APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR MULTIPOLAR TISSUE WELDING
First Claim
1. A tissue coagulation system comprising:
- a power source;
a plurality of active electrodes connected in parallel to said power source;
at least one resistor connected in series with one of said plurality of active electrodes such that the voltage drop across one of said active electrodes is different from the voltage drop across another of said active electrodes; and
a ground electrode,wherein said power source is electrically coupled to said ground electrode through the tissue.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus, systems and methods of welding and coagulating tissue utilize a combination of monopolar and bipolar delivery of RF energy. This method is referred to as multipolar RF delivery and includes bringing a treatment apparatus having first and second electrodes to a treatment site. A first potential is applied to the first electrode and a second potential lower than the first is delivered to the second electrode. This results in current flow from the first electrode through the tissue to the second electrode and then through the tissue to a ground electrode. Current also flows from the first electrode through the tissue to the ground electrode and current may also flow from the first electrode through the tissue to the second electrode and return directly to the ground electrode.
107 Citations
176 Claims
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1. A tissue coagulation system comprising:
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a power source; a plurality of active electrodes connected in parallel to said power source; at least one resistor connected in series with one of said plurality of active electrodes such that the voltage drop across one of said active electrodes is different from the voltage drop across another of said active electrodes; and a ground electrode, wherein said power source is electrically coupled to said ground electrode through the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 64, 65)
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26. A tissue coagulation welding system comprising:
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a plurality of active electrodes; and a plurality of power sources, with one said power source electrically coupled to one each of said active electrodes such that the voltage drop across one said active electrode is different from the voltage drop across a different of said active electrodes; wherein each said power source is electrically coupled to a ground electrode through the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A tissue coagulation system comprising:
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a power source; a plurality of active electrodes connected in parallel to said power source, wherein electrical characteristics of adjacent active electrodes are such that the voltage drop across one active electrode is different from the voltage drop across another active electrode; and a ground electrode, wherein said power source is electrically coupled to said ground electrode through the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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66. A tissue coagulation system comprising:
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a power source; a plurality of active electrodes connected in parallel to said power source; a RC circuit controlling a phase of voltage supplied by said power source connected to at least one said active electrode such that a different phase voltage is supplied to at least two different ones of said active electrodes; and a ground electrode, wherein said power source is electrically coupled to said ground electrode through the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 102, 103)
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91. A tissue coagulation welding system comprising:
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a plurality of active electrodes; and a plurality of power sources, with one said power source electrically coupled to each said active electrode, a frequency of voltage supplied by at least two of said plurality of power sources being different, such that the voltage drop across one said active electrode is different from the voltage drop across a different said active electrode; wherein each said power source is electrically coupled to a ground electrode through the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
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109. A tissue coagulation system comprising:
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a power source; a plurality of active electrodes connected in parallel to said power source; at least one diode connected in series with one of said plurality of active electrodes such that the voltage drop across one of said active electrodes is different from the voltage drop across another of said active electrodes; a ground electrode; wherein said power source is electrically coupled to said ground electrode through the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132)
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133. An apparatus for coagulating tissue comprising:
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an elongate flexible member having a proximal end and a distal end; a plurality of active electrodes disposed near the distal end of the elongate flexible member, said plurality of electrodes adapted to be coupled in parallel to a power source, said plurality of electrodes also adapted so that a resistor connected in series with one of said plurality of electrodes members results in a voltage drop across said one electrode different from a second voltage drop across another of said plurality of electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140)
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141. An apparatus for coagulating tissue comprising:
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an elongate flexible member having a proximal end and a distal end; a plurality of active electrodes disposed near the distal end of the elongate flexible member and coupleable in parallel to a power source, said plurality of electrodes also adapted to be coupled to a RC circuit controlling a phase of voltage supplied to at least one of said plurality of electrodes such that a different phase voltage can be supplied to at least two different ones of said plurality of electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148)
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149. An apparatus for coagulating tissue comprising:
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an elongate flexible member having a proximal end and a distal end; and a plurality of active electrodes disposed near the distal end of said elongate flexible member, said plurality of electrodes adapted to be coupled with two or more power sources such that a frequency of voltage supplied by said two or more power sources are different and that the voltage drop across one of said plurality of electrodes is different from the voltage drop across a different of said plurality of electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156)
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157. An apparatus for coagulating tissue comprising:
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an elongate flexible member having a proximal end and a distal end; and a plurality of active electrodes disposed near the distal end of the elongate flexible member, said plurality of electrodes adapted to be coupled in parallel to a power source, said plurality of electrodes also adapted so that a diode connected in series with one of said plurality of electrodes members results in a voltage drop across said one electrode different from a second voltage drop across another of said plurality of electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164)
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165. A method for coagulating tissue, the method comprising:
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bringing a treatment apparatus to a tissue treatment site, the treatment apparatus having a proximal end, a distal end and a first and a second active electrode near the distal end; positioning the first and the second electrodes into apposition with tissues of the tissue treatment site so that the treatment apparatus may effectively coagulate the tissue; and applying a first potential to the first electrode and a second potential lower than the first potential to the second electrode so that current flows from the first energy transmission member through the tissue to the second energy transmission member and then through the tissue to a ground electrode, and current also flows from the first electrode through the tissue to the ground electrode. - View Dependent Claims (166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176)
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Specification