INDICATOR OF THE USE OF SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] US 2010 / 004669 A1 discloses an ultrasonic instrument wherein the number of uses is counted. EP 2 478 861 A2 relates to a reusable medical device with advanced counting capability.

[0002] Ultrasonic surgical instruments utilize ultrasonic energy for both precise cutting and controlled coagulation of tissue. The ultrasonic energy cuts and coagulates by vibrating a blade in contact with the tissue. Vibrating at frequencies of approximately 50 kilohertz (kHz), for example, the ultrasonic blade denatures protein in the tissue to form a sticky coagulum. Pressure exerted on the tissue with the blade surface collapses blood vessels and allows the coagulum to form a hemostatic seal. The precision of cutting and coagulation may be controlled by the surgeon's technique and adjusting the power level, blade edge, tissue traction, and blade pressure, for example.

[0003] Examples of ultrasonic surgical devices include the HARMONIC ACE ®< Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC WAVE ®< Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC FOCUS ®< Ultrasonic Shears, and the HARMONIC SYNERGY ®< Ultrasonic Blades, all by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Further examples of such devices and related concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,055, entitled "Clamp Coagulator / Cutting System for Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments," issued Jun. 21, 1994, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,873, entitled "Ultrasonic Clamp Coagulator Apparatus Having Improved Clamp Mechanism," issued Feb. 23, 1999, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,510, entitled "Ultrasonic Clamp Coagulator Apparatus Having Improved Clamp Arm Pivot Mount," issued Nov. 9, 1999, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,981, entitled "Method of Balancing Asymmetric Ultrasonic Surgical Blades," issued Sep. 4, 2001, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,400, entitled "Curved Ultrasonic Blade having a Trapezoidal Cross Section," issued Oct. 30, 2001, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,811, entitled "Blades with Functional Balance Asymmetries for use with Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments," issued Dec. 4, 2001, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,082, entitled "Ultrasonic Surgical Blade with Improved Cutting and Coagulation Features," issued Jul. 23, 2002, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,444, entitled "Blades with Functional Balance Asymmetries for Use with Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments," issued Aug. 10, 2004, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524, entitled "Robotic Surgical Tool with Ultrasound Cauterizing and Cutting Instrument," issued Aug. 31, 2004, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,057,498, entitled "Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument Blades," issued Nov. 15, 2011, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,744, entitled "Rotating Transducer Mount for Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments," issued Jun. 11, 2013, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,591,536, entitled "Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument Blades," issued Nov. 26, 2013, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,623,027, entitled "Ergonomic Surgical Instruments," issued Jan. 7, 2014, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 9,095,367, entitled "Flexible Harmonic Waveguides / Blades for Surgical Instruments," issued Aug. 4, 2015, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; and U.S. Pub. No. 2016 / 0022305, entitled "Ultrasonic Blade Overmold," published Jan. 28, 2016, the disclosure of which is referenced herein.

[0004] An ultrasonic surgical instrument generally includes an ultrasonic transducer and an ultrasonic blade configured to be driven by the ultrasonic transducer. Various ultrasonic surgical instruments enable the ultrasonic blade to be selectively attached and detached from the ultrasonic transducer, via a threaded coupling between the two components. It is desirable to apply an appropriate amount of torque to this threaded coupling when assembling the blade with the transducer. Applying too much torque can cause the threaded coupling to fracture and fail during use, and applying too little torque can cause the threaded coupling to loosen and inhibit effective transmission of ultrasonic energy to tissue during use. Either result is undesirable, and can render the surgical instrument ineffective or entirely inoperable. Ultrasonic blades and transducers of conventional ultrasonic surgical instruments may be assembled with a hand-held torque wrench tool that is provided separately from the surgical instrument. The torque wrench tool includes features that limit application of additional torque to the threaded coupling between the ultrasonic blade and transducer once a predetermined amount of torque has been reached. An example of such a torque wrench tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,210, entitled "Apparatus and Methods for Attaching and Detaching an Ultrasonic Actuated Blade / Coupler and an Acoustical Mount Therefor," issued Oct. 22, 1991, the disclosure of which is referenced herein.

