Medical instrument with integral position sensor and hall effect sensor

A medical instrument comprising:

• a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, the shaft comprising:
• a lumen, and
• a shaft opening in fluid communication with an environment;
• a cutting member disposed within the lumen of the shaft and configured to rotate relative to the shaft about the longitudinal axis between an open state and a closed state, the cutting member comprising:
• a suction lumen extending along the longitudinal axis, and
• a cutting window opening in fluid communication with the suction lumen, the cutting window opening being configured to be at least partially aligned with the shaft opening to define the open state, and configured to be fully misaligned from the shaft opening to define the closed state;
• a navigation sensor coupled to the shaft, the navigation sensor being configured to generate first signals indicative of a position of the shaft in three-dimensional space;
• and
• an alignment system comprising:
• a magnet fixedly secured to the cutting member, the magnet being configured to generate a magnetic field, and
• a Hall effect sensor secured against movement relative to the shaft, the Hall effect sensor being configured to detect a magnitude of the magnetic field and to generate second signals indicative of an angular position of the cutting member relative to the shaft about the longitudinal axis.

A method of operating a surgical instrument, the method comprising:

• rotating a rotary member of the surgical instrument relative to a body of the surgical instrument about a rotational axis within an anatomical passageway of a patient, the rotary member comprising magnet configured to generate a magnetic field;
• receiving a first signal from navigation sensor coupled to the body;
• determining a position of the body in three-dimensional space based on the first signal;
• receiving a second signal from a Hall effect sensor fixedly secured to the body, the second signal being indicative of a detected magnitude of the magnetic field;
• and
• determining an angular position of the rotary member relative to the body about the rotational axis based on the second signal.