Patent ID: 8551079

Claim:
A surgical instrument comprising: a roll drive input shaft and a roll drive input capstan on the roll drive input shaft; an instrument shaft, an end effector disposed at a distal end of the instrument shaft, and a roll drive output capstan on the instrument shaft; a roll drive tendon routed around the roll drive input capstan and around the roll drive output capstan, wherein the roll drive input capstan, the roll drive tendon, and the roll drive output capstan are operably coupled to roll the instrument shaft about a longitudinal axis of the instrument shaft; an electrical connector; and an electrical conductor separate from the roll drive tendon; wherein a first end of the electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the electrical connector, wherein the electrical conductor is routed around the roll drive input capstan and around the roll drive output capstan, and wherein a second end of the electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the instrument shaft.