Patent ID: 11872094
Assignee: COVIDIEN LP
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A method of operating an apparatus including a trocar having a cannula with a lumen having a proximal port at a proximal end of the lumen and a distal port at a distal end of the lumen, at least one trocar antenna, and at least one interrogator communicatively coupled to the at least one trocar antenna, the method comprising:
causing, by the interrogator, the at least one trocar antenna to emit at least one interrogation signal having a range that covers at least a portion of an interior of the lumen of the cannula;
detecting, by the interrogator, any response signals to the at least one interrogation signal, the response signals returned from any wireless communications identification transponders in the portion of the interior of the lumen of the cannula;
identifying, by the interrogator, each of a number of wireless communications identification transponders in the portion of the interior of the lumen of the cannula based on the detected response signals; and
storing to at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium:
information that identifies each of the wireless communications identification transponders or items physically associated with respective wireless communications identification transponders that pass through at least a portion of the interior of the lumen, and
an itemization of each of the wireless communications identification transponders that pass through at least a portion of the interior of the lumen, wherein storing an itemization of each of the wireless identification transponders that pass through at least a portion of the interior of the lumen comprises:
itemizing each of the wireless communications identification transponders that exits the lumen of the trocar via the distal port; and
itemizing each of the wireless communications identification transponders that enters the lumen of the trocar via the distal port.