Systems and methods facilitating reprocessing of surgical instruments

Abstract

A method of sharpening a cutting edge of a knife of a surgical instrument includes manipulating an end effector assembly of a surgical instrument such that first and second jaw members of the end effector assembly are disposed in a spaced-apart position, retaining the first and second jaw members in the spaced-apart position, advancing a knife of the surgical instrument to an extended position wherein the knife extends between the first and second jaw members, retaining the knife in the extended position, and sharpening a cutting edge of the knife.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for sharpening a cutting edge of a knife of a surgical instrument, the system comprising:
 a jack configured to retain first and second jaw members of an end effector assembly of a surgical instrument in a spaced-apart position relative to one another;   a clamp configured to retain a knife of the surgical instrument in an extended position wherein the knife extends between the first and second jaw members in the spaced-apart position thereof; and   a sharpener configured to sharpen a cutting edge of the knife while the jack retains the first and second jaw members in the spaced-apart position and the clamp retains the knife in the extended position.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a fixture configured to receive and retain at least a portion of the end effector assembly therein. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 2 , wherein the fixture is configured to receive and retain one of the first or second jaw members in fixed position therein. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 2 , wherein the clamp is configured to engage the fixture to retain the clamp in position. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the jack includes a base, a shaft, and a support, the support configured to engage one of the first or second jaw members to retain the first and second jaw members in the spaced-apart position. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 5 , wherein the support is slidable along the shaft and relative to base to move the one of the first or second jaw members to thereby move the first and second jaw members to the spaced-apart position. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the clamp is configured to engage the knife at a position spaced-apart from the cutting edge of the knife. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the position is proximally spaced-apart from the cutting edge of the knife. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a grasping device configured to grasp the knife to enable pulling of the knife to the extended position. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 9 , further comprising a pull-wise connected to the grasping device, wherein the pull wire is actuatable to pull the knife to the extended position. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sharpener is manually operated. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sharpener is powered. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sharpener is one of: a jig-assisted sharpener, a sharpening stone-based sharpener, a push-through sharpener, a grinder sharpener, or a belt sharpener. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sharpener is movable from a first position, wherein the sharpener is spaced-apart from the knife, to a second position, wherein the sharpener is adjacent the cutting edge of the knife to enable sharpening thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the clamp is configured to engage the jack to retain the clamp in position.