METHODS AND DEVICES FOR CREATING THERMAL ZONES WITHIN AN ELECTROSURGICAL INSTRUMENT

• US 20160074095A1
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Published: 03/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ethicon, LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Strobl, Geoffrey S., Kiturkes, Alex, Yates, David C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,931,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1445 at the distal end of a shaft, e.g. forceps or scissors at the end of a rigid rod
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00831 Material properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00071 Electrical conductivity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00095 high, i.e. heat conducting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00101 low, i.e. thermally insulating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00136 with polymer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00196 reciprocating lengthwise
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00607 Coagulation and cutting with the same instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0063 Sealing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1455 having a moving blade for cutting tissue grasped by the jaws
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/147 Electrodes transferring energy by capacitive coupling, i.e. with a dielectricum between electrode and target tissue

Abstract

Surgical instruments and methods for controlling temperature are described herein and can have particular utility when sealing tissue. In one embodiment, an end effector can include first and second jaw members configured to clamp tissue therebetween, and an electrode having a single continuous conductive surface that is coupled to the first jaw member. The end effector can also include a plurality of electrical insulators of varying thermal conductivity disposed between the electrode and the first jaw member coupled thereto. The electrode can be divided into a plurality of thermal zones by at least one opening formed therein and the plurality of electrical insulators can be arranged such that at least a first thermal zone contacts an electrical insulator having a first thermal conductivity and at least a second thermal zone contacts an electrical insulator having a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity.

Claims

1. A surgical end effector, comprising:

first and second jaw members movable relative to one another between an open position and a closed position to clamp tissue therebetween;

an electrode having a single continuous conductive surface coupled to the first jaw member such that the electrode contacts tissue clamped between the first and second jaw members when in the closed position; and

a plurality of electrical insulators of varying thermal conductivity disposed between the electrode and the first jaw member coupled thereto,

wherein the electrode is divided into a plurality of thermal zones by at least one opening formed therein and the plurality of electrical insulators are arranged such that at least a first thermal zone contacts an electrical insulator having a first thermal conductivity and at least a second thermal zone contacts an electrical insulator having a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity.

2. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least first thermal zone and the at least second thermal zone extend along a longitudinal axis of the end effector, and wherein the at least second thermal zone is positioned laterally of the at least first thermal zone.

3. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least first thermal zone and the at least second thermal zone extend along a longitudinal axis of the end effector, and wherein the at least first thermal zone is positioned laterally of the at least second thermal zone.

4. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least first thermal zone and the at least second thermal zone are positioned alternately along a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

5. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least first thermal zone is positioned at a distal end of the end effector.

6. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least one opening formed in the electrode includes a slit extending along a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

7. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least one opening formed in the electrode includes a slit that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

8. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of electrical insulators is disposed within the at least one opening formed in the electrode to separate the plurality of thermal zones of the electrode from one another.

9. The surgical end effector of claim 1, further comprising a temperature dependent selectively conductive material disposed within the at least one opening formed in the electrode.

10. The surgical end effector of claim 9, wherein the temperature dependent selectively conductive material is a Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) material.

11. The surgical end effector of claim 9, wherein the temperature dependent selectively conductive material is a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) material.

12. A surgical end effector, comprising:

first and second jaw members movable relative to one another between an open position and a closed position to clamp tissue between tissue facing surfaces thereof;

an electrode having a single continuous conductive surface, the electrode being coupled to the tissue facing surface of the first jaw member such that the electrode contacts tissue clamped between the first and second jaw members when in the closed position;

at least one thermal insulator disposed between the electrode and the tissue facing surface of the first jaw member; and

at least one thermal conductor disposed between the at least one thermal insulator and the tissue facing surface of the first jaw member,

wherein a thickness of the at least one thermal insulator and a thickness of the at least one thermal conductor vary along a portion of the end effector to produce at least a first thermal zone having a first thermal conductivity and a second thermal zone having a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity.

13. The surgical end effector of claim 12, wherein the thickness of the at least one thermal insulator decreases linearly from a proximal end of the end effector to a distal end of the end effector.

14. The surgical end effector of claim 13, wherein the thickness of the at least one thermal conductor increases linearly from the proximal end of the end effector to the distal end of the end effector.

15. The surgical end effector of claim 12, wherein the thickness of the at least one thermal insulator decreases in at least one step from a proximal end of the end effector to the distal end of the end effector.

16. The surgical end effector of claim 15, wherein the thickness of the at least one thermal conductor increases in at least one step from the proximal end of the end effector to the distal end of the end effector.

17. The surgical end effector of claim 12, wherein a sum of the thickness of the at least one thermal insulator and the thickness of the at least one thermal conductor remains constant along the portion of the end effector, and wherein the thickness of the at least one thermal insulator and the thickness of the at least one thermal conductor vary inversely along the portion of the end effector.

18. The surgical end effector of claim 12, wherein the portion of the end effector is defined by a longitudinal axis extending from a proximal end of the end effector to a distal end thereof.

19. The surgical end effector of claim 12, wherein the portion of the end effector is defined by an axis extending transverse to a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

20. A method for controlling temperature in an electrosurgical instrument, comprising:

positioning an end effector having first and second jaw members such that tissue is disposed within a gap between the first and second jaw members;

moving the first and second jaw members relative to one another to capture the tissue disposed within the gap;

delivering energy at different temperatures to the captured tissue across a length of the end effector through an electrode having a single continuous conductive surface that is coupled to at least one of the first and second jaw members.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein delivering energy at different temperatures to the captured tissue occurs by way of multiple thermal zones being formed across the length of the end effector, the thermal zones including at least a first thermal zone and a second thermal zone extending along a longitudinal axis of the end effector with the second thermal zone being positioned laterally of the first thermal zone.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second thermal zone has a lower temperature than the first thermal zone.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the second thermal zone has a higher temperature than the first thermal zone.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein delivering energy at different temperatures to the captured tissue occurs by way of multiple thermal zones being formed across the length of the end effector, the thermal zones including at least a first thermal zone and a second thermal zone extending along a longitudinal axis of the end effector with the second thermal zone being positioned distally of the first thermal zone and having a lower temperature than the first thermal zone.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second thermal zone is positioned at a distal end of the end effector.