Electrosurgical electrodes and electrosurgical devices having adjustable configurations - Patents.com

Abstract

An exemplary electrosurgical electrode includes a first end effector at a first end and a second end effector at a second end. The first end is opposite the second end. The electrosurgical electrode has a longitudinal axis extending between the first end and the second end. A mounting portion is located between the first end effector and the second end effector. The mounting portion is configured to couple the electrosurgical electrode to a housing of an electrosurgical device.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 438,153, filed January 10, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 414,822, filed October 10, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. [Background technology]

[0002] Electrosurgery involves the application of radio frequency (RF) current (also referred to as electrical energy) to biological tissue to cut, coagulate, or modify the tissue during an electrosurgical procedure. Specifically, an electrosurgical generator generates and supplies electrical current to an active electrode, which applies the current (and therefore power) to the tissue. The current flows through the tissue and returns to the generator via a return electrode (also referred to as a "dispersive electrode"). As the current flows through the tissue, the tissue impedance converts a portion of the current into thermal energy (e.g., via the principles of resistive heating), thereby increasing the temperature of the tissue and inducing tissue modification (e.g., cutting, coagulating, ablating, and / or sealing the tissue).

[0003] The novel features believed characteristic of the exemplary embodiments are set forth in the appended claims. However, the exemplary embodiments, as well as the preferred mode of use, further objects, and description thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0004] [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an electrosurgical system, according to one example. [Figure 2] 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an electrosurgical electrode, according to one example. [Figure 3] 3 illustrates a perspective view of the electrosurgical electrode shown in FIG. 2, according to one example. [Figure 4A]4 illustrates an embodiment of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 with the electrosurgical electrode shown in FIG. 3 in a first state, according to one example. [Figure 4B] 4B illustrates an assembly of components of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 4A, according to one example. [Figure 4C] 4 illustrates an embodiment of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 with the electrosurgical electrode shown in FIG. 3 in a second state, according to one example. [Figure 4D] 4D illustrates an assembly of components of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 4C, according to one example. [Figure 5] 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an electrosurgical system, according to another example. [Figure 6A] 6 illustrates the embodiment of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 5 with the electrosurgical electrode shown in FIG. 3 in a first state, according to one example. [Figure 6B] 6B illustrates an assembly of components of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 6A, according to one example. [Figure 6C] 6 illustrates the embodiment of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 5 with the electrosurgical electrode shown in FIG. 3 in a second state, according to one example. [Figure 6D] 4D illustrates an assembly of components of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 4C, according to one example. [Figure 7A] 6 illustrates an embodiment of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 7B] 7B illustrates an assembly of the components of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 7A, according to one example. [Figure 8A] 6 illustrates an embodiment of the electrosurgical electrode shown in FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 8B] 8B illustrates an assembly of components of the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 8A, according to one example. [Figure 9A] 10 illustrates an electrosurgical electrode that can be used with the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 9B] 10 illustrates an electrosurgical electrode that can be used with the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 9C]10 illustrates an electrosurgical electrode that can be used with the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 9D] 10 illustrates an electrosurgical electrode that can be used with the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 9E] 10 illustrates an electrosurgical electrode that can be used with the electrosurgical device shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 5, according to another example. [Figure 10] 1 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example. [Figure 11] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device that can be performed using the process shown in FIG. 10, according to one example. [Figure 12] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 10 . [Figure 13] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 10 . [Figure 14] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 10 . [Figure 15] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 10 . [Figure 16] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 10 . [Figure 17] 11 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 10 . [Figure 18] 1 shows a flowchart of a method of forming an electrosurgical device, according to one example. [Figure 19]1 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example. [Figure 20] 20 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 19 . [Figure 21] 20 shows a flowchart of a method of operating an electrosurgical device, according to one example, that can be performed using at least the process shown in FIG. 19 . [Figure 22] 1 shows a flowchart of a method for forming an electrosurgical electrode, according to one example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The disclosed examples will now be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, of the disclosed examples are shown. Indeed, several different examples may be described, and should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein. Rather, these examples are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0006] The terms "approximately" or "substantially" with reference to a quantity or measurement described herein mean that the characteristic, parameter, or value referred to need not be exactly achieved, but rather that deviations or variations, including, for example, tolerances, measurement errors, limitations in measurement precision, and other factors known to those skilled in the art, may occur to an extent that does not preclude the effect that the characteristic is intended to produce.

