Patent ID: 8357160

Claim:
A forceps, comprising: a housing; a shaft including a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end associated with the housing; an end effector assembly coupled to the distal end of the shaft and including opposing jaw members, wherein each of the jaw members includes a sealing plate attached thereto; a drive rod slidingly disposed within the shaft, wherein longitudinal reciprocation of the drive rod moves at least one of the jaw members from a first position in spaced relation relative to the other jaw member to at least one subsequent position wherein the sealing plates cooperate to grasp tissue therebetween; at least one sensor configured to sense a gap distance between the opposing jaw members; and a linear actuator operably coupled to the drive rod, the linear actuator configured to reciprocate the drive rod in a longitudinal direction as a function of the sensed gap distance in response to signals provided by the at least one sensor.