Electrosurgical system and method having enhanced temperature measurement
AssigneeArthroCare Corporation
InventorDuane W. Marion
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Abstract
Electrosurgical systems and methods are described herein in which the temperature of a fluid within a body or joint space is determined and/or monitored despite the energy generated during treatment by an ablation probe. One or more temperature sensors are positioned along the probe proximally of the electrode assembly and measure the temperature of an electrically conductive fluid without being overly influenced by the surgical effect occurring proximate the electrode assembly. A controller automatically suspends energy delivery for one or more periods of time while the temperature is monitored.
Claims12
An electrosurgical method for monitoring temperature during an electrosurgical procedure to ablate soft tissue comprising:
- delivering high frequency energy to an active electrode terminal located at the distal end of an electrosurgical probe, said active electrode terminal being positioned in electrically conductive fluid during the procedure and wherein a current flow path from the active electrode, through the electrically conductive fluid, to a return electrode is created when the high frequency energy is delivered;
- monitoring a temperature signal indicative of a temperature of the electrically conductive fluid;
- and
- automatically suspending the delivering step for at least one suspension period while monitoring said temperature signal until the change in said temperature signal versus time is less than a threshold value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.