Patent ID: 8662745

Claim:
A method of measuring conditions of an ultrasonic instrument comprising: storing a predetermined interferential pattern on a memory device; securing the memory device to an ultrasonic instrument including a generator, an end effector, and a waveguide that is coupled to the generator and the end effector; generating at least one pulse with the generator; transmitting the at least one pulse to at least one of the waveguide and the end effector; generating at least one wave that scatters in an interferential pattern in response to the transmission of the at least one pulse; registering a signal indicative of the interferential pattern; generating an actual interferential pattern based upon the signal; ascertaining differences between the actual interferential pattern and the predetermined interferential pattern by comparing the actual interferential pattern to the predetermined interferential pattern with the generator, the predetermined interferential pattern being established prior to a usage of the ultrasonic instrument; and identifying at least one condition of the end effector in real-time based upon the differences between the predetermined interferential pattern and the actual interferential pattern.