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US 2015/0316431 A1Published application
End-effector force measurement drive circuit
AssigneeCovidien LP
InventorsEthan Collins, John Hryb, Anthony Calderoni, John Pantazis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A surgical instrument for applying fasteners includes a drive motor, a replaceable loading unit having an end-effector assembly, and an adapter configured to releasably couple a replaceable loading unit to the drive motor. The adapter includes a strain gauge having a drive circuit coupled thereto. The strain gauge and the drive circuit are configured to directly measure a driving force in the adapter.
Claims19
A surgical instrument for applying fasteners, comprising:
- a drive motor;
- a replaceable loading unit having an end-effector assembly;
- and
- an adapter configured to releasably couple the replaceable loading unit to the drive motor, the adapter including a strain gauge having a drive circuit coupled thereto, wherein the strain gauge and the drive circuit are configured to directly measure a driving force in the adapter.
1 more element
A method of measuring a driving force in a surgical device, the method comprising:
- providing a surgical instrument for applying fasteners including an adapter configured to releasably couple a replaceable loading unit having an end-effector assembly to a drive motor, the adapter including a strain gauge coupled to a drive circuit capable of detecting excessive loads;
- and
- using the strain gauge and the drive circuit to directly measure a driving force in the adapter to obtain a force measurement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.