Patent ID: 11871983
Assignee: COVIDIEN LP
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 4:
5. A surgical system, comprising:
a housing;
a shaft extending distally from the housing;
an end effector disposed at a distal end portion of the shaft, the end effector including first and second jaw movable between an open position and a closed position for grasping tissue and applying a clamping force to the grasped tissue;
an actuation assembly, including:
an actuator coupled to the housing;
a drive rod coupled to the first and second jaw members such that translation of the drive rod moves the first and second jaw movable between the open position and the closed position to grasp the tissue and apply the clamping force to the grasped tissue; and
a force-regulating spring disposed within the housing and operably coupled between the actuator and the drive rod, the force-regulating spring configured to regulate the clamping force applied to tissue; and

a sensor module disposed within the housing and configured to sense a change in inductance of the actuation assembly and relay to a processor an amount of the sensed change,
wherein the processor associates the amount of sensed change in inductance with a known clamping force being applied on tissue by the first and second jaw members in the closed position.