Ethicon Endo-surgery, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

Cilag International Gmbh

John N Ouwerkerk

Jerome R Morgan

Frederick E Shelton, IV

Jeffrey S Swayze

Charles J Scheib

Richard F Schwemberger

Eugene L Timperman

Dean B Bruewer

Christopher J Schall

Robert J Simms

James A Woodard, Jr

Chad Paul Boudreaux

James A Woodard

Leslie M Fugikawa

Richard L Leimbach

James R Giordano

Kevin Ross Doll

Douglas Jon Siebenaler

Frederick E Iv Shelton

James Woodard

Frederick E Shelton Iv

A surgical stapling instrument having an elongate shaft assembly, an articulation joint, and an end effector pivotally coupled to the elongate shaft assembly about the articulation joint is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw and a second jaw pivotally coupled to the first jaw. A replaceable staple cartridge assembly comprises a cartridge body having a deck with a first tissue-facing surface comprising a plurality of staple cavities defined therein and a second tissue-facing surface stepped relative to the first tissue-facing surface. The replaceable staple cartridge further comprises a sled with a cutting surface. The end effector further comprises a drive screw extending longitudinally therewithin and a bearing, wherein a distal end of the drive screw is received by the bearing.

Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument

A surgical instrument comprising a housing, an elongate shaft, an end effector for performing a surgical operation, a firing drive, an advancement assembly, and a retraction assembly is disclosed. The end effector operably supports a firing member that is movable from a proximal position to a fired position during a firing stroke in response to a longitudinal firing motion applied thereto. The firing drive is configured to transmit the longitudinal firing motion to the firing member upon actuation of a firing control actuator. The advancement assembly is supported by the housing and configured to transmit a rotary motion which is exclusively dedicated to the advancement of the firing member through the firing stroke. The retraction assembly is configured for manual rotary actuation about a longitudinal retraction axis. The retraction assembly is exclusively dedicated to the retraction of the firing member from the fired position to the proximal position.

Surgical instrument including dedicated firing and retraction assemblies

A stapling instrument for use with a robotic surgical system comprising a drive system including at least three motor-driven drivers is disclosed. The stapling instrument comprises a housing, a shaft, an articulation joint, and a loading unit. The housing comprises a drive interface defined on an exterior surface of the housing. The drive interface is operably engageable with the drive system of the robotic system. The drive interface comprises at least three rotatable inputs positioned thereon. Each input is operably engaged with one of the motor-driven drivers. The loading unit comprises a first jaw, a second jaw, a staple cartridge, and a drive member. The first jaw and the second jaw are rotatable about the articulation joint by a longitudinally-displaceable articulation actuator. The housing comprises means for converting the rotation of one of the rotatable inputs to the longitudinal motion of the articulation actuator.

Automated end effector component reloading system for use with a robotic system

A surgical stapler comprising an end effector, a sensing system, a housing, and a control system is disclosed. The end effector comprises a firing member configured to move at least partially through the end effector and a stop configured to create a lockout condition by impeding the advancement of the firing member through the end effector. The sensing system is configured to detect the lockout condition. The housing comprises an electric motor-driven element configured to transmit a force to the firing member. The control system is configured to control the electric motor-driven element. The sensing system is in communication with the control system. The control system controls the electric motor-driven element to adjust the force transmitted to the firing member when the lockout condition is communicated to the control system.

Surgical instrument

A surgical instrument system comprising a shaft, an end effector, a firing member, a sensor system, an electric motor, a trigger coupled to the electric motor, and a control system is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw and a second jaw rotatable relative to the first jaw. The firing member comprises a first portion configured to engage the first jaw and a second portion configured to engage the second jaw and control a position of the second jaw relative to the first jaw. The sensor system is configured to detect positions of the firing member. The electric motor is configured to move the firing member through a firing stroke. The control system is in communication with the sensor system, the electric motor, and the trigger. The control system is configured to limit a maximum movement of the trigger based on a signal generated by the sensor system.

Surgical instrument system including a control system

A powered surgical cutting and fastening instrument comprising an end effector, an elongate shaft, and a handle is disclosed. The end effector comprises an elongate channel, an anvil, a cartridge including a longitudinal slot, fasteners removably stored in the cartridge, a sled, and a cutting member including a laterally extending member. The handle comprises a motor configured to output a rotary motion, an adaptive control system configured to control the rate of the rotary motion, a switch for energizing the motor, and a power source configured to supply a first power to the motor and a second power to the motor. The first power and the second power are different. The first power is proportionate to a first force experienced by the end effector and the second power is proportionate to a second force experienced by the end effector. The first force is different than the second force.

A surgical instrument. The surgical instrument has an end effector and a trigger in communication with the end effector. The surgical instrument also has a first sensor and an externally accessible memory device in communication with the first sensor. The first sensor has an output that represents a first condition of either the trigger or the end effector. The memory device is configured to record the output of the first sensor. In various embodiments, memory device may include an output port and/or a removable storage medium.

