Surgical instrument with rapid post event detection

A surgical instrument, comprising:

• a handle assembly;
• a disposable end effector removably coupled to the handle assembly, the disposable end effector comprising a jaw assembly including a staple cartridge containing a plurality of staples and an anvil to form the plurality of staples upon firing;
• a drive assembly at least partially located within the handle and connected to the jaw assembly, the drive assembly comprising a lockout mechanism;
• a motor operatively coupled to the drive assembly;
• a drive circuit coupled to the motor and configured to measure a current draw of the motor;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to the motor, the controller configured to terminate the supply of electrical current to the motor in response to a drop in the current draw indicative of a failure of the lockout mechanism.

A method for controlling a surgical instrument, the method comprising:

• activating a motor operatively coupled to a disposable end effector, the disposable end effector comprising:
• a drive beam coupled to a jaw assembly comprising a staple cartridge containing a plurality of staples and an anvil to form the plurality of staples upon firing;
• and
• a lockout mechanism coupled to the drive beam and configured to transition from an unlocked state to a locked state upon retraction of the drive beam;
• measuring a current draw of the motor;
• and
• terminating supply of electric current to the motor in response to a drop off of the current draw indicative of a failure of the lockout mechanism.