A surgical anvil assembly for use with a circular stapling instrument includes an anvil center rod defining a longitudinal axis and an anvil head pivotally coupled to the anvil center rod and movable between a first operative condition and a second tilted condition. The anvil assembly further includes a locking assembly configured to selectively lock the anvil head in each of the first and second conditions.

Surgical stapling instruments are disclosed comprising missing staple cartridge and/or spent cartridge lockouts. In various instances, such lockouts are positioned in a shaft of the surgical stapling instruments.

A method of assembling an end effector for a surgical instrument includes: assembling first and second jaw members within a clevis disposed at a distal end of an outer drive shaft of a surgical instrument; inserting an end of a pivot pin including a stop on the opposite end thereof through a hole defined in a first outer wall of the clevis, through pivot bores defined within the first and second jaw members, and through a hole defined in a second outer wall of the clevis to expose a portion of the end of the pivot pin relative to the clevis; and melting the exposed portion of the end of the pivot pin to form a second stop and secure the first and second jaw members within the clevis.

A dental milling machine is provided with a tool which is guided in a chuck. A workpiece arm is mounted opposite the tool to be able to be moved at least in the direction of the spindle axis. With a control device it can be moved in relation to the workpiece, especially by means of a drive motor of the workpiece arm.

The workpiece arm has an abutment element, whereby the control device moves the tool and the abutment element towards each other until they abut each other. The control device can be used to detect abutment of the abutment element with respect to the tool, in particular with respect to its tip, in particular by decelerating the (relative) movement of the tool and the abutment element towards each another, upon contact of the tool and the abutment element. This position may be signaled as a reference position and, especially may be stored.

A sensor insertion device comprises a sheath, a handle, an operating body provided in the handle, a carrier provided below the operating body, a guide needle unit holder that provided at the lower end of the carrier and detachably holds a guide needle that guides a sensor in the insertion direction, and an arm that is rotatably supported by the cylindrical portion of the sheath. The arm has an outer end portion disposed outside the sheath and an inner end portion disposed inside the sheath. The handle has an arm operation surface that abuts on the outer end portion of the arm. The carrier has a ceiling that abuts on the inner end portion of the arm.

A system and method of force or torque limit compensation includes a surgical instrument for use with a computer-assisted medical device. The surgical instrument includes an end effector located at a distal end of the instrument, a drive unit for operating a degree of freedom of the instrument, a shaft coupled to the drive unit, and one or more drive mechanisms in the shaft for coupling force or torque from the drive unit to the end effector and the articulated wrist. To control the degree of freedom, the instrument is configured to determine a current position of the degree of freedom, determine a force or torque limit compensation based on the current position, alter one or more force or torque limits based on the force or torque limit compensation, and adjust the degree of freedom subject to the one or more force or torque limits.

An instrument can comprise an instrument body, a cross-pin, and a ring. The instrument body can be configured to be partially inserted into an intramedullary canal of a bone having a bone resection. The cross-pin can extend through the instrument body, and the ring can be movably coupled to the cross-pin and positionable on the bone resection. The ring can be configured to pivot about a longitudinal axis of the cross-pin such that an angle of the ring relative to the instrument body approximates a surface angle of the bone resection relative to the instrument body. Additional apparatus, methods, and systems are disclosed.

An access device for accessing an intervertebral disc having an outer shield comprising an access shield with a larger diameter (16-30 mm) that reaches from the skin down to the facet line, with an inner shield having a second smaller diameter (5-12 mm) extending past the access shield and reaches down to the disc level. This combines the benefits of the direct visual microsurgical/mini open approaches and the percutaneous, ultra-MIS techniques.

A surgical instrument is disclosed. The surgical instrument can include an end effector, comprising an anvil and a staple cartridge. The surgical instrument can further include a shaft defining a longitudinal axis. The surgical instrument can also include an articulation joint, wherein the end effector is rotatably connected to the shaft about the articulation joint between an unarticulated position and at least one articulated position. The surgical instrument can include means for adjusting the length of a firing stroke as a function of the degree in which the end effector is articulated relative to the longitudinal axis. The surgical instrument can include a sensor configured to defect shifting of lateral portions of a flexible firing bar that extends through the articulation joint. Additionally or alternatively, the surgical instrument can include a relief feature configured to accommodate shifting of lateral portions of a flexible firing bar.

An apparatus to limit a seating depth of a fastener can include a cylindrical housing, a pin, a driver, and a biasing element. The cylindrical housing can include a proximal portion couplable to a tool, a distal portion engageable with a workpiece, and a bore extending from an opening on the distal portion towards the proximal portion along a longitudinal axis of the housing. The pin can be secured to the housing and can extend radially inward into the bore. The driver can be translatable within the bore of the housing and can extend beyond the opening on the distal portion to engage the fastener. The driver can include a slot that can be engageable with the pin to receive a torque from the pin and can rotate with the housing to transfer the torque to a fastener when the pin engages the slot.