[0005] While various types of ultrasonic surgical instruments and torque wrench mechanisms have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used the invention described herein.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a first exemplary ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handle assembly and a shaft assembly with an end effector; FIG. 2A depicts an enlarged side view of the end effector of FIG. 1 in an open configuration; FIG. 2B depicts the enlarged side view of the end effector similar to FIG. 2A, but with the end effector in a closed configuration; FIG. 3 depicts a partially exploded side view of the ultrasonic surgical instrument of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 depicts a partially schematic enlarged side view of an ultrasonic transducer, a waveguide, and a rotation knob of the ultrasonic surgical instrument of FIG. 1, showing attachment of the waveguide to the ultrasonic transducer; FIG. 5 depicts a partially schematic enlarged side view of a threaded coupling between the ultrasonic transducer and the waveguide of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 depicts an enlarged perspective view of a ultrasonic surgical instrument having a wheel ratchet usage indicator for a shaft assembly and a handle assembly; FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of the wheel ratchet usage indicator of FIG. 6; FIG. 8A depicts an enlarged perspective view of the ultrasonic surgical instrument and the wheel ratchet usage indicator of FIG. 6 with the shaft assembly being inserted into the handle assembly, an ultrasonic transducer withdrawn to a proximal position, and various features hidden for clarity; FIG. 8B depicts the enlarged perspective view of the ultrasonic surgical instrument and the wheel ratchet usage indicator similar to FIG. 8A, but showing a waveguide being introduced into the ultrasonic transducer in the proximal position; and FIG. 8C depicts the enlarged perspective view of the ultrasonic surgical instrument and the wheel ratchet usage indicator similar to FIG. 8B, but showing the waveguide being threadably coupled with the ultrasonic transducer thereby pulling the ultrasonic transducer distally from the proximal position toward a distal position and urging the wheel ratchet usage indicator to indicate a second usage.

[0007] The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] The following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

[0009] For clarity of disclosure, the terms "proximal" and "distal" are defined herein relative to a surgeon, or other operator, grasping a surgical instrument having a distal surgical end effector. The term "proximal" refers to the position of an element arranged closer to the surgeon, and the term "distal" refers to the position of an element arranged closer to the surgical end effector of the surgical instrument and further away from the surgeon. Moreover, to the extent that spatial terms such as "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," or the like are used herein with reference to the drawings, it will be appreciated that such terms are used for exemplary description purposes only and are not intended to be limiting or absolute. In that regard, it will be understood that surgical instruments such as those disclosed herein may be used in a variety of orientations and positions not limited to those shown and described herein.

[0010] FIGS. 1-2B show an exemplary ultrasonic surgical instrument (10) that includes a handle assembly (12), a shaft assembly (14) extending distally from handle assembly (12), and an end effector (16) arranged at a distal end of shaft assembly (14). Handle assembly (12) comprises a body (18) including a pistol grip (20) and energy control buttons (22) configured to be manipulated by a surgeon to control various aspects of tissue treatment energy delivered by surgical instrument (10). A trigger (24) is coupled to a lower portion of body (18) and is pivotable toward and away from pistol grip (20) to selectively actuate end effector (16). In other suitable variations of surgical instrument (10), handle assembly (12) may comprise a scissor grip configuration, for example. Body (18) houses an ultrasonic transducer (26), shown schematically in FIG. 1, configured to deliver ultrasonic energy to end effector (16), as described in greater detail below. Body (18) may also be referred to herein as a housing (18) and may include one component or an assembly of components. The terms "body" and "housing" are thus not intended to unnecessarily limit the invention described herein to any number of discrete components.

