Safety control algorithms for surgical devices, including safety control algorithms for surgical stapler devices, and associated systems, devices, and methods

A surgical stapling system, comprising:

• a surgical handle assembly including a motor, a drivetrain, and a microcontroller;
• and
• a reloadable cartridge assembly releasably secured to the surgical handle assembly, the reloadable cartridge assembly including a blade assembly and a lockout assembly,
• wherein the microcontroller is configured to:
• track a position of a distal end of the blade assembly as the distal end of the blade assembly is moved distally along a stroke of the blade assembly via actuation of the motor and the drivetrain,
• monitor current levels in the drivetrain as the distal end of the blade assembly is moved distally along the stroke,
• determine, while the position of the distal end of the blade assembly is within a first region along the stroke that is positioned proximal to a lockout detection region, a rate of change of the current levels in the drivetrain relative to the position of the distal end of the blade assembly,
• calculate, based at least in part on the rate of change, a predicted current level for when the distal end of the blade assembly is within the lockout detection region, and
• set a current limit for the drivetrain based at least in part on the predicted current level.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a surgical stapling system, cause the surgical stapling system to:

• track a position of a distal end of a blade assembly of a reloadable cartridge assembly as the distal end of the blade assembly is moved distally along a stroke of the blade assembly;
• monitor current levels in a drivetrain of the surgical stapling system as the distal end of the blade assembly is moved distally through a first region along the stroke, wherein the first region is positioned proximal to a second region along the stroke within which an obstacle to further distal movement of the distal end of the blade assembly is anticipated;
• determine a slope of a curve representing the current levels in the drivetrain versus the position of the distal end of the blade assembly while the distal end of the blade assembly is within the first region;
• predict, based at least in part on the slope, a current level that will be observed in the drivetrain when the distal end of the blade assembly reaches a point within the second region;
• and
• set a current limit for the drivetrain based at least in part on the predicted current level.