Electrosurgical system

#This invention relates to an electrosurgical system for use in the treatment of tissue. Such systems are used in endoscopic or “keyhole” surgery, as well as more traditional “open” surgery.

#Many electrosurgical systems have some form of identification system, such that when an electrosurgical instrument is connected to an electrosurgical generator, the generator is able to detect which type of instrument is present, and even use settings such as power and voltage settings which are appropriate for that particular instrument or type of instrument. Our U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,386 is one example of such an identification system, although other types are also known.

#Embodiments of the present invention attempt to provide an alternative to such identification systems, with increased complexity so as to make it more difficult for non-authorised instruments to be used. Accordingly, from one aspect an electrosurgical system is provided comprising at least a first unit and a second unit, the second unit being detachably connectible to the first unit and being associated with an electrode assembly, the first unit comprising:

#The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

#FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electrosurgical system according to the present invention,

#FIG. 2 is a schematic diagrams of the system of FIG. 1, showing various internal components,

#Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a conventional electrosurgical apparatus including a first unit in the form of a generator 1 having an output socket 2 providing a radio frequency (RF) output, for a second unit in the form of an instrument 3, via a connection cord 4. Activation of the generator 1 may be performed by means of a footswitch unit 5 connected separately to the rear of the generator 1 by a footswitch connection cord 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the footswitch unit 5 has two footswitches 5a and 5b for selecting a desiccation mode and a vaporisation mode of the generator 1 respectively. The generator front panel has push buttons 7a and 7b for respectively setting desiccation and vaporisation power levels, which are indicated in a display 8. Push buttons 9 are provided as an alternative means for selection between the desiccation and vaporisation modes.

#FIG. 2 shows a schematic version of FIG. 1 showing some of the internal components of the generator 1 and instrument 3. The generator 1 includes a power supply 10, RF oscillator 11, and controller 12, all designed to provide an RF output to output stage 13. The instrument 3 includes a handpiece 14 and an electrode assembly 15. In some arrangements the electrode assembly 15 is detachable from the handpiece 14 so that the same handpiece can be used with different electrode assemblies. In other arrangements, the handpiece 14, electrode assembly 15 and connection cord 4 are all formed as a single one-piece assembly.

#The instrument 3 also includes an identification circuit 16, which is associated with the electrode assembly 15 if the electrode assembly is detachable, or otherwise with the handpiece 14 if the instrument is a one-piece assembly. The identification circuit 16 is connected via additional line 17 to a sensing circuit 18 located within the generator 1.