[0011] As shown best in FIGS. 2A-2B, end effector (16) includes an ultrasonic blade (28) and a clamp arm (30) configured to selectively pivot toward and away from ultrasonic blade (28) for clamping tissue therebetween. Clamp arm (30) includes a clamp pad (32) arranged on a clamping side thereof and is moveable from an open position shown in FIG. 2A to a closed position shown in FIG. 2B. With respect to FIG. 3, ultrasonic blade (28) is acoustically coupled with ultrasonic transducer (26), which is configured to drive (i.e., vibrate) ultrasonic blade (28) at ultrasonic frequencies for cutting and / or sealing tissue positioned in contact with ultrasonic blade (28). Clamp arm (30) is operatively coupled with trigger (24) such that clamp arm (30) is configured to pivot toward ultrasonic blade (28), to the closed position, in response to pivoting of trigger (24) toward pistol grip (20). Further, clamp arm (30) is configured to pivot away from ultrasonic blade (28), to the open position in response to pivoting of trigger (24) away from pistol grip (20). Various suitable ways in which clamp arm (30) may be coupled with trigger (24) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings provided herein. In some versions, one or more resilient members may be incorporated to bias clamp arm (30) and / or trigger (24) toward the open position.

[0012] Shaft assembly (14) of the present example extends along a longitudinal axis and includes an outer tube (34), an inner tube (36) received within outer tube (34), and an ultrasonic waveguide (38) supported within and extending longitudinally through inner tube (36). Ultrasonic blade (28) is formed integrally with and extends distally from waveguide (38). A proximal end of clamp arm (30) is pivotally coupled to distal ends of outer and inner tubes (34, 36), enabling clamp arm (30) to pivot relative to shaft assembly (14) about a pivot axis defined by a pivot pin (40) (see FIG. 2A) extending transversely through the distal end of inner tube (36).

[0013] In the present example, inner tube (36) is longitudinally fixed relative to handle assembly (18), and outer tube (34) is configured to translate relative to inner tube (36) and handle assembly (18), along the longitudinal axis of shaft assembly (20). As outer tube (34) translates distally, clamp arm (30) pivots about its pivot axis toward its open position. As outer tube (34) translates proximally, clamp arm (30) pivots about its pivot axis in an opposite direction toward its closed position. Though not shown, a proximal end of outer tube (34) is operatively coupled with trigger (24) such that actuation of trigger (24) causes translation of outer tube (34) relative to inner tube (36), thereby opening or closing clamp arm (30) as discussed above. In other suitable configurations not shown herein, outer tube (34) may be longitudinally fixed and inner tube (36) may be configured to translate for moving clamp arm (30) between the open and closed positions. Various other suitable mechanisms for actuating clamp arm (30) between the open and closed positions will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0014] Shaft assembly (14) and end effector (16) are configured to rotate together relative to body (18) about the longitudinal axis defined by shaft assembly (14). As shown in FIGS. 3-4, shaft assembly (14) further includes a rotation knob (42) arranged at a proximal end thereof. Rotation knob (42) is rotatably coupled to body (18) of handle assembly (12), and is rotationally fixed to outer tube (34), inner tube (36), and waveguide (38) by a coupling pin (not shown) extending transversely therethrough. Coupling pin (not shown) is arranged at a longitudinal location corresponding to an acoustic node of waveguide (38). In other examples, rotation knob (42) may be rotationally fixed to the remaining components of shaft assembly (14) in various other manners. Rotation knob (42) is configured to be gripped by a user to selectively manipulate the rotational orientation of shaft assembly (14) and end effector (16) relative to handle assembly (12). Various examples of acoustic and mechanical connections between shaft assembly (14) and handle assembly (14) are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. App. No. 15 / 644,930, entitled "Acoustic Drivetrain with External Collar at Nodal Position," filed on July 10, 2017 and U.S. Pat. App. No. 15 / 644,944, entitled "Features to Couple Acoustic Drivetrain Components in Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument," filed on July 10, 2017, the disclosures of which are each referenced herein.

