Enhanced control systems including flexible shielding and support systems for electrosurgical applications
AssigneeEncision, Inc.
InventorsDavid Newton, Warren Taylor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surgical system comprises a device adapted to deliver a plurality of surgical instruments to a site within a patient's body, a first surgical instrument comprising an active electrode probe, a second surgical instrument for performing a non-electrosurgical procedure, a conductive shield surrounding the active electrode probe of the first surgical instrument and connected to a reference potential, and a cold instrument monitor connected to the second surgical instrument and to the reference potential.
Claims21
A method of monitoring and referencing a cold surgical instrument during an electrosurgical procedure utilizing more than one surgical instrument, wherein at least one of the surgical instruments is an electrosurgical instrument adapted to deliver electrosurgical energy, the method comprising:
- providing a sensor proximate to the cold surgical instrument;
- detecting an impedance of a circuit that includes the cold surgical instrument and the electrosurgical instrument during the electrosurgical procedure;
- detecting a voltage in the cold surgical instrument through the sensor;
- setting a first voltage threshold in a connection monitoring device;
- comparing the detected voltage with the first threshold voltage;
- determining whether the voltage represents an unsafe patient condition;
- determining whether the impedance, a load impedance rate of change, a direction of change along a load impedance curve, or a spectral determination represents an abnormal and unintended contact condition between the cold instrument and the electrosurgical instrument;
- altering the delivery of power to the electrosurgical instrument based on a determining of the unsafe patient condition or a determining of the abnormal and unintended contact condition.
A method of monitoring and referencing a cold surgical instrument during an electrosurgical procedure utilizing more than one surgical instrument, wherein at least one of the surgical instruments is an electrosurgical instrument adapted to deliver electrosurgical energy, the method comprising:
- detecting a voltage in the cold surgical instrument during the electrosurgical procedure in order to detect an unsafe patient condition;
- detecting an impedance over time of a circuit that includes the cold surgical instrument and the electrosurgical instrument during the electrosurgical procedure in order to detect an abnormal and unintended contact condition between the cold instrument and the electrosurgical instrument;
- determining that at least one of a load impedance rate of change, a direction of change along a load impedance curve, or a spectral determination represents the abnormal and unintended contact condition between the cold instrument and the electrosurgical instrument;
- and altering the delivery of power to the electrosurgical instrument based on the determining that the abnormal and unintended contact condition is represented.
A method of monitoring and referencing a cold surgical instrument during an electrosurgical procedure utilizing more than one surgical instrument, wherein at least one of the surgical instruments is an electrosurgical instrument adapted to deliver electrosurgical energy, the method comprising:
- detecting a voltage in the cold surgical instrument during the electrosurgical procedure in order to detect an unsafe patient condition;
- detecting an energy delivered to a patient during the electrosurgical procedure;
- comparing the energy delivered to a threshold energy;
- determining whether the energy delivered to the patient is an abnormal and unintended energy caused by a contact condition between the cold instrument and the electrosurgical instrument, based on an impedance of a circuit including the cold instrument;
- and altering the delivery of power to the electrosurgical instrument based on the determining of the abnormal and unintended energy delivered to the patient.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.