Surgical instruments with sensors for detecting tissue properties, and system using such instruments

A surgical instrument comprising:

• an optical emitter comprising first and second light sources respectively emitting different first and second spectrums of wavelengths onto the biological tissue, the first and second spectrums respectively including a broad spectrum of wavelengths and a spectrum centered at a predetermined wavelength;
• an optical filter comprising a band pass filter allowing light emitted by the biological tissue to pass;
• a first optical detector configured to detect light of the first broad spectrum of wavelengths emitted by the first light source that is reflected from the biological tissue, and a second optical detector configured to detect light emitted from the biological tissue in response to the light of the second spectrum centered at the predetermined wavelength emitted by the second light source and that is allowed to pass through the optical filter;
• and
• a processor configured to measure a parameter based on the light detected by the first and second optical detectors, and to measure a fluorescence response of light detected from the second optical detector when the second light source emits the second spectrum of wavelengths relative to a baseline response of light detected from the second optical detector when the second light source does not emit the second spectrum of wavelengths.