[0015] FIGS. 3-5 show additional details of ultrasonic transducer (26) and waveguide (38). In particular, ultrasonic transducer (26) and waveguide (38) are configured to threadedly couple together. Accordingly, waveguide (38) is configured to acoustically couple ultrasonic transducer (26) with ultrasonic blade (28), and thereby communicate ultrasonic mechanical vibrations from ultrasonic transducer (26) to blade (28). In this manner, ultrasonic transducer (26), waveguide (38), and ultrasonic blade (28) together define an acoustic assembly of ultrasonic surgical instrument (10). Ultrasonic transducer (26) is rotatably supported within body (18) of handle assembly (12), and is configured to rotate with shaft assembly (14), including waveguide (38), and end effector (16) about the longitudinal axis of shaft assembly (14).

[0016] Ultrasonic transducer (26) is electrically coupled with a generator (not shown), which may be provided externally of ultrasonic surgical instrument (10) or integrated within surgical instrument (10). During use, generator (not shown) powers ultrasonic transducer (26) to produce ultrasonic mechanical vibrations, which are communicated distally through waveguide (38) to ultrasonic blade (28). Ultrasonic blade (28) is caused to oscillate longitudinally in the range of approximately 10 to 500 microns peak-to-peak, for example, and in some instances in the range of approximately 20 to 200 microns, at a predetermined vibratory frequency f o of approximately 50 kHz, for example. Vibrating ultrasonic blade (28) may be positioned in direct contact with tissue, with or without assistive clamping force provided by clamp arm (30), to impart ultrasonic vibrational energy to the tissue and thereby cut and / or seal the tissue. For example, blade (28) may cut through tissue clamped between clamp arm (30) and a clamping side of blade (28), or blade (28) may cut through tissue positioned in contact with an oppositely disposed non-clamping side of blade (28) having an edge, for example during a "back-cutting" movement. In some versions, waveguide (38) may be configured to amplify the ultrasonic vibrations delivered to blade (28). Waveguide (38) may include various features operable to control the gain of the vibrations, and / or features suitable to tune waveguide (38) to a selected resonant frequency.

[0017] In the present example, ultrasonic transducer (26) includes a first resonator (or "end-bell") (48), a conically shaped second resonator (or "fore-bell") (50), and a transduction portion arranged between end-bell (48) and fore-bell (50) that includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements (52). A compression bolt (not shown) extends distally, coaxially through end-bell (48) and piezoelectric elements (52), and is threadedly received within a proximal end of fore-bell (50). A velocity transformer (or "horn") (54) extends distally from fore-bell (146) and includes an internally threaded bore (56) configured to receive and threadedly couple with an externally threaded proximal tip (58) of waveguide (38) as shown in FIGS. 4-5.

[0018] While the teachings herein are disclosed in connection with ultrasonic surgical instruments, it will be appreciated that they may also be employed in connection with surgical instruments configured to provide a combination of ultrasonic and radio frequency (RF) energies. Examples of such instruments and related methods and concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,663,220, entitled "Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments," issued March 4, 2014, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2015 / 0141981, entitled "Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument with Electrosurgical Feature," published May 21, 2015, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; and U.S. Pub. No. 2017 / 0000541, entitled "Surgical Instrument with User Adaptable Techniques," published Jan. 5, 2017, the disclosure of which is referenced herein.

[0019] Given that various portions of ultrasonic surgical instrument (10) removably connect together, it may be desirable in various examples to reuse some portions of ultrasonic surgical instrument (10) while replacing others upon reconnection for further use by the surgeon. For example, handle assembly (12) in the present example is reusable whereas shaft assembly (14) may be disconnected and replaced with an unused, replacement shaft assembly (14). Despite the reusability of handle assembly (12), one or more components of handle assembly (12) may be replaced after a predetermined number of use cycles of use for each respective patient treatment. For example, ultrasonic transducer (26) may operate efficiently and effectively up to five use cycles, but performance may deteriorate beyond the five use cycles such that replacement of handle assembly (12) is desirable.

