Systems and methods for detecting physical contact of a surgical instrument with patient tissue

A method performed by a tissue contact system comprising memory storing instructions and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to perform the method, the method comprising:

• tracking over time during a surgical session, a temperature of a surgical instrument included in a surgical system used for the surgical session;
• tracking over time during the surgical session, movement of the surgical instrument based on kinematic data associated with the surgical system;
• determining based on the tracked movement of the surgical instrument, that the surgical instrument has moved;
• determining based on the tracked temperature of the surgical instrument, that the temperature of the surgical instrument changes from a first temperature to a second temperature that varies from the first temperature by at least a predetermined amount;
• determining based on the determination that the temperature of the surgical instrument changes from the first temperature to the second temperature and the determination that the surgical instrument has moved, that the surgical instrument is in physical contact with patient tissue;
• and
• performing a mitigation operation in response to the determination that the surgical instrument is in physical contact with patient tissue.