Surgical Instruments Employing Sensors
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a surgical instrument for operating on tissue is provided. The surgical instrument includes an end effector including a first tissue engaging member and a second tissue engaging member in juxtaposed relation to the first tissue engaging member; a gap determination element operatively associated with each of the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member for measuring a gap distance between the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member; and a tissue contact determining element operatively associated with a respective tissue contacting surface of at least one of the first tissue engaging member and the second tissue engaging member. The present disclosure also relates to methods of using the surgical instrument.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A method of performing a surgical procedure on tissue comprising the steps of:
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providing a surgical instrument including an end effector including a first tissue engaging member and a second tissue engaging member in juxtaposed relation to the first tissue engaging member; positioning the first and second tissue engaging members on opposite sides of the tissue; approximating the first and second tissue engaging members until the tissue contact determining element is engaged; recording an initial distance between the first and second tissue engaging members as an initial tissue thickness; further approximating the first and second tissue engaging members to compress the tissue therebetween; monitoring at least one of a compression force and a strain on the tissue; and terminating the approximation of the first and second tissue engaging members when at least one of the compression force and the strain on the tissue reaches a predetermined level. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification