A method of determining instability of an ultrasonic blade includes monitoring a phase angle φ between voltage Vg(t) and current Ig(t) signals applied to an ultrasonic transducer, coupled to an ultrasonic blade via an ultrasonic waveguide, inferring the blade temperature based on the phase angle φ, comparing the inferred temperature to an ultrasonic blade instability trigger point threshold, and adjusting a power level applied to the ultrasonic transducer to modulate the temperature of the blade. The method may also include determining a frequency/temperature relationship of an ultrasonic blade that exhibits a displacement or modal instability and compensating for a thermal induced instability of the ultrasonic blade. The method may be implemented in an ultrasonic surgical instrument or by a control circuit in a power generator for the ultrasonic surgical instrument.

A surgical end effector includes an anvil assembly; a cartridge assembly including a plurality of fasteners; a drive assembly movable longitudinally to approximate the anvil assembly relative to the cartridge assembly; and a strain gauge circuit disposed within the cartridge assembly, the strain gauge circuit configured to measure a strain imparted on the cartridge assembly by the drive assembly.

Various systems and methods for controlling the activation of energy surgical instruments are disclosed. An advance energy surgical instrument, such an electrosurgical instrument or an ultrasonic surgical instrument, can include one or more sensor assemblies for detecting the state or position of the end effector, arm, or other components of the surgical instrument. A control circuit can be configured to control the activation of the surgical instrument according to the state or position of the components of the surgical instrument.

A surgical instrument comprising a shaft and an end effector is disclosed. The end effector is releasably attachable to the shaft by a lock biased into a locked condition to hold the end effector to the shaft.

A method for adaptive control of surgical network control and interaction is disclosed. The surgical network includes a surgical feedback system. The surgical feedback system includes a surgical instrument, a data source, and a surgical hub configured to communicably couple to the data source and the surgical instrument. The surgical hub includes a control circuit. The method includes receiving, by the control circuit, information related to devices communicatively coupled to the surgical network; and adaptively controlling, by the control circuit, the surgical network based on the received information.

A method for downloading data from a surgical hub to a surgical instrument is disclosed. The method comprises assembling a first shaft assembly to a handle and downloading a first set of operational data from the surgical hub to the handle once the first shaft assembly is attached to the handle. The method further comprises assembling a second shaft assembly to the handle and downloading a second set of operational data from the surgical hub to the handle once the second shaft assembly is attached to the handle, wherein the second set of operational data is different than the first set of operational data.

A surgical system may include tiered-access features. The surgical system may be used to analyze at least a portion of a surgical field. Based on a control parameter, the system may scale up or down various capabilities, such as visualization processing, endocutter communication, endocutter algorithm updates, smart cartridge connectivity, smart motor control for circular stapler, smart energy control, cloud analytics, hub connectivity control, and/or hub visualization and control interactions. The control parameter may include system aspects such as processing capability or bandwidth for example and/or the identification of an appropriate service tier.

A radio frequency (RF) instrument may include a method of classifying a tissue in live time. The method may include activating the instrument for a first period of time T1 when the RF instrument contacts the tissue, plotting at least three electrical parameters associated with the tissue to classify the tissue into distinct groups, and applying a classification algorithm to classify the tissue into a distinct group in live time. The parameters may include an initial impedance of the tissue, a minimum impedance of the tissue, and an amount of time that the impedance slope is ˜0. The instrument may collect the parameters during a predetermined amount of time, such as within the first 0.75 seconds of the activation of the device. The classification algorithm may include a support vector machine algorithm that may use a linear, polynomial, or radial basis set.

A control console for a powered surgical tool. The console includes a transformer that supplies the drive signal to the surgical tool. A linear amplifier with active resistors selectively ties the ends of the transformer primary winding between ground and the open circuit state. Feedback voltages from the transformer windings regulate the resistances of the active resistors.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an endoscopic cancer treatment system capable of heating and treating only cancer tissues at pinpoint more surely, when treating a cancer in visceral organs such as a pancreatic cancer. An endoscopic cancer treatment system for heating and treating cancer tissues to be a lesion, which is used in combination with an ultrasonic endoscope used in an endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration, comprising: a heating needle provided with a heater and a temperature detecting element at tip side; and a controller for controlling the heater to a predetermined temperature based on a temperature data detected by the temperature detecting element, wherein the heating needle is configured to be inserted through an instrument insertion channel provided in an inserting section of the ultrasonic endoscope to be able to protrude or retract from a tip opening provided at a tip side of the inserting section.