End Effector Of A Surgical Robotic Manipulator And Method Of Operating The End Effector

A surgical robotic system comprising:

• a surgical robotic manipulator comprising a controller;
• an end effector coupleable to the surgical robotic manipulator, the end effector comprising:
• a handle;
• a mounting fixture configured to couple the handle to the surgical robotic manipulator;
• a nose tube extending along an axis;
• a rotatable cutting accessory releasably coupled to the nose tube for cutting tissue of a patient;
• an actuator coupled to the cutting accessory when the cutting accessory is coupled to the nose tube for rotatably driving the cutting accessory;
• a removeable guard releasably coupled to the cutting accessory for covering a portion of the cutting accessory;
• and
• a first circuit mounted to one of the cutting accessory or the removable guard;
• and
• a second circuit mounted to the nose tube;
• wherein the first circuit is configured to communicate data to the second circuit configured to communicate with each other;
• and
• wherein the second circuit is configured to transfer the data from the first circuit to the controller of the surgical robotic manipulator;
• wherein the controller is configured to use the data to operate the end effector.

A method of operating a cutting accessory to an end effector of a surgical robotic manipulator with the use of a guard that removably covers a portion of the cutting accessory, a first circuit disposed on one of the guard or the cutting accessory, and the end effector including a nose tube extending along an axis and supporting a second circuit, the method comprising:

• providing the cutting accessory with the guard covering a portion of the cutting accessory;
• inserting the cutting accessory into the nose tube along the axis of the nose tube to couple the cutting accessory with the nose tube;
• introducing the first circuit into communication with the second circuit;
• removing the guard from the cutting accessory.