Method and a device for electro microsurgery in a physiological liquid environment
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device consisting of:
- a microelectrode formed of a single metal wire inside an insulator, said insulator having a diameter of less than about 1 mm and said wiring having an exit diameter of less than 100 microns;
a second electrode surrounding said insulator; and
a high voltage pulse generator capable of producing a voltage in the range of 100 V to 10 kV connected between said wire and said second electrode for generating a pulse having a duration in the range of 0.030 to 3 μ
s that causes generation of a submicrosecond duration discharge in a conducting medium between said wire and said second electrode with pulse energies in the range of 1-1000 μ
J.
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Abstract
A method and device for electrical emulation of pulsed laser is disclosed. The device utilizes high voltage electrical discharges of sub-microsecond duration in a liquid medium to produce cavitation bubbles of sub-millimeter size for use in high speed precision cutting. Such bubbles are produced by a micro-electrode (1.6) having a central wire having a diameter of 1 microns to 100 microns embedded in an insulator. A coaxial electrode (1.9) surrounds the insulator, and may be spaced from the outer surface of the insulator to provide a path for removing tissue.
140 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A device consisting of:
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a microelectrode formed of a single metal wire inside an insulator, said insulator having a diameter of less than about 1 mm and said wiring having an exit diameter of less than 100 microns;
a second electrode surrounding said insulator; and
a high voltage pulse generator capable of producing a voltage in the range of 100 V to 10 kV connected between said wire and said second electrode for generating a pulse having a duration in the range of 0.030 to 3 μ
s that causes generation of a submicrosecond duration discharge in a conducting medium between said wire and said second electrode with pulse energies in the range of 1-1000 μ
J.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A device consisting of:
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a microelectrode formed of a single metal wire inside an insulator, said wire having an exit diameter of less than 100 microns;
an electrode surrounding said metal wire and said insulator, said electrode having a diameter between 0.9 and 1.0 mm; and
a high voltage pulse generator capable of producing a voltage in the range of 100 V to 10 kV connected to said wire for generating pulses having durations of between 30 ns and 3 μ
s to cause generation of submicrosecond duration sparks in a conductive medium between said wire and said electrode, the generated pulses having pulse energies in the range of 1-1000 μ
J.- View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A device comprising:
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a microelectrode comprising a glass microcapillary having a metal wire inside the glass, the microcapillary being tapered to a point and coated with metal to form a concentric metal needle, said metal wire having an exit diameter in the range of 1-100 microns; and
a high voltage pulse generator connected to said wire to generate a submicrosecond duration discharge in a conducting liquid containing medium with pulse energies in the range of 1-1000 μ
J to produce a cavitation bubble, said discharge having a duration sufficiently short to produce a bubble having a diameter no greater than 0.5 mm in said conducting medium with characteristics that emulate the action of pulsed lasers in said conducting medium.- View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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15. A device comprising:
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a microelectrode comprising a glass microcapillary having a metal wire inside the glass, the microcapillary being tapered to a point and coated with metal to form a concentric metal needle, said metal wire having an exit diameter of less than 100 microns; and
a high voltage pulse generator connected to said wire to generate an electrical discharge having a duration in the range of 0.030 to 3.0 microsecond in a conducting liquid containing medium with pulse energies in the range of 1-1000 μ
J to produce in said conducting medium submillimeter-sized cavitation bubbles with characteristics that emulate the action of pulsed lasers.
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16. A device comprising:
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a microelectrode comprising a glass microcapillary having a metal wire inside the glass, the microcapillary being tapered to a point and coated with metal to form a concentric metal needle, said metal wire having an exit diameter in a range of 1-100 microns; and
a high voltage pulse generator connected to said metal wire and having a pulse shaped to generate at the metal wire exit a submicrosecond duration electrical discharge through a gas layer in a conducting liquid containing environment with a pulse energy in the range of 1-1000 μ
J to produce cavitation bubble generation in said conducting medium in a manner that produces cavitation bubbles which collapse after reaching a maximum diameter of 0.5 mm, with characteristics that emulate the action of pulsed lasers in said conducting medium.
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Specification