[0007] Referring to Figure 1, an electrosurgical system 100 according to one example is shown. As shown in Figure 1, electrosurgical system 100 includes an electrosurgical generator 110 and an electrosurgical device 112. Generally, electrosurgical generator 110 is capable of generating electrosurgical energy suitable for performing electrosurgery on a patient. For example, electrosurgical generator 110 may include a power converter circuit 114 capable of converting grid power into electrosurgical energy, such as, for example, radio frequency (RF) output power. By way of example, power converter circuit 114 may include one or more electrical components (e.g., one or more transformers) capable of controlling the voltage, current, and / or frequency of the electrosurgical energy.

[0008] In an example, electrosurgical generator 110 may include a user interface 116 that may receive one or more inputs from a user and / or provide one or more outputs to a user. By way of example, user interface 116 may include one or more buttons, one or more switches, one or more dials, one or more keypads, one or more touchscreens, one or more display screens, one or more indicator lights, one or more speakers, and / or one or more tactile output devices.

[0009] In one example, user interface 116 can be operable to select an operating mode from among a plurality of operating modes for electrosurgical generator 110. By way of example, the operating modes can include a cutting mode, a coagulation mode, an ablation mode, and / or a sealing mode. Combinations of these waveforms can also be formed to create mixed modes. In one embodiment, an operating mode can correspond to a respective waveform for the electrosurgical energy. Thus, in this embodiment, electrosurgical generator 110 can generate electrosurgical energy having a waveform selected from a plurality of waveforms based at least in part on the operating mode selected using user interface 116.

[0010] Electrosurgical generator 110 may also include one or more generator sensors 118 capable of sensing one or more conditions related to the electrosurgical energy and / or the target tissue. By way of example, generator sensors 118 may include one or more current sensors, one or more voltage sensors, one or more temperature sensors, and / or one or more bioimpedance sensors. In examples, electrosurgical generator 110 may additionally or alternatively generate an amount (e.g., power) of electrosurgical energy and / or electrosurgical energy having a waveform selected from among a plurality of waveforms based on one or more parameters related to the conditions sensed by generator sensors 118.

[0011] In one example, the electrosurgical energy can have a frequency greater than about 100 kilohertz (kHz) to reduce (or avoid) stimulating muscles and / or nerves near the target tissue. In another example, the electrosurgical energy can have a frequency of about 300 kHz to about 500 kHz.

[0012] 1 , electrosurgical generator 110 also includes a connector 120 that can facilitate coupling of electrosurgical generator 110 to electrosurgical device 112. For example, electrosurgical device 112 can include a power cord 122 having a plug that can be coupled to a socket of connector 120 of electrosurgical generator 110. In this configuration, electrosurgical generator 110 can supply electrosurgical energy to electrosurgical device 112 via the coupling between connector 120 of electrosurgical generator 110 and power cord 122 of electrosurgical device 112.

[0013] Electrosurgical generator 110 may further include a controller 141 that can control the operation of electrosurgical generator 110. In examples, controller 141 may be implemented using hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, controller 141 may include one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., volatile and / or non-volatile memory) that stores machine instructions or other executable instructions. The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause electrosurgical generator 110 to perform the various operations described herein. To this end, controller 141 may also receive data and store this data in memory. As shown in FIG. 1 , controller 141 may be communicatively coupled to power converter circuit 114, user interface 116, generator sensor 118, and / or connector 120.

[0014] 1 , electrosurgical device 112 can include a housing 123 having a proximal end and a distal end, and an electrosurgical electrode 128 extending from the distal end of housing 123. Housing 123 can be an elongated structure within which and / or on which components of electrosurgical device 112 can be disposed. In some examples, housing 123 can be a one-piece monolithic structure. In other examples, housing 123 can include multiple structures coupled together.

[0015] 1 , housing 123 includes a handle 124 defining an internal bore and a shaft 126 extending distally from handle 124. Generally, handle 124 can be configured to facilitate a user grasping and manipulating electrosurgical device 112 while performing electrosurgery. For example, handle 124 can have a shape and / or size that can facilitate a user performing electrosurgery by manipulating electrosurgical device 112 using one hand. In one embodiment, handle 124 can have a shape and / or size that can facilitate a user holding electrosurgical device 112 in a manner similar to gripping a writing instrument (e.g., electrosurgical device 112 can be an electrosurgical pencil).

