Cartilage treatment probe
First Claim
1. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
- a shaft defining a longitudinal axis;
a flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft; and
a head coupled to the shaft through the flexible portion, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, the head including an electrically conductive surface and a substantially planar, flat non-conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface,wherein the flexible portion is configured to passively bias the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface and is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrosurgical instrument for ablating cartilage while limiting collateral damage includes a non-conducting head with a small electrically conductive surface. The head of the instrument is coupled to a shaft by a flexible portion. The flexible portion biases the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface. The head is pivotably coupled to the shaft such that the electrically conductive surface is oriented substantially parallel to the tissue surface as the head slides across the tissue surface. A method of performing electrosurgery includes positioning the electrically conductive surface adjacent to the tissue surface, and sliding the shaft across the tissue surface with the head pivoting such that the electrically conductive surface is oriented substantially parallel to the tissue surface.
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Citations
61 Claims
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1. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head coupled to the shaft through the flexible portion, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, the head including an electrically conductive surface and a substantially planar, flat non-conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, wherein the flexible portion is configured to passively bias the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface and is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of performing electrosurgery comprising:
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positioning an electrically conductive surface of a head of an instrument adjacent to a tissue surface, the head including a substantially planar, flat non-conductive tissue contact surface and having a portion enclosing a part of a flexible portion, the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the head defining an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of a shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, the flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface and the flexible portion being arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D; and moving the shaft relative to the tissue surface with the head pivoting such that the electrically conductive surface is oriented substantially parallel to the tissue surface. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head coupled to the shaft, the head including a substantially planar, flat non-conductive tissue contact surface and an electrically conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot such that the electrically conductive surface is oriented substantially parallel to the tissue surface as the head moves across the tissue surface, wherein the flexible portion is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a flexible member having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible member directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head coupled to the shaft, the head including a substantially planar, flat non-conductive tissue contact surface and an electrically conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, a part of the flexible member enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible member enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, wherein the head is configured to pivot relative to the shaft and to slide across a tissue surface as the electrically conductive surface is moved across the tissue surface and wherein the flexible member is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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41. A method of performing electrosurgery comprising:
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positioning an electrically conductive surface of a head of an instrument adjacent to a tissue surface, the head including a substantially planar, flat non-conductive tissue contact surface and including a portion enclosing a part of a flexible member, the part of the flexible member enclosed by the portion of the head defining an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of a shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, the flexible member having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible member directly attached to an end of the shaft, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface and the flexible member being arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D; and sliding the head across the tissue surface, wherein the head pivots relative to the shaft to facilitate the sliding.
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42. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a resiliently flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head coupled to the shaft through the resiliently flexible portion, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, the head including a substantially planar, flat non-conductive tissue contact surface and an electrically conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, wherein the resiliently flexible portion is configured to passively bias the electrically conductive portion towards a tissue surface and is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; conducting means including an electrically conductive surface and a substantially planar, flat non-conductive surface for applying energy to a tissue surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface; and pivoting means enclosed by a portion of the conducting means such that the pivoting means defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft about which the conducting means is free to pivot relative to the flexing means, the pivoting means having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the pivoting means directly attached to an end of the shaft, wherein the pivoting means is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D.
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51. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head pivotably coupled to the flexible portion, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot, the head including an electrically conductive surface and a substantially planar, flat non-conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, the non-conductive surface sized to limit how far the electrically conductive surface can advance into tissue such that the tissue effect is limited to one or more of debriding, smoothing, and sealing the tissue, wherein the flexible portion is configured to passively bias the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface and is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53)
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54. An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible member directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head coupled to the shaft through the flexible portion, the head including an electrically conductive surface and a substantially planar, flat non-conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head defines an axis substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and about which the head is free to pivot such that during use the electrode is maintained in contact with a tissue surface as the head moves across the tissue surface, wherein the flexible portion is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56)
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57. An instrument comprising:
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a shaft defining a longitudinal axis; a flexible portion having a first end and a second end, the first and second ends of the flexible portion directly attached to an end of the shaft; and a head coupled to the shaft through the flexible portion, a part of the flexible portion enclosed by a portion of the head such that the head is free to pivot about an axis defined by the part of the flexible portion enclosed by the portion of the head, the axis being substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, the head including an electrically conductive surface and a substantially planar, flat non-conductive surface, the electrically conductive surface having at least a portion recessed in or projecting from the flat, non-conductive surface, wherein the flexible portion is configured to passively bias the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface and is arranged such that, in a relaxed state, the transverse axis defined by the flexible portion is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft by a distance D. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61)
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Specification