A surgical apparatus, comprising: an end effector configured to interact with a tissue; and a surgical instrument, comprising: at least one drive mechanism operable to effect at least one motion in the end effector; and one or more vibration sensors configured to record vibrations generated by the at least one drive mechanism, wherein the one or more vibration sensors are configured to generate an output signal based on the sensed vibrations, and wherein the output signal is employed to select between an acceptable status, a marginal status, and a critical status of the surgical instrument, wherein the surgical apparatus further comprises at least one frequency filter configured to receive the output signal of the one or more vibration sensors, wherein the at least one frequency filter is configured to generate a filtered signal comprising a voltage amplitude at a specific frequency based on the received output signal, a memory storing predetermined threshold values associated with the acceptable status, the marginal status, and the critical status; and a processor in communication with the at least one frequency filter, wherein the memory includes program instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to generate a processed signal based on the filtered signal, and wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to compare the predetermined threshold values to corresponding values of the processed signal. an end effector configured to interact with a tissue; and a surgical instrument, comprising: at least one drive mechanism operable to effect at least one motion in the end effector; and one or more vibration sensors configured to record vibrations generated by the at least one drive mechanism, wherein the one or more vibration sensors are configured to generate an output signal based on the sensed vibrations, and wherein the output signal is employed to select between an acceptable status, a marginal status, and a critical status of the surgical instrument, wherein the surgical apparatus further comprises at least one frequency filter configured to receive the output signal of the one or more vibration sensors, wherein the at least one frequency filter is configured to generate a filtered signal comprising a voltage amplitude at a specific frequency based on the received output signal, a memory storing predetermined threshold values associated with the acceptable status, the marginal status, and the critical status; and at least one drive mechanism operable to effect at least one motion in the end effector; and one or more vibration sensors configured to record vibrations generated by the at least one drive mechanism, wherein the one or more vibration sensors are configured to generate an output signal based on the sensed vibrations, and wherein the output signal is employed to select between an acceptable status, a marginal status, and a critical status of the surgical instrument, wherein the surgical apparatus further comprises at least one frequency filter configured to receive the output signal of the one or more vibration sensors, wherein the at least one frequency filter is configured to generate a filtered signal comprising a voltage amplitude at a specific frequency based on the received output signal, a memory storing predetermined threshold values associated with the acceptable status, the marginal status, and the critical status; and a processor in communication with the at least one frequency filter, wherein the memory includes program instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to generate a processed signal based on the filtered signal, and wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to compare the predetermined threshold values to corresponding values of the processed signal.