[0020] While such reuse of handle assembly (12) followed by replacement of handle assembly (12) may be desirable, inhibiting reuse beyond the predetermined number of use cycles may be complicated, difficult, or tedious given that inspection of handle assembly (12) may not readily communicate the predetermined complete usage of handle assembly (12). An integrated usage indicator (616) with a used state indicator as described below may thus be desirable in some instance for indicating usage to a clinician, such as the surgeon, without the need for manually tracking such usage separate from handle assembly (12). Once used state indicator indicates such use in a used state to the clinician, a replacement handle assembly (12) may be used for a following patient treatment. While various examples are given below regarding a particular number of uses and / or reuses, it will be appreciated that any number of uses and / or reuses may be possible in other examples. The invention is thus not intended to be unnecessarily limited to a particular number of uses and / or reuses.

[0021] The following description provides various examples of integrated usage indicators (616). Such integrated usage indicators (616) described below may be used with any ultrasonic surgical instrument described above and below and in any of the various procedures described in the various patent references cited herein. To this end, like numbers below indicated like features described above. Other suitable ways in which various ultrasonic surgical instruments may be used will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.

[0022] FIGS. 6-8C illustrate a ultrasonic surgical instrument (610) having a handle assembly (612) configured to be operated up to a predetermined number of use cycles, shaft assembly (14) configured for a single use cycle of treatment, and a wheel ratchet usage indicator (616). With respect to FIGS. 6-7, wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) is integrated into a housing (618) of handle assembly (612) for recording and indicating each respective use cycle of handle assembly (612) in a use remaining state to a used state. Wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) has a housing portion (620) that cooperates with shaft assembly (14) upon connection of shaft assembly (14) to handle assembly (612) to thereby direct wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) toward the used state with each replacement shaft assembly (14). Once shaft assembly (14) has been replaced the predetermined number of use cycles, wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) indicates the used state of handle assembly (612) to the clinician. Such indication of wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) is visual as well as a lockout, which inhibits operation of handle assembly (612).

[0023] Housing portion (620) of wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) includes an actuator (622), an indicia window (628) through housing (618), a rotatable wheel mount (624), a ratchet mechanism (630), and a wheel ratchet (636). Actuator (622) of the present example is a distal end of ultrasonic transducer (26). Wheel ratchet (636) is rotatably mounted to wheel mount (624) within housing (618), whereas ratchet mechanism (630) is translatably mounted within housing (618) and biased in the proximal direction toward actuator ultrasonic transducer (26). In the present example, threadably connecting waveguide (38) to ultrasonic transducer (26) distally pulls ultrasonic transducer (26) from a proximal position to a distal position. Thereby, actuator (622) is configured to distally urge ratchet mechanism (630) into engagement with wheel ratchet (636) for rotating wheel ratchet (636) while wheel ratchet (636) is visible to clinician through indicia window (628) as discussed below in greater detail.

[0024] In the present example, ratchet mechanism (630) is a pawl tab (632) configured to be distally translated by actuator (622) as ultrasonic transducer (26) slides from the proximal position to the distal position. Pawl tab (632) is more particularly rigid in the longitudinal direction so as to engage and rotate wheel ratchet (636), but resiliently deflectable in the lateral direction. Wheel ratchet (636) has an upper ratchet gear (638) with a plurality of radially projecting slip ratchet teeth (640) about rotatable wheel mount (624). Upper ratchet gear (638) is attached to and extending upward from a lower wheel body (640). Pawl tab (632) is thus configured to engage slip ratchet teeth (640) while moving the distal direction and urge wheel ratchet (636) in the clockwise direction, but inhibit movement in the counterclockwise direction. In addition, wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) further includes an arrester (644). Arrester (644) has a plurality of detent tabs (646) configured to engage a detent catch (not shown) below lower wheel body (642) and fixed within housing (618). Cooperation between detent tabs (646) positioned on lower wheel body (640) and detent catch (not shown) further inhibits inadvertent clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of wheel ratchet (636). In the present example, "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" refer to rotation of wheel ratchet (636) as viewed from a top view of wheel ratchet (636).

