Patent ID: 7871407

Claim:
A system for performing thermal cautery on body tissue, the system comprising: a thermal cauterizer comprising a resistive heating element; a power supply; a controller comprising a connector configured to operably connect said power supply to said resistive heating element such that said controller provides power to said resistive heating element; and an identifier configured to identify said thermal cauterizer connected to said power supply, said identifier comprising: an identification element electrically connected to said thermal cauterizer, said identification element having a predetermined value; and a reference element connected to said identification element when said thermal cauterizer is electrically connected to said power supply, said reference element further electrically connected such that an identifying voltage develops across said reference element when power is applied to said reference element; a comparison element electrically connected to said power supply, wherein a reference voltage develops across said comparison element when power is applied to said comparison element; and a comparator is electrically connected to the identifying voltage and the reference voltage, wherein said comparator produces an output signal based on a comparison of the identifying voltage with the reference voltage, the output signal indicating that a particular thermal cauterizer is operably connected to said power supply.