×

Apparatus and method for rapid reliable electrothermal tissue fusion

  • US 9,492,220 B2
  • Filed: 02/01/2007
  • Issued: 11/15/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2007
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
Patent Images

1. Apparatus to fuse together two pieces of biological tissue at a tissue fusion interface in a tissue fusion procedure, comprising:

  • a tissue fusion instrument including an upper and a lower jaw, each of the jaws comprisinga heating element that develops a thermal energy from an electrical power impulse supplied thereto,a working surface which is adapted to contact a piece of tissue and transfer the thermal energy from the jaw to the contacted piece of tissue, the working surface having a longitudinal dimension, anda temperature sensor which supplies a sensed temperature signal related to a temperature of the working surface;

    a movement mechanism operative to move the upper jaw and the lower jaw toward one another and adapted to compress the two pieces of tissue together between the working surface of the upper jaw and the working surface of the lower jaw to a predetermined thickness in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.10 mm to fuse the two pieces of tissue together at the tissue fusion interface from a combination of the compression and the thermal energy, wherein the movement mechanism is adapted to move the working surface of the upper jaw and the working surface of the lower jaw toward one another with the longitudinal dimension of the working surface of the upper jaw parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the working surface of the lower jaw during compression of the two pieces of tissue to the predetermined thickness, and wherein the movement mechanism is operative to transfer a force from the working surfaces during compression of the two pieces of tissue, the force being measurable to create a force signal that is compared to determine when the two pieces of tissue have been compressed; and

    a power control device connected to the tissue fusion instrument, the power control device being responsive to the force signal and to each of the sensed temperature signals to separately regulate a duration and an amount of electrical energy provided in each of the electrical power impulse supplied to the upper jaw and the electrical power impulse supplied to the lower jaw, the power control device limiting the duration of each of the electrical power impulses to a predetermined time duration of no greater than 4.0 seconds, the power control device controlling the amount of electrical energy provided in each of the electrical power impulses to attain and maintain a predetermined temperature in the range of 150°

    C. to 200°

    C. at each of the upper jaw and the lower jaw during the respective predetermined time duration.

View all claims
  • 2 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×