[0025] In the present example, with respect to FIG. 8A-8C, shaft assembly (14) mechanically and acoustically couples to handle assembly (612) by rotation similar to shaft and handle assemblies (114, 112) (see FIG. 7D). Threadably connecting waveguide (38) with ultrasonic transducer (26) distally pulls ultrasonic transducer (26) with actuator (622) into engagement with pawl tab (632) of ratchet mechanism (630). Pawl tab (632) in turn urges slip ratchet teeth (40) clockwise direction with sufficient force to overcome arrester (640). Disconnecting waveguide (38) from ultrasonic transducer (26) causes ultrasonic transducer (26) with actuator (622) to proximally return to the proximal position such that pawl tab (632) slips proximally along slip ratchet teeth (640). Arrester (640) is configured to secure wheel ratchet (636) such that pawl tab (632) slips without also rotating wheel ratchet (636) in the counterclockwise direction. Slip ratchet teeth (640) each include engagement and ramp portions (648a, 648b) to further aid to respective urging and slipping of wheel ratchet (636) similar to those discussed above in other examples herein.

[0026] As briefly discussed above, indicia window (628) (see FIG. 6) provides clinician with visual identification of the angular position of wheel ratchet (636). The relative angular position is recorded by a series of counter indices (650), which are angularly positioned about wheel ratchet (636) and increasing in the counterclockwise direction. The present example of counter indices (650) includes counterclockwise increasing numbers "1," "2," "3," "4," and "5" and are respectively configured to correspond to each replacement shaft assembly (14) used with handle assembly (612) in relation to the rotational position of wheel ratchet (636). For example, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8A, a first counter indicia (650) "1" transversely aligns through indicia window (628) to indicate to the clinician that handle assembly (612) is in its first use.

[0027] Successive connections of replacement shaft assemblies (14) continue to rotate wheel ratchet (636) until a fifth counter indicia (650) "5" transversely aligns through indicia window (628) to visually indicate the used state of handle assembly (612). In addition, wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) is configured to mechanically inhibit further connection of replacement shaft assemblies (14) greater than the predetermined number of use cycles. More particularly, arrester (644) engages wheel ratchet (636) in the used state to inhibit further clockwise rotation thereof. Wheel ratchet usage indicator (616) is thereby configured to inhibit inadvertently using handle assembly (612) beyond the predetermined number of use cycles.

[0028] In use, with respect to FIGS. 8A-8C, the clinician connects first replacement shaft assembly (14) to handle assembly (612) such that actuator (622) urges wheel ratchet (636) in alignment with the first indicia (650) for indicating the first use to clinician. Following treatment of the patient, shaft assembly (14) is disconnected from handle assembly (612) by slipping pawl tab (632) by ramp portions (648b) of slip ratchet teeth (640). Handle assembly (612) is then prepped, such as by heating and / or sterilizing, for another surgical procedure and another replacement shaft assembly (614) is connected to handle assembly (612). Actuator (622) of the second replacement shaft assembly (614) urges wheel ratchet (636) in alignment with the second indicia for indicating the second use to the clinician. Such reuse continues in the remaining use state until arrester (644) engages wheel ratchet (636) in the used state.

[0029] It should be understood that any one or more of the teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. The above-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.

