Electrosurgical system
First Claim
1. An electrosurgical system comprising:
- a generator for generating radio frequency power, andan electrosurgical instrument including an electrode assembly, the electrosurgical instrument being detachably connectible to the generator such that radio frequency power can be conveyed to the electrode assembly,wherein the generator includes a counter incremented each time an electrosurgical instrument is connected to the generator, the electrosurgical instrument includes a memory device capable of recording the value of the counter when the electrosurgical instrument is connected to the generator, and the system includes a comparison unit capable of comparing the current value of the counter with the value of the counter stored in the memory device, and generating a signal when the difference between the two values of the counter is greater than a predetermined threshold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrosurgical system includes an electrosurgical generator, for generating radio frequency power, and an electrosurgical instrument including an electrode assembly. The electrosurgical instrument is detachably connectible to the generator such that radio frequency power can be conveyed to the electrode assembly. The generator includes a counter incremented each time an electrosurgical instrument is connected to the generator, and the electrosurgical instrument includes a memory device capable of recording the value of the counter when the electrosurgical instrument is connected to the generator. The system further includes a comparison unit capable of comparing the current value of the counter with the value of the counter stored in the memory device, and generating a signal when the difference between the two values of the counter is greater than a predetermined threshold.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An electrosurgical system comprising:
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a generator for generating radio frequency power, and an electrosurgical instrument including an electrode assembly, the electrosurgical instrument being detachably connectible to the generator such that radio frequency power can be conveyed to the electrode assembly, wherein the generator includes a counter incremented each time an electrosurgical instrument is connected to the generator, the electrosurgical instrument includes a memory device capable of recording the value of the counter when the electrosurgical instrument is connected to the generator, and the system includes a comparison unit capable of comparing the current value of the counter with the value of the counter stored in the memory device, and generating a signal when the difference between the two values of the counter is greater than a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of monitoring re-use of an electrosurgical instrument comprising the steps of
i) connecting the electrosurgical instrument to an electrosurgical generator, ii) detecting whether the electrosurgical instrument has been connected previously to an electrosurgical generator, iii) if the electrosurgical instrument has not been connected previously to an electrosurgical generator, writing a value from an incremental counter housed in the generator to a memory present in the electrosurgical instrument, and iv) incrementing the incremental counter in response to the connection of the electrosurgical instrument.
Specification