Control systems for surgical instruments

Surgical instruments and control systems therefor are disclosed. A surgical instrument can comprise: a power circuit comprising a power source and a switch, a microcontroller coupled to the power circuit, a handle comprising an attachment portion, and a control circuit in signal communication with the microcontroller. The attachment portion can comprise a first electrical contact in signal communication with the microcontroller. The control circuit can comprise a sensor configured to detect an attachment state of the attachment portion. The control circuit can communicate the detected attachment state to the microcontroller, and the microcontroller can ignore signals from the first electrical contact when the control circuit communicates a detached state. The attachment portion can comprise a second electrical contact coupled to a second power circuit, and the second power circuit can decouple the second electrical contact and the second power source when the sensor detects the detached state.

ELECTROSURGICAL SYSTEM ENERGY SOURCE

An energy source for use with an electrosurgical system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the energy source includes a power supply, one or more capacitors coupled to the power supply, and a switching component coupled to the one or more capacitors. The switching component is configured to output pulses of a biphasic waveform. The pulses are capable of treating undesired tissue by inducing a change in voltage potential across cell membranes of a plurality of cells in the undesired tissue to promote non-thermal cell death in the plurality of cells. The pulses are also capable of treating the undesired tissue with no or minimal muscle contractions in patient tissue within reach of the biphasic waveform during treatment of the undesired tissue.

Surgical stapler having downstream current-based motor control

A surgical stapler. The surgical stapler includes a drive system, an electric motor, a battery and a control system. The drive system includes an actuation member. The electric motor is mechanically coupled to the drive system. The battery is electrically couplable to the electric motor. The control system includes an H-bridge circuit electrically couplable to the electric motor. The control system is configured to control the electric motor based on a sensed parameter associated with the electric motor, a position of the actuation member and a velocity of the actuation member.

REINFORCEMENT LEARNING BASED COGNITIVE ANTI-JAMMING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND METHOD

Systems and methods of using machine-learning in a cognitive radio to avoid a jammer are described. Smoothed power spectral density is used to detect activity in a sub-band and basic characteristics of different signals therein extracted. If unable to classify the signals as either a valid signal or a jammer using the basic characteristics, ANN-based classification with cumulants features of the signals is used. Multiple periods are used to train sensing and communications (S/C) polices to track and avoid a jammer using RL (e.g. Q learning). The ANN has input neurons of higher order cumulants of a sensing channel and a single output neuron. The S/C polices are coupled during training and communication using negative or decreasing rewards based on the time the sensing policy takes to determine jammer presence and that the cognitive radio is jammed. A feedback channel provides a new communications channel to a radio transmitting to the cognitive radio.

Method for forming and using stress-tuned silicon oxide films in semiconductor device patterning

A processing method includes receiving a substrate containing a base layer having a mandrel pattern formed thereon containing a number of features, conformally depositing a silicon oxide film over the mandrel pattern by coating surfaces of the substrate with a metal-containing catalyst layer, and in the absence of any oxidizing and hydrolyzing agent, exposing the substrate to a process gas containing a silanol gas at a substrate temperature selected to yield a preferred level of stress in the silicon oxide film. The method further includes removing the silicon oxide film from upper surfaces of the mandrel pattern and lower surfaces adjacent the mandrel pattern to leave behind silicon oxide sidewall spacers on sidewalls of the mandrel pattern, and removing the mandrel pattern from the substrate to leave behind the silicon oxide sidewall spacers that form a new pattern having double the number of features of the removed mandrel pattern.

Integrated circuit contact structures

Disclosed herein are integrated circuit (IC) contact structures, and related devices and methods. For example, in some embodiments, an IC contact structure may include an electrical element, a metal on the electrical element, and a semiconductor material on the metal. The metal may conductively couple the semiconductor material and the electrical element.

Enhanced passive intermodulation detection in wireless networks

Interference caused by passive intermodulation (PIM) can be automatically detected at receivers in a wireless telecommunications network, and the accuracy of PIM detection can be increased by de-weighting or ignoring time slots in which non-PIM interference is detected at a target receiver.

Surgical platform with adjustable arm supports

A robotic surgical system can include one or more adjustable arm supports that support one or more robotic arms. The adjustable arm supports can be configured to attach to either a table, a column support of the table, or a base of the table to deploy the adjustable arm supports and robotic arms from a position below the table. In some examples, the adjustable arm supports include at least four degrees of freedom that allow for adjustment of the position of a bar or rail to which the robotic arms are mounted. One of the degrees of freedom can allow the adjustable arm support to be adjusted vertically relative to the table.

Wristwatch based interface for augmented reality eyewear

Augmented reality eyewear devices allow users to experience a version of our “real” physical world augmented with virtual objects. Augmented reality eyewear may present a user with a graphical user interface that appears to be in the airspace directly in front of the user thereby encouraging the user to interact with virtual objects in socially undesirable ways, such as by making sweeping hand gestures in the airspace in front of the user. Anchoring various input mechanisms or the graphical user interface of an augmented reality eyewear application to a wristwatch may allow a user to interact with an augmented reality eyewear device in a more socially acceptable manner. Combining the displays of a smartwatch and an augmented reality eyewear device into a single graphical user interface may provide enhanced display function and more responsive gestural input.

Code trigger telemedicine session

A system for creating a unique transaction ID (UTID) securely representing a medical diagnostic transaction between a user/patient and a telemedicine professional is provided. The system includes a first central office database configured to store medical information and profile information for a plurality of users/patients, a second central office database configured to store UTIDs, a memory, and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to receive test information, initiate generation of a UTID for the new diagnostic transaction, analyze the received test information to determine if the test information indicates a positive or a negative result, transfer the analysis results back to the user/patient's MU, and receive from the MU a request for a telemedicine professional session.