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US 11,759,250 B2Granted
Electrode configurations for electrical flux delivery instruments, and related systems and methods
AssigneeIntuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
InventorMichael Orton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrosurgical instrument may comprise a pair of jaw members configured to move between an open position and a closed position. In the closed position, the pair of jaw members may be configured to exert a gripping force on material placed between working surfaces of the pair of jaw members. A first jaw member of the pair of jaw members may comprise a first electrode, and a second jaw member of the pair of jaw members may comprise a second electrode and a third electrode.
Claims30
An electrosurgical instrument, comprising:
- a pair of jaw members configured to move between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the closed position the pair of jaw members is configured to exert a gripping force on material placed between opposing first and second working surfaces of the pair of jaw members, the first and second working surfaces each having a longitudinal dimension and a lateral dimension;
- wherein a first jaw member of the pair of jaw members comprises a first conductive shell surrounding a first insulative core in a cross-section of the first jaw member transverse to the longitudinal dimension, the first conductive shell forming a first electrode defining the first working surface of the pair of jaw members;
- wherein a second jaw member of the pair of jaw members comprises a second electrode and a third electrode disposed at opposite lateral side portions of the second jaw member, and a dielectric material separating the second electrode and the third electrode, wherein the second electrode, the third electrode, and the dielectric material define the second working surface of the pair of jaw members;
- and
- wherein a thermal conductivity of the first electrode is greater at a middle of the first working surface than at lateral portions of the first working surface such that a thermal profile of the first working surface varies along a lateral dimension of the first working surface.
2 more elements
A surgical system, comprising:
- an electrosurgical instrument;
- and
- an electrosurgical energy supply source electrically coupled to supply electrical energy to the electrosurgical instrument;
- wherein the electrosurgical instrument comprises a first jaw member comprising a first electrode, and a second jaw member comprising a second electrode and a third electrode,
- wherein the first and second jaw members are configured to grasp a material between opposing first and second working surfaces of each of the first and second jaw members, the first and second working surfaces each having a longitudinal dimension and a lateral dimension,
- wherein a thermal conductivity of a portion of one or more of the first, second, and third electrodes is greater than at other portions of the one or more of the first, second, and third electrodes, respectively, such that a thermal profile of one or both of the first working surface and the second working surface varies along a lateral dimension of one or both of the first and second working surfaces, and
- the electrosurgical energy supply source is configured to selectively alter a polarity of each of the first, second, and third electrodes, to change a state of the instrument between a first state and a second state such that:
- in the first state, the first electrode has a first polarity chosen from a positive or a negative polarity, and the second and third electrodes both have a second polarity chosen from a positive or a negative polarity and that is opposite the first polarity;
- and
- in the second state, the first electrode has a neutral polarity, the second electrode has a positive polarity, and the third electrode has the negative polarity.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.