating structure with a known signal value and determining the temperature of the second oscillating structure based on a the comparison.

A method of adjusting a staple parameter of a surgical stapling instrument is disclosed. The method includes determining, by a control circuit of the surgical stapling instrument, a first stroke length for a first staple driver of the surgical stapling instrument to drive a first row of staples of a circular stapling head assembly of the surgical stapling instrument; detecting, by the control circuit, a malformed staple in the first row of staples; adjusting, by the control circuit, the staple parameter, based on the detection of the malformed staple; and determining, by the control circuit, a second stroke length for a second staple driver of the surgical stapling instrument to drive a second row of staples of the circular stapling head assembly.

A control device includes: an energy source configured to supply an input combined signal having a plurality of frequency components to an ultrasound transducer; a detector configured to detect an output combined signal resulting from a change of the input combined signal by a frequency response of the ultrasound transducer, and output a detected signal according to the output combined signal; and a processor configured to separate the detected signal into a plurality of frequency components; and based on the plurality of frequency components that have been separated, determine whether or not to perform a scan, and determine a resonance frequency of the ultrasound transducer.

A medical instrument is provided and includes a housing and a shaft coupled to the housing. The shaft has a proximal end and a distal end. An end-effector assembly is disposed at the distal end of the shaft. The end-effector assembly includes first and second jaw members. At least one of the first and second jaw members is movable from a first position wherein the first and second jaw members are disposed in spaced relation relative to one another to at least a second position closer to one another wherein the first and second jaw members cooperate to grasp tissue therebetween. The medical instrument also includes one or more light-emitting elements and one or more light-detecting elements configured to generate one or more signals indicative of tissue florescence. The one or more light-emitting elements are adapted to deliver light energy to tissue grasped between the first and second jaw members.