A medical probe device comprises a catheter having a stylet guide housing with one or more stylet ports in a side wall thereof and a stylet guide for directing a flexible stylet outward through the stylet port and through intervening tissue at a preselected, adjustable angle to a target tissue. The total catheter assembly includes a stylet guide lumen communicating with the stylet port and a stylet positioned in said stylet guide lumen for longitudinal movement from the port through intervening tissue to a target tissue. The stylet can be an electrical conductor enclosed within a non-conductive layer, the electrical conductor being a radiofrequency electrode. Preferably, the non-conductive layer is a sleeve which is axially moveable on the electrical conductor to expose a selected portion of the electrical conductor surface in the target tissue. The stylet can also be a microwave antenna. The stylet can also be a hollow tube for delivering treatment fluid to the target tissue. It can also include a fiber optic cable for laser treatment. The catheter can include one or more inflatable balloons located adjacent to the stylet port for anchoring the catheter or dilation. Ultrasound transponders and temperature sensors can be attached to the probe end and/or stylet. The stylet guide can define a stylet path from an axial orientation in the catheter through a curved portion to a lateral orientation at the stylet port.

Medical probe device and method

In an electrosurgical generator for generating radio frequency power, the generator includes a radio frequency output stage having two or more output connections, and a power supply coupled to the output stage for supplying power to the output stage. A controller is operable to cause the generator to supply a blended output signal alternating constantly between a first output signal across the output connections in which the radio frequency output voltage developed across the output connections is limited to at least a first predetermined threshold value for cutting or vaporisation of tissue, and a second output signal across the output connections in which the radio frequency output voltage developed across the output connections is limited to a second threshold value for coagulation. There is also provided adjustment means, operable by a user of the electrosurgical generator, for changing between various preset settings for the blended signal, the preset settings each having a predetermined duty cycle of the blended signal that is limited to the first threshold value for cutting or vaporisation, and a predetermined duty cycle of the blended signal that is limited to the second threshold value for coagulation.

Electrosurgical generator and system

A cutting and stapling device for use as an attachment to an electromechanical device driver comprises an upper jaw and a lower jaw which separate and close against one another in a continuously parallel alignment. The upper jaw includes a series of staple guides corresponding to one or more staples in a removable staple tray disposed within a lower jaw, whereby a blade and wedge having a threaded bore travel upon a matching threaded shaft in a channel disposed in the lower jaw below the staple tray, such that rotation of the threaded shaft causes movement of the wedge through the channel while a sloped surface of the wedge contacts the staples to push the staples against the staples guides, closing the staples.

Expanding parallel jaw device for use with an electromechanical driver device

The present invention is a bipolar tissue sealer/cutter (10) for electrosurgery on tissue. A chassis (15) on a handle (11) extends axially for axial movement. A tube (16) may move axially relative to the chassis. An effector (21) on a distal end of the chassis first contacts tissue with axial movement. The effector provides bipolar electrosurgery. A member (24) extending from the distal end is opposite the distal end of the tube. A part (25) on the member is transverse to the axis to conduct electrosurgery. First, and second bipolar electrodes (26, 27) on the effector, and part are electrically isolated. A bipolar generator (28) supplies the electrodes. An activator (32) movably supported on the handle connects to the tube and/or chassis to axially move the distal end, and its effector relative to the part. Tissue and bodily fluid therebetween are sealed or cut through application of compression, and bipolar electrosurgery between the electrodes.

Apparatus and method for sealing and cutting tissue

An electrosurgical generator has an output power control system that causes the impedance of tissue to rise and fall in a cyclic pattern until the tissue is desiccated. The advantage of the power control system is that thermal spread and charring are reduced. In addition, the power control system offers improved performance for electrosurgical vessel sealing and tissue welding. The output power is applied cyclically by a control system with tissue impedance feedback. The impedance of the tissue follows the cyclic pattern of the output power several times, depending on the state of the tissue, until the tissue becomes fully desiccated. High power is applied to cause the tissue to reach a high impedance, and then the power is reduced to allow the impedance to fall. Thermal energy is allowed to dissipate during the low power cycle. The control system is adaptive to tissue in the sense that output power is modulated in response to the impedance of the tissue.

Electrosurgical generator with adaptive power control

The invention describes a radio-frequency generator for radio-frequency surgery, with a power amplifier operating in switched mode, a modulation device for controlling the output, and a harmonics measuring device for measuring the harmonic frequencies of the generator frequency which are generated by the arc produced between the surgical probe and the tissue to be cut or to be coagulated. At the instant of start-up, the power amplifier is driven by an auxiliary oscillator. After the start-up, the drive of the power amplifier is switched over to selfexcitation, voltage feedback being selected when the load impedance exceeds a particular value, and current feedback when the load impedance falls below a certain value. During the feedback mode, the auxiliary generator is locked to the output frequency and output phase of the radio-frequency generator by means of a phase-locked loop. The harmonics measuring device contains a phase-controlled rectifier, the control signal of which is derived from the auxiliary generator. The advantage of such a generator lies in its low power dissipation, its high operational reliability and its low filtering complexity in the output circuit.

Radio-frequency generator with automatic power control for radio-frequency surgery

A control device for a high-frequency surgical instrument is described, which permits the activation of the high-frequency generator for cutting or coagulating only if and only as long as the active monopolar electrode and the neutral electrode or both poles of a bipolar electrode simultaneously have electrically conductive contact with tissue of the same patient. This control device is extended to form an automatic coagulation device.

Control device for a high-frequency surgical instrument

The invention relates to a high-frequency generator with automatic power control for tissue cutting and for coagulating in high-frequency surgery. The power control in the "cutting" mode of operation is effected with an arc control system for keeping the arc burning between the surgical probe and the tissue constant. The high-frequency generator contains a voltage-limiting circuit, which limits the output voltage to a preset maximum value if the arc control system were to adjust a higher voltage. The advantage of the invention lies is a reduction of the mean power delivered to the patient as compared with a high-frequency generator that contains only an arc control system. The cutting quality is not adversely influenced by the power reduction.

High-frequency generator for tissue cutting and for coagulating in high-frequency surgery

The present invention relates to high-frequency generator for cutting tissue having adjustment devices, with which at least one of the momentary electric output values, such as e.g., current, voltage, power or electric arc can be set. The present invention is distinguished by, for improvement of the initial incision behavior, an electronic desired-value transmitter and a measurement device having an evaluation unit for direct and/or indirect determination of cutting being provided and said electronic desired-value transmitter providing upon commencement of an incision a particularly suited generator setting for the initial incision as long as said measurement device signals tissue-separating cutting of the probe and thereupon providing a lower desired value for the generator in such a manner that normal cutting corresponding to the desired surgical goal ensues.

High-frequency surgical generator for cutting tissue

The invention relates to a high-frequency device for generating a plasma arc (5) for the treatment of biological tissue (1), notably in medicine. Said device comprises a high-frequency generator (3) having an internal resistor (8) and an electrode (4) which is connected to same via a flexible line (10), for generating the plasma arc (5) in a plasma gap (6) between the electrode (4) and the biological tissue (1) which is also electrically connected to the high-frequency generator (3). In the high-frequency generator (3) a high-frequency voltage source (7) is located to which a resonance circuit (2) is connected which comprises a capacitively acting first reactance (9a) connected in series to an inductively active second reactance (9b) presenting a resonance frequency at the frequency of the high-frequency oscillation emitted by the high-frequency voltage source (7). The voltage for generating the plasma arc (5) is derived from the first or second reactance (9a, 9b).

Heinz Prof Dr Ing Lindenmeier

Papers

Radio-frequency generator with automatic power control for radio-frequency surgery

Control device for a high-frequency surgical instrument

High-frequency generator for tissue cutting and for coagulating in high-frequency surgery

High-frequency surgical generator for cutting tissue

High-frequency device for generating a plasma arc for the treatment of biological tissue