[0030] Versions of the devices described above may have application in conventional medical treatments and procedures conducted by a medical professional, as well as application in robotic-assisted medical treatments and procedures. By way of example only, various teachings herein may be readily incorporated into a robotic surgical system such as the DAVINCI ™< system by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., of Sunnyvale, California. Similarly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various teachings herein may be readily combined with various teachings of any of the following: U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,135, entitled "Articulated Surgical Instrument For Performing Minimally Invasive Surgery With Enhanced Dexterity and Sensitivity," issued Aug. 11, 1998, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,084, entitled "Remote Center Positioning Device with Flexible Drive," issued Oct. 6, 1998, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,193, entitled "Automated Endoscope System for Optimal Positioning," issued March 2, 1999, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,565, entitled "Robotic Arm DLUS for Performing Surgical Tasks," issued May 15, 2001, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524, entitled "Robotic Surgical Tool with Ultrasound Cauterizing and Cutting Instrument," issued Aug. 31, 2004, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,888, entitled "Alignment of Master and Slave in a Minimally Invasive Surgical Apparatus," issued April 2, 2002, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,524,320, entitled "Mechanical Actuator Interface System for Robotic Surgical Tools," issued April 28, 2009, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,098, entitled "Platform Link Wrist Mechanism," issued April 6, 2010, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,891, entitled "Repositioning and Reorientation of Master / Slave Relationship in Minimally Invasive Telesurgery," issued Oct. 5, 2010, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,844,789, entitled "Automated End Effector Component Reloading System for Use with a Robotic System," issued Sept. 30, 2014, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,820,605, entitled "Robotically-Controlled Surgical Instruments," issued Sept. 2, 2014, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,616,431, entitled "Shiftable Drive Interface for Robotically-Controlled Surgical Tool," issued Dec. 31, 2013, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,573,461, entitled "Surgical Stapling Instruments with Cam-Driven Staple Deployment Arrangements," issued Nov. 5, 2013, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,602,288, entitled "Robotically-Controlled Motorized Surgical End Effector System with Rotary Actuated Closure Systems Having Variable Actuation Speeds," issued Dec. 10, 2013, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 9,301,759, entitled "Robotically-Controlled Surgical Instrument with Selectively Articulatable End Effector," issued April 5, 2016, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,783,541, entitled "Robotically-Controlled Surgical End Effector System," issued July 22, 2014, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; U.S. Pat. No. 8,479,969, entitled "Drive Interface for Operably Coupling a Manipulatable Surgical Tool to a Robot," issued July 9, 2013; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 8,800,838, entitled "Robotically-Controlled Cable-Based Surgical End Effectors," issued Aug. 12, 2014, the disclosure of which is referenced herein; and / or U.S. Pat. No. 8,573,465, entitled "Robotically-Controlled Surgical End Effector System with Rotary Actuated Closure Systems," issued Nov. 5, 2013, the disclosure of which is referenced herein.

[0031] Versions of the devices described above may be designed to be disposed of after a single use, or they can be designed to be used multiple times. Versions may, in either or both cases, be reconditioned for reuse after at least one use. Reconditioning may include any combination of the steps of disassembly of the device, followed by cleaning or replacement of particular pieces, and subsequent reassembly. In particular, some versions of the device may be disassembled, and any number of the particular pieces or parts of the device may be selectively replaced or removed in any combination. Upon cleaning and / or replacement of particular parts, some versions of the device may be reassembled for subsequent use either at a reconditioning facility, or by a user immediately prior to a procedure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that reconditioning of a device may utilize a variety of techniques for disassembly, cleaning / replacement, and reassembly. Use of such techniques, and the resulting reconditioned device, are all within the scope of the present application.

[0032] By way of example only, versions described herein may be sterilized before and / or after a procedure. In one sterilization technique, the device is placed in a closed and sealed container, such as a plastic or TYVEK bag. The container and device may then be placed in a field of radiation that can penetrate the container, such as gamma radiation, x-rays, or high-energy electrons. The radiation may kill bacteria on the device and in the container. The sterilized device may then be stored in the sterile container for later use. A device may also be sterilized using any other technique known in the art, including but not limited to beta or gamma radiation, ethylene oxide, or steam.

