Systems and methods of displaying a knife position for a surgical instrument

A surgical instrument comprising:

• a knife bar;
• a displacement member coupled to the knife bar, the displacement member movable between a first position and a second position;
• a sensor configured to detect a position of the displacement member and provide a signal indicative thereof;
• an electronic display screen configured to display a graphical user interface;
• a memory configured to store a home position and a terminal position of the displacement member;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to the electronic display screen and the sensor, wherein the control circuit is configured to communicate with the memory, and wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
• determine whether the knife bar is firing or not firing;
• in response to the knife bar not firing, cause the graphical user interface to display a first image;
• in response to the knife bar firing:
• receive the signal from the sensor;
• retrieve the home position and the terminal position from the memory;
• cause the graphical user interface to display a second image, the second image comprising a graphical component indicating an absolute position of the displacement member;
• repeatedly determine, based on a comparison of the signal received from the sensor to the home position retrieved from the memory, an absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the first position to the second position;
• repeatedly update the graphical component according to the determined absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the first position to the second position;
• cause the graphical user interface to display a cut line of the displacement member;
• repeatedly determine, based on a comparison of the signal received from the sensor to the terminal position retrieved from the memory, an absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the second position to the first position;
• repeatedly update the graphical component according to the determined absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the second position to the first position;
• and
• cause the graphical user interface to display instructions associated with unclamping the surgical instrument as the displacement member reaches the first position.

A method of controlling a surgical instrument comprising a displacement member movable between a first position and a second position, a sensor configured to detect a position of the displacement member and provide a signal indicative thereof, a memory configured to store a home position and a terminal position of the displacement member, and an electronic display screen configured to display a graphical user interface, the method comprising:

• determining whether the surgical instrument is in a firing state or a non-firing state;
• in the non-firing state, displaying a first image on the graphical user interface;
• in the firing state:
• receiving the signal from the sensor;
• retrieving the home position and the terminal position from the memory;
• displaying a second image on the graphical user interface, the second image comprising a graphical component indicating an absolute position of the displacement member;
• repeatedly determining, based on a comparison of the signal received from the sensor to the home position retrieved from the memory, an absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the first position to the second position;
• repeatedly updating the graphical component according to the determined absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the first position to the second position;
• displaying cut line of the displacement member on the graphical user interface;
• repeatedly determining, based on a comparison of the signal received from the sensor to the terminal position retrieved from the memory, an absolute position of the displacement member via the sensor as the displacement member moves from the second position to the first position;
• repeatedly updating the graphical component according to the determined absolute position of the displacement member as the displacement member moves from the second position to the first position;
• and
• displaying instructions associated with unclamping the surgical instrument on the graphical user interface as the displacement member reaches the first position.