Identification device for surgical instrument
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorsAnthony A. Boiarski, Mark T. Byrne, Warren P. Williamson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device is provided for identifying certain characteristics of an end piece or end effector of a surgical instrument. A preferred embodiment provides a surgical stapling instrument having an electrical circuit contained on the stapling cartridge which is capable of indicating cartridge type and/or status (i.e., with or without staples) when a voltage or current is applied to the circuit.
Claims2
A cartridge containing staples for a surgical stapling instrument comprising an electrical device for indicating cartridge firing status, wherein said electrical device comprises an electrically activated fuse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.