System and method for monitoring electrosurgical instruments
First Claim
1. A method for performing an electrosurgical procedure comprising:
- applying an active electrode to a patient, the active electrode being operatively coupled to a conductive body of a surgical instrument;
placing a return electrode on the patient so as to create a current path in tissue of the patient between the active electrode and the return electrode;
coupling the conductive body to a reference voltage with a low impedance path;
imparting a voltage to the active electrode so as to generate current in the current path, wherein the current in the current path alters some tissue of the patient; and
limiting any undesirable current flow that would otherwise flow, absent the limiting, from the active electrode to the reference voltage through the patient, conductive body and the low impedance path.
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Abstract
A system and method for performing an electrosurgical procedure are disclosed. The method includes applying an active electrode to a patient and placing a return electrode on the patient so as to create a current path in tissue of the patient between the active electrode and the return electrode. A conductive element, which is operatively coupled to the active electrode, is coupled to a reference voltage with a low impedance path and a voltage is imparted to the active electrode so as to generate current in the current path. Any undesirable current flow that would otherwise flow from the active electrode to the reference voltage through the patient is limited to reduce a risk of harm to the patient.
135 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for performing an electrosurgical procedure comprising:
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applying an active electrode to a patient, the active electrode being operatively coupled to a conductive body of a surgical instrument;
placing a return electrode on the patient so as to create a current path in tissue of the patient between the active electrode and the return electrode;
coupling the conductive body to a reference voltage with a low impedance path;
imparting a voltage to the active electrode so as to generate current in the current path, wherein the current in the current path alters some tissue of the patient; and
limiting any undesirable current flow that would otherwise flow, absent the limiting, from the active electrode to the reference voltage through the patient, conductive body and the low impedance path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for performing an electrosurgical procedure on a patient with an electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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placing a return electrode between the patient and a return line of an electrosurgical generator;
coupling a conductive body of the electrosurgical instrument to a reference voltage via a low impedance path, wherein the reference voltage is substantially isolated from the return electrode and the reference voltage is selected so as to limit a difference between a patient voltage and a voltage of the conductive body;
coupling an active electrode of the electrosurgical instrument between the patient and an active line of the electrosurgical generator, wherein the electrosurgical generator is capable of providing, to the active electrode, a range of surgical-level voltages that are sufficient to alter tissue of the patient;
detecting undesirable current between the active electrode and the working element; and
imparting a voltage to the active electrode that is within the range of surgical-level voltages while there are tolerable non-zero levels of the undesirable current between the active electrode and the working element.
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23. A system for performing an electrosurgical procedure comprising:
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an electrosurgical instrument comprising an active electrode and a conductive body, wherein the active electrode is operatively coupled to the conductive body and the active electrode is configured to impart, when coupled with an electrosurgical generator, a voltage to a region of a patient so as to alter tissue in the region of the patient;
a return electrode configured to be coupled between the patient and the electrosurgical generator;
a reference electrode configured to be coupled to the patient so as to attain a patient voltage; and
a monitor coupled between the conductive body of the electrosurgical instrument and the reference electrode, wherein the monitor is configured to monitor a fault current between the conductive body and reference electrode.
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Specification