Patent ID: 8562600

Claim:
A medical device for diagnosis or treatment of tissue, comprising: an electronically-controlled tool configured for diagnosis or treatment of tissue; an electrical connector configured for removable connection and disconnection with an electronic control unit and configured to receive control signals from the electronic control unit, the control signals controlling operation of the tool; and a computer readable memory accessible through the connector, the memory including a set of programming instructions configured to control operation of the tool by the electronic control unit, the programming instructions downloadable from the memory upon connection with the electronic control unit, wherein the computer readable memory is provided as a sub-component within the electronically-controlled tool or the electrical connector, wherein the programming instructions provided on and by the medical device are configured to reprogram at least a portion of the programming instructions resident in a memory of the electronic control unit, and wherein the programming instructions provided on and by the medical device are configured to provide temporary software changes to at least a portion of the programming instructions resident in the memory of the electronic control unit that are application-specific to the medical device.