A surgical instrument system comprising an end effector, a firing member, a handle, and a motor is disclosed. The end effector is movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration when a closing motion is applied to the end effector. The firing member is configured to perform a staple firing stroke when a firing motion is applied to the firing member. The motor is configured to generate the firing motion. The surgical instrument system further comprises means for preventing the firing member from performing the staple firing stroke prior to sensing the closing motion. The means comprises a circuit switch.

Surgical instrument with firing lockout

A stapling instrument comprising a staple cartridge jaw including staples removably stored therein, an anvil configurable in an unclamped condition and a clamped condition, a closing member configured to move the anvil to the clamped condition, a firing member movable to eject the staples from the staple cartridge jaw during a staple firing stroke, and a rotatable drive member coupled to the firing member is disclosed. The closing member is operably isolated from the rotatable drive member. The stapling instrument further comprises an electric motor operably engaged with the firing member, a battery electrically couplable to the electric motor, a handle, and a sensing system. The electric motor and the battery are positioned in the handle. The sensing system is responsive to the clamped condition of the anvil and the movement of the firing member. The sensing system comprises a lockout configured to prevent a function of the stapling instrument.

Stapling instrument including a sensing system

A surgical instrument for use with a staple cartridge removably storing a plurality of staples is disclosed. The surgical instrument comprises a handle, a firing actuator operably coupled to the handle, a closure drive configured to selectively generate a closing motion and an opening motion, a firing drive configured to selectively generate a rotary firing motion upon actuation of the firing actuator, and an elongate shaft assembly operably coupled to the closure drive and the firing drive to separately transmit the closing motion before the rotary firing motion, and an end effector responsive to the closing motion. The end effector comprises a staple cartridge, an anvil, a cutting member movable relative to the staple cartridge in response to the rotary firing motion from the elongate shaft assembly, and an I-beam configured to control spacing between the anvil and the staple cartridge during deployment of the staples.

Manually driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument

A surgical stapling instrument comprising a shaft, a firing member, a closure member, a manually-actuatable closure trigger, and a motor is disclosed. The shaft is configured to support a stapling assembly. The firing member is configured to transmit a firing motion to the stapling assembly. The closure member is configured to transmit a closing motion to the stapling assembly. The manually-actuatable closure trigger is operable to impart the closing motion to the closure member. The manually-actuatable closure trigger is mechanically coupled to a jaw of the stapling assembly such that a load can be transmitted between the jaw and the manually-actuatable closure trigger. The motor is operably coupled to the firing member to impart the firing motion to the firing member.

A surgical stapling instrument comprising a stapling assembly, a shaft, a firing member, a closure member, a manually-actuatable closure trigger, and a motor is disclosed. The stapling assembly comprises a first jaw and a second jaw. The first jaw is movably coupled to the second jaw. The shaft is configured to support the stapling assembly. The firing member is configured to transmit a firing motion to the stapling assembly. The firing member comprises a cutting member, a first camming member configured to engage the first jaw, and a second camming member configured to engage the second jaw. The closure member is configured to transmit a push-to-close motion to the stapling assembly. The manually-actuatable closure trigger is operable to impart the push-to-close motion to the closure member. The motor is operably coupled to the firing member to impart the firing motion to the firing member.

A surgical instrument system is disclosed. The surgical instrument system comprises an end effector configured to be articulated between a first position and a second position, a motor configured to provide a vibratory force to a user of the surgical instrument system when the end effector moves into the first position and when the end effector moves into the second position, and a sensor. The sensor is configured to sense a first condition of the end effector when the end effector moves into the first position, sense a second condition of the end effector when the end effector moves into the second position, and send a signal to the motor indicative of the first condition and the second condition when one of the first condition and the second condition is sensed. The signal comprises one of the group consisting of a square wave signal and a sine wave signal.

Surgical instrument having force feedback capabilities

A surgical stapler comprising an end effector is disclosed. The end effector comprises a firing member configured to move at least partially through the end effector, a stop configured to create a lockout condition by impeding an advancement of the firing member through the end effector, and a sensor configured to detect the lockout condition. The surgical stapler further comprises a handle. The handle comprises an electric motor configured to transmit a force to the firing member. The handle further comprises a control system configured to control the electric motor. The sensor is in communication with the control system. The control system controls the electric motor to adjust the force transmitted to the firing member when the lockout condition is communicated to the control system.

An assembly for fastening tissue is disclosed. The assembly may comprise a first jaw comprising a cartridge, wherein the cartridge comprises a plurality of fasteners. The plurality of fasteners comprises a first fastener comprising a first height and a second fastener comprising a second height, wherein the second height is different than the first height. The assembly further comprises a second jaw, wherein at least one of the first jaw and the second jaw is movable relative to the other. The second jaw comprises a plurality of fastener-engaging portions. The plurality of fastener-engaging portions comprises a first fastener-engaging portion and a second fastener-engaging portion. The assembly further comprises a compressible layer intermediate the first jaw and the second jaw.

Growing community of inventors

Staunton, VA, United States of America

John N Ouwerkerk