Electrosurgical Instrument Which Reduces Collateral Damage to Adjacent Tissue
First Claim
1. An electrode assembly for use with an electrosurgical instrument having opposing end effectors and a handle for effecting movement of the end effectors relative to one another, comprising:
- a housing having at least one portion that removably engages at least one portion of the electrosurgical instrument; and
a pair of opposing electrodes each including an electrically conductive sealing surface and a corresponding insulating substrate, the electrodes being removably engageable with respective end effectors of the electrosurgical instrument such that the electrodes reside in opposing relation relative to one another,wherein at least one of the electrically conductive sealing surfaces of one of the opposing electrodes is raised relative to a corresponding insulating substrate to thereby reduce current concentrations between the opposing electrodes during activation to thereby reduce thermal spread to adjacent tissue structures.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrode assembly for use in combination with an electrosurgical instrument having opposing end effectors and a handle for effecting movement of the end effectors relative to one another. The electrode assembly includes a housing having one portion which is removably engageable with the electrosurgical instrument and a pair of electrodes each having an electrically conductive sealing surface and an insulating substrate. The electrodes are removably engageable with the end effectors of the electrosurgical instrument such that the electrodes reside in opposing relation relative to one another. The dimensions of the insulating substrate are different from the dimensions of the electrically conductive sealing surface to reduce thermal spread to adjacent tissue structures.
270 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electrode assembly for use with an electrosurgical instrument having opposing end effectors and a handle for effecting movement of the end effectors relative to one another, comprising:
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a housing having at least one portion that removably engages at least one portion of the electrosurgical instrument; and a pair of opposing electrodes each including an electrically conductive sealing surface and a corresponding insulating substrate, the electrodes being removably engageable with respective end effectors of the electrosurgical instrument such that the electrodes reside in opposing relation relative to one another, wherein at least one of the electrically conductive sealing surfaces of one of the opposing electrodes is raised relative to a corresponding insulating substrate to thereby reduce current concentrations between the opposing electrodes during activation to thereby reduce thermal spread to adjacent tissue structures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An electrode assembly for use with an electrosurgical instrument having a handle and at least one shaft for effecting movement of a pair of opposing end effectors relative to one another, comprising:
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a housing having at least one portion that removably engages at least one of the handle and the shaft; and a pair of electrodes each having an electrically conductive sealing surface having a first geometric shape and a corresponding insulating substrate having a second geometric shape, the electrodes being removably engageable with respective end effectors of the instrument such that the electrodes reside in opposing relation relative to one another, wherein each of the electrically conductive sealing surfaces of the electrodes is raised relative to a corresponding insulative substrate and is configured to reduce current concentrations between the opposing electrodes and thermal spread to adjacent tissue structures. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification