Patent ID: 11896221
Assignee: CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A staple cartridge usable with a surgical instrument, the staple cartridge comprising:
a deck;
an elongate slot extending through the deck;
a plurality of staple cavities defined in the deck;
staples removably positioned in the plurality of staple cavities; and
a plurality of impedance sensing electrodes, comprising:
a first impedance sensing electrode positioned in a first zone of the deck, wherein the first impedance sensing electrode is addressable to apply first energy to tissue positioned in the first zone, wherein a control circuit is configured to determine a thickness of the tissue positioned in the first zone based on the first energy; and
a second impedance sensing electrode positioned in a second zone of the deck, wherein the second zone is distal to the first zone, wherein the second impedance sensing electrode is addressable to apply second energy to tissue positioned in the second zone, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine a thickness of the tissue positioned in the second zone based on the second energy, wherein the second impedance sensing electrode and the first impedance sensing electrode are independently addressable; and

wherein advancement of a knife through the elongate slot is based on the determined thickness of the tissue in the first zone and the determined thickness of the tissue in the second zone.