System and method for determining vessel size and/or edge

A surgical system comprising:

• a surgical instrument having a working end;
• at least one light emitter disposed at the working end of the surgical instrument;
• an array of light sensors disposed at the working end of the surgical instrument opposite the at least one light emitter, the array of light sensors comprising at least one row of light sensors, individual light sensors in the row of light sensors adapted to generate a signal comprising a pulsatile component and a non-pulsatile component;
• an output device;
• and
• an electronic controller coupled to the array of light sensors and the output device, the controller comprising a splitter configured to separate the pulsatile component from the non-pulsatile component and an analyzer configured to determine the magnitudes of the non-pulsatile components at the individual light sensors in the row of light sensors, to determine a pair of positions of individual light sensors corresponding to a first transition in the non-pulsatile component from a higher magnitude to a lower magnitude and a second transition in the non-pulsatile component from a lower magnitude to a higher magnitude, and to determine a resting outer diameter of the vessel based on the pair of positions, the analyzer configured to perform the foregoing with minimal delay such that the determination of the resting outer diameter may be characterized as real-time and to display or indicate the resting outer diameter to a user via the output device.