Planar ablation probe for electrosurgical cutting and ablation
First Claim
1. An electrosurgical probe for applying electrical energy to a target site within a confined spaced in a patient'"'"'s body, the instrument comprising:
- a shaft having a proximal end portion and a distal end portion extending from the shaft, the distal end portion having an axial length, a thickness substantially less than said length and a width substantially larger than said thickness to form a substantially planar body having an active side and a non-active side opposing the active side sized to fit within a relatively narrow space within the patient'"'"'s body;
an insulating member extending alone the non-active side of the substantially planar body;
at least one active electrode extending along the active side of the substantially planar body of the distal end portion of the shaft and being insulated from the non-active side and having an exposed surface area;
a return electrode having an exposed surface area larger than the exposed surface area of the active electrode and being spaced from the active electrode; and
a connector disposed near the proximal end portion of the shaft for electrically coupling the active electrode to a high frequency voltage source.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrosurgical ablation probe is provided having a shaft with a proximal end portion and a tongue-shaped distal end portion sized to fit within confined (e.g., narrow) spaces within the patient'"'"'s body, such as the spaces around the articular cartilage between the femur and tibia and the spaces between adjacent vertebrae in the patient'"'"'s spine. The probe includes at least one active electrode integral with or coupled to the tongue-shaped distal end portion and a connector on the proximal end portion for coupling the active electrode to an electrosurgical generator. The tongue-shaped distal end portion is substantially planar, and it offers a low profile, to allow access to confined spaces without risking iatrogenic injury to surrounding tissue, such as articular cartilage.
636 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An electrosurgical probe for applying electrical energy to a target site within a confined spaced in a patient'"'"'s body, the instrument comprising:
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a shaft having a proximal end portion and a distal end portion extending from the shaft, the distal end portion having an axial length, a thickness substantially less than said length and a width substantially larger than said thickness to form a substantially planar body having an active side and a non-active side opposing the active side sized to fit within a relatively narrow space within the patient'"'"'s body;
an insulating member extending alone the non-active side of the substantially planar body;
at least one active electrode extending along the active side of the substantially planar body of the distal end portion of the shaft and being insulated from the non-active side and having an exposed surface area;
a return electrode having an exposed surface area larger than the exposed surface area of the active electrode and being spaced from the active electrode; and
a connector disposed near the proximal end portion of the shaft for electrically coupling the active electrode to a high frequency voltage source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An electrosurgical probe for applying electrical energy to a target site within a confined spaced in a patient'"'"'s body, the instrument comprising:
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a shaft having a proximal end portion, a distal end portion extending from the shaft and a middle portion coupling the proximal and distal end portions, the middle portion having a thickness, the distal end portion having an axial length, a thickness substantially less than said length and substantially less than the thickness of the middle portion and a width substantially larger than said thickness of the distal end portion to form a substantially planar body having an active side and a non-active side opposing the active side sized to fit within a relatively narrow space within the patient'"'"'s body;
at least one active electrode disposed on the active side of the distal end portion of the shaft and being insulated from the non-active side; and
a connector disposed near the proximal end portion of the shaft for electrically coupling the electrode to a high frequency voltage source. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification