Methods and devices for creating thermal zones within an electrosurgical instrument

• US 9,931,157 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Issued: 04/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ethicon, LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Ethicon, LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Strobl, Geoffrey S., Kiturkes, Alex, Yates, David C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Della, Jaymi
• Application Number:
  US14/486,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20160074095A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1445 at the distal end of a shaft, e.g. forceps or scissors at the end of a rigid rod
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00831 Material properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00071 Electrical conductivity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00095 high, i.e. heat conducting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00101 low, i.e. thermally insulating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00136 with polymer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00196 reciprocating lengthwise
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00607 Coagulation and cutting with the same instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0063 Sealing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1455 having a moving blade for cutting tissue grasped by the jaws
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/147 Electrodes transferring energy by capacitive coupling, i.e. with a dielectricum between electrode and target tissue

Abstract

Surgical instruments and methods for controlling temperature are described herein and can have particular utility when sealing tissue. In one embodiment, an end effector can include first and second jaw members configured to clamp tissue therebetween, and an electrode having a single continuous conductive surface that is coupled to the first jaw member. The end effector can also include a plurality of electrical insulators of varying thermal conductivity disposed between the electrode and the first jaw member coupled thereto. The electrode can be divided into a plurality of thermal zones by at least one opening formed therein and the plurality of electrical insulators can be arranged such that at least a first thermal zone contacts an electrical insulator having a first thermal conductivity and at least a second thermal zone contacts an electrical insulator having a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity.

Claims

1. A surgical end effector, comprising:

first and second jaw members movable relative to one another between an open position and a closed position to clamp tissue therebetween;

an electrode having a single continuous conductive surface coupled to the first jaw member such that the electrode contacts tissue clamped between the first and second jaw members when in the closed position; and

a plurality of electrical insulators disposed between the electrode and the first jaw member coupled thereto, the plurality of electrical insulators including a first electrical insulator having a first thermal conductivity and a second electrical insulator having a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity, wherein at least one of the first thermal conductivity and the second thermal conductivity is constant, and

wherein the electrode is divided into a plurality of thermal zones by at least one opening formed therein, the plurality of thermal zones including a first thermal zone and a second thermal zone, and the plurality of electrical insulators are arranged such that the first thermal zone contacts the first electrical insulator and the second thermal zone contacts the second electrical insulator.

2. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the first thermal zone and the second thermal zone extend along a longitudinal axis of the end effector, and wherein the second thermal zone is positioned laterally outward of the first thermal zone.

3. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the first thermal zone and the second thermal zone extend along a longitudinal axis of the end effector, and wherein the first thermal zone is positioned laterally outward of the second thermal zone.

4. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the first thermal zone and the second thermal zone are positioned alternately along a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

5. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the first thermal zone is positioned at a distal end of the end effector.

6. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least one opening formed in the electrode includes a slit extending along a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

7. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein the at least one opening formed in the electrode includes a slit that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the end effector.

8. The surgical end effector of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of electrical insulators is disposed within the at least one opening formed in the electrode to separate the plurality of thermal zones of the electrode from one another.

9. The surgical end effector of claim 1, further comprising a temperature dependent selectively conductive material disposed within the at least one opening formed in the electrode.

10. The surgical end effector of claim 9, wherein the temperature dependent selectively conductive material is a Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) material.

11. The surgical end effector of claim 9, wherein the temperature dependent selectively conductive material is a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) material.