[0016] Additionally, for example, handle 124 and / or shaft 126 may be constructed from one or more materials (e.g., plastic materials) that are electrical insulators, which may facilitate insulating the user from the electrosurgical energy flowing through electrosurgical device 112 while performing electrosurgery.

[0017] In some embodiments, the shaft 126 can be coupled to the handle 124 in a fixed, non-movable manner. This can simplify and reduce manufacturing costs, for example, by simplifying electrical connections (e.g., by eliminating slip ring electrical contacts and / or sliding electrical contacts) that would otherwise require consideration of movement of the shaft 126 and handle 124 relative to one another. In one example, the handle 124 and the shaft 126 can be formed as a single, monolithic structure such that the shaft 126 and the handle 124 are fixed and non-movable relative to one another. In another example, the handle 124 and the shaft 126 can be fixedly coupled to one another by a welded bond, an adhesive bond, and / or another bond that prevents movement between the handle 124 and the shaft 126.

[0018] In other embodiments, shaft 126 may be telescopically movable relative to handle 124. For example, shaft 126 may be telescopically movable (e.g., movable along the longitudinal axis of electrosurgical device 112) within an internal bore defined by handle 124 to extend shaft 126 distally and retract shaft 126 proximally relative to handle 124. In some examples, electrosurgical electrode 128 may be coupled to shaft 126, such that electrosurgical electrode 128 may move axially with shaft 126 along the longitudinal axis relative to handle 124. This may provide for adjustment of the length of electrosurgical device 112, thereby facilitating the performance of electrosurgery at multiple different depths within tissue (e.g., due to different patient anatomical shapes and / or sizes) and / or at multiple different angles. In other examples, electrosurgical electrode 128 may be fixedly coupled to handle 124 such that shaft 126 is axially movable relative to both electrosurgical electrode 128 and handle 124.

[0019] In some embodiments, electrosurgical electrode 128 may additionally or alternatively be rotatable about an axis of rotation parallel to the longitudinal axis of electrosurgical device 112. In some examples, electrosurgical electrode 128 may be rotatable relative to handle 124 and shaft 126. In other examples, electrosurgical electrode 128 may be rotationally fixed relative to shaft 126 such that shaft 126 and electrosurgical electrode 128 are both rotatable relative to handle 124. Rotating electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to handle 124 may facilitate adjusting the angle of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to one or more user input devices 130 of electrosurgical device 112. In this configuration, a user may comfortably grip handle 124 in a position that allows the user's fingers to comfortably operate user input device 130, while electrosurgical electrode 128 is set to a selected one of a plurality of rotational positions relative to handle 124 based, for example, on the location, size, and / or shape of a surgical site at which the user is operating.

[0020] In one embodiment, electrosurgical electrode 128 can be rotatable greater than 360 degrees relative to handle 124. This can improve ease of use by allowing the operator to freely rotate electrosurgical electrode 128 without restriction. However, in other implementations, electrosurgical electrode 128 can be rotatable less than 360 degrees (e.g., 180 degrees, 270 degrees, or 360 degrees). This can still allow the operator to achieve a desired rotational configuration, but with the possibility that the operator can rotate in a first direction, reach a stop that limits further rotation, and then rotate back in a second direction to achieve the desired rotational configuration.

[0021] While it can be beneficial to provide for rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to handle 124 and / or shaft 126, electrosurgical electrode 128 may, in some embodiments, be rotationally fixed relative to handle 124 and shaft 126. For example, this can help to simplify and reduce the cost of manufacturing, e.g., by simplifying electrical connections (e.g., by eliminating slip ring electrical contacts and / or sliding electrical contacts) that would otherwise need to account for movement of shaft 126 and handle 124 relative to one another.

[0022] 1 , electrosurgical device 112 may include one or more user input devices 130 operable to control the operation of electrosurgical device 112 and / or electrosurgical generator 110. For example, user input device 130 may be operable to select between operating modes of electrosurgical device 112 and / or electrosurgical generator 110. In one embodiment, user input device 130 may be configured to select between a cutting mode of operation and a coagulation mode of operation. In response to actuation of user input device 130 of electrosurgical device 112, electrosurgical device 112 may (i) receive electrosurgical energy having a power level and / or waveform corresponding to the operating mode selected via user input device 130, and (ii) deliver electrosurgical energy to electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0023] 1 , electrosurgical device 112 includes multiple electrical components that facilitate supplying electrosurgical energy that electrosurgical device 112 receives from electrosurgical generator 110 to electrosurgical electrode 128. For example, electrