Surgical resection apparatus
First Claim
1. A surgical cutting apparatus comprising:
- a microwave radiation source arranged to generate a microwave radiation signal;
a surgical instrument having;
a cutting element comprising a blade with an edge for cutting biological tissue, andan antenna connected to the microwave radiation source by a microwave feed structure and arranged to emit a substantially uniform microwave radiation field at the edge of the blade of the cutting element; and
a reflected radiation detector arranged to receive a reflected signal reflected back from the antenna,wherein the microwave feed structure comprises;
a first channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a first power level for treatment, anda second channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a second power level for measurement;
wherein the antenna is selectively connectable to the microwave radiation source via either the first channel or the second channel,wherein the antenna is connected to the reflected radiation detector via a signal transfer unit which is arranged to receive the reflected signal along the first channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the first channel or along the second channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the second channel,wherein the signal transfer unit is arranged to route the reflected signal received along the second channel directly to the reflected radiation detector, andwherein the first channel includes an amplifier connected between the microwave radiation source and the antenna to amplify the microwave radiation signal generated by the microwave radiation source to the first power level, and wherein the second channel bypasses the amplifier.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Surgical cutting apparatus having a treatment channel and a measurement channel for conveying microwave energy from a source to an antenna at a cutting edge. The measurement channel operates at lower power than the treatment channel for determining when higher energy can be safely applied. The apparatus may deliver microwave radiation at differing frequencies to one or more antennas at the cutting edge, e.g. to provide different treatment effects. The source may generate an output for an antenna whose frequency can be selected e.g. for most efficient operation. Selection may be automatic based on detected magnitude and phase of reflected signals during a frequency sweep of a forward signal. Power delivered to tissue via the cutting element may be manually boosted to deal with large blood vessels. The apparatus may include a reflected power monitor for recognizing behavior in reflected signals received from the antenna to trigger automatic pre-emptive action.
33 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A surgical cutting apparatus comprising:
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a microwave radiation source arranged to generate a microwave radiation signal; a surgical instrument having; a cutting element comprising a blade with an edge for cutting biological tissue, and an antenna connected to the microwave radiation source by a microwave feed structure and arranged to emit a substantially uniform microwave radiation field at the edge of the blade of the cutting element; and a reflected radiation detector arranged to receive a reflected signal reflected back from the antenna, wherein the microwave feed structure comprises; a first channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a first power level for treatment, and a second channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a second power level for measurement; wherein the antenna is selectively connectable to the microwave radiation source via either the first channel or the second channel, wherein the antenna is connected to the reflected radiation detector via a signal transfer unit which is arranged to receive the reflected signal along the first channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the first channel or along the second channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the second channel, wherein the signal transfer unit is arranged to route the reflected signal received along the second channel directly to the reflected radiation detector, and wherein the first channel includes an amplifier connected between the microwave radiation source and the antenna to amplify the microwave radiation signal generated by the microwave radiation source to the first power level, and wherein the second channel bypasses the amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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6. A surgical cutting apparatus, comprising:
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a microwave radiation source arranged to generate a microwave radiation signal; a surgical instrument having; a cutting element comprising a blade with an edge for cutting biological tissue, and an antenna connected to the microwave radiation source by a microwave feed structure and arranged to emit a substantially uniform microwave radiation field at the edge of the blade of the cutting element; and a reflected radiation detector arranged to receive a reflected signal reflected back from the antenna, wherein the microwave feed structure comprises; a first channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a first power level for treatment, and a second channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a second power level for measurement; wherein the antenna is selectively connectable to the microwave radiation source via either the first channel or the second channel, wherein the antenna is connected to the reflected radiation detector via a signal transfer unit which is arranged to receive the reflected signal along the first channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the first channel or along the second channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the second channel, wherein the signal transfer unit is arranged to route the reflected signal received along the second channel directly to the reflected radiation detector, and wherein the signal transfer unit includes a forward directional coupler and a backward directional coupler on the first channel, the forward directional coupler and the backward directional coupler being respectively arranged to couple the microwave radiation signal generated by the microwave radiation source and the reflected signal from the antenna when present on the first channel.
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11. A surgical cutting apparatus, comprising:
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a microwave radiation source arranged to generate a microwave radiation signal; a surgical instrument having; a cutting element comprising a blade with an edge for cutting biological tissue, and an antenna connected to the microwave radiation source by a microwave feed structure and arranged to emit a substantially uniform microwave radiation field at the edge of the blade of the cutting element; and a reflected radiation detector arranged to receive a reflected signal reflected back from the antenna; a reflected power monitor arranged to detect a signature event in the reflected signal detected by the reflected radiation detector; and a power level adjuster connected between the microwave radiation source and the antenna, the power level adjuster being arranged to automatically adjust a power level of the microwave radiation signal received by the antenna if the monitor detects the signature event, wherein the microwave feed structure comprises; a first channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a first power level for treatment, and a second channel for conveying the microwave radiation signal at a second power level for measurement; wherein the antenna is selectively connectable to the microwave radiation source via either the first channel or the second channel, wherein the antenna is connected to the reflected radiation detector via a signal transfer unit which is arranged to receive the reflected signal along the first channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the first channel or along the second channel if the antenna is connected to the microwave radiation source via the second channel, wherein the signal transfer unit is arranged to route the reflected signal received along the second channel directly to the reflected radiation detector. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification