{
  "patent_number": "US 12733931",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How a Surgical Stapler Detects and Handles Resistance",
  "original_title": "Feedback algorithms for manual bailout systems for surgical instruments",
  "summary": "This patent describes a surgical stapler that can automatically pause its stapling action if it encounters too much resistance, then resume, to ensure smooth and safe operation.",
  "what_it_does": "This surgical system uses a powered firing rod to deploy staples. A small computer, called a microcontroller, constantly checks the electrical current drawn by the motor that drives this rod. If the motor starts pulling too much current, meaning it's encountering unexpected resistance, the microcontroller detects this current draw exceeding a predefined threshold value. It then tells the motor to pause the firing rod's movement for a set period of time. After this brief stop, the stapler tries to resume the firing stroke. If the resistance is now lower, the microcontroller allows the motor to continue stapling without further speed adjustments. For example, if a stapler encounters unexpectedly dense tissue, it would pause, then attempt to continue, potentially preventing damage or a stalled procedure.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover surgical staplers that are purely manual and not driven by an electric motor.",
    "Does not cover systems that detect resistance using sensors other than the motor's electrical current draw, such as direct force sensors.",
    "Does not cover systems that only stop when resistance is detected without attempting to resume or adjust velocity after a pause.",
    "Does not cover systems where the firing rod's velocity is adjusted without first pausing movement for a predefined period of time.",
    "Does not cover surgical instruments that do not deploy staples via a translated firing rod."
  ],
  "filed": "2025-01-17",
  "granted": "2026-09-15",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": null,
  "holder_url": null,
  "inventors": [],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "medical_devices",
    "software",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A surgical system includes a firing rod configured to be translated to deploy surgical staples during a firing stroke and a microcontroller configured to adjust firing rod velocity by pausing movement of the firing rod for a predefined period of time when the microcontroller detects a current draw by a motor driving the firing rod that exceeds a predefined threshold value. After the pause, the firing stroke can be resumed and if the current draw increase is less than the threshold value, the microcontroller can proceed cause the motor to drive the firing rod through the firing stroke without adjusting the velocity of the firing element.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12733931/feedback-algorithms-for-manual-bailout-systems-for-surgical-instruments",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12733931/feedback-algorithms-for-manual-bailout-systems-for-surgical-instruments/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12733931",
  "relatedPatents": []
}