[0033] Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, embodiments, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic surgical instrument (10), comprising: (a) a housing (18) configured to removably connect to a shaft assembly (14); (b) an ultrasonic transducer (26) supported by the housing and having a transducer connector configured to connect to a waveguide (38) for acoustically connecting the ultrasonic transducer to the waveguide, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is configured to be operated up to a predetermined number of use cycles; and (c) an integrated usage indicator (616) operatively connected to the housing and including a used state indicator (650), wherein the used state indicator is configured to indicate to a clinician in a used state when the ultrasonic transducer has been operated at least the predetermined number of use cycles for limiting usage of the ultrasonic transducer to the predetermined number of use cycles; characterised in that the integrated usage indicator further includes a ratchet (636) having the used state indicator thereon, wherein the ratchet is configured to be directed in a first direction toward the used state upon acoustic connection of the waveguide to the ultrasonic transducer, wherein the ratchet is ratcheted to inhibit the ratchet from moving in a second direction opposite from the first direction, and wherein the ultrasonic transducer has an actuator (622) configured to urge the ratchet in the first direction upon acoustically connecting the wave guide to the ultrasonic transducer.

2. The ultrasonic surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the used state indicator is configured to inhibit the waveguide from being acoustically connected to the ultrasonic transducer when the ultrasonic transducer has been operated at least the predetermined number of use cycles.

3. The ultrasonic surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the shaft assembly extends from a distal end portion to a proximal end portion and includes: (i) an end effector (16) extending distally from the distal end portion, and (ii) an acoustic waveguide (38) extend from the distal end portion to the proximal end portion, wherein the wave guide includes a proximally extending first threaded connection (58); wherein the housing is configured to removably connect to the proximal end portion of the shaft assembly; the ultrasonic transducer having a second threaded connector (56) configured to connect to the first threaded connector of the acoustic waveguide for acoustically connecting the ultrasonic transducer to the waveguide; and the integrated usage indicator including: (i) a use remaining indicator (650) configured to indicate to a clinician in a use remaining state when the ultrasonic transducer has been operated less than the predetermined number of use cycles, and (ii) an arrester (644) configured to inhibit connection of the shaft assembly when the used state indicator is in the used state for limiting usage of the ultrasonic transducer to the predetermined number of use cycles.

4. A method of indicating a used state of an ultrasonic surgical instrument, the ultrasonic surgical instrument (10) including: (a) a housing (18) configured to removably connect to a shaft assembly (14), (b) an ultrasonic transducer (26) supported by the housing and having a transducer connector configured to connect to a waveguide (38) for acoustically connecting the ultrasonic transducer to the waveguide, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is configured to be operated up to a predetermined number of use cycles, and (c) an integrated usage indicator (616) operatively connected to the housing and including a used state indicator (650), wherein the used state indicator is configured to indicate to a clinician in a used state when the ultrasonic transducer has been operated at least the predetermined number of use cycles for limiting usage of the ultrasonic transducer to the predetermined number of use cycles, the method comprising: (a) connecting the shaft assembly to the housing; (b) directing the integrated usage indicator from a use remaining state toward the used state; and (c) indicating the used state with the used state indicator to the clinician when the integrated usage indicator is in the used state; characterised in that the integrated usage indicator further includes a ratchet (636) having the used state indicator thereon, wherein the ratchet is configured to be directed in a first direction toward the used state upon acoustic connection of the waveguide to the ultrasonic transducer, wherein the ratchet is ratcheted to inhibit the ratchet from moving in a second direction opposite from the first direction, and wherein the ultrasonic transducer has an actuator (622) configured to urge the ratchet in the first direction upon acoustically connecting the wave guide to the ultrasonic; wherein directing the integrated usage indicator further includes rotating the ratchet in the first direction and inhibiting rotation of the ratchet in the second direction, wherein the first direction is opposite the second direction.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising inhibiting connection of the shaft assembly to the housing when the integrated usage indicator is in the used state.