Surgical instruments with sensors for detecting tissue properties, and system using such instruments
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a surgical instrument having a sensor for generating a signal indicative of a property of a subject tissue of a patient;
a signal processor for receiving the signal and converting the signal into a current dataset;
a memory for storing the current dataset; and
a processor configured to compare the current dataset with other datasets previously stored in the memory, and to assess a physical condition of the subject tissue or guide a current procedure being performed on the tissue, responsive to the comparison.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided that furnishes expert procedural guidance based upon patient-specific data gained from surgical instruments incorporating sensors on the instrument'"'"'s working surface, one or more reference sensors placed about the patient, sensors implanted before, during or after the procedure, the patient'"'"'s personal medical history, and patient status monitoring equipment. Embodiments include a system having a surgical instrument with a sensor for generating a signal indicative of a property of a subject tissue of the patient, which signal is converted into a current dataset and stored. A processor compares the current dataset with other previously stored datasets, and uses the comparison to assess a physical condition of the subject tissue and/or to guide a procedure being performed on the tissue.
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Citations
93 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a surgical instrument having a sensor for generating a signal indicative of a property of a subject tissue of a patient; a signal processor for receiving the signal and converting the signal into a current dataset; a memory for storing the current dataset; and a processor configured to compare the current dataset with other datasets previously stored in the memory, and to assess a physical condition of the subject tissue or guide a current procedure being performed on the tissue, responsive to the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 46, 47, 79, 80, 81)
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18. The system of claim I, further comprising a robotic manipulator for controlling the surgical instrument.
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26. A system comprising:
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a surgical instrument comprising an incident light source and a sensor for using incident light from the light source to generate a signal indicative of fluorescence of a subject tissue into which a fluorescent medium has been introduced; and a processor configured to receive the signal and to determine a tissue characteristic of the subject tissue responsive to the response of the fluorescence as indicated by the signal. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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- 32. A sensor consisting essentially of a rigid or flexible substrate and a plurality of sensing elements mounted to the substrate for monitoring a property of a living tissue.
- 39. A surgical fastening device comprising a sensor for measuring properties of and interactions with a living tissue on the fastening device.
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48. A system comprising:
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a surgical instrument having a sensor for generating a signal indicative of a property of a subject tissue of a patient; a reference measurement instrument having a sensor for measuring a reference tissue and generating a reference measurement signal; a signal processor for receiving the signal and converting the signal into a current dataset, and for receiving the reference measurement signal and converting it into a current reference dataset; a memory for storing the current dataset and the current reference dataset; and a processor configured to compare the current dataset with the current reference dataset, and to assess a physical condition of the subject tissue or guide a current procedure being performed on the tissue, responsive to the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A system for monitoring a living tissue of a patient'"'"'s body, comprising:
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a sensor implantable in the patient'"'"'s body for generating a signal indicative of a property of the tissue; a controller for receiving the signal outside the patient'"'"'s body; and a communications interface for communicating the signal from the sensor to the controller. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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- 67. A sensor comprising an attaching device removably mountable to a surgical instrument, and a plurality of sensing elements mounted to the attaching device for monitoring a property of a living tissue.
- 82. An apparatus comprising an attaching device attachable to a surgical instrument and a sensor mounted to the attaching device for monitoring the relative position of an element of the a surgical instrument.
- 89. An apparatus comprising an accessory for attachment to a surgical instrument, the accessory including a plurality of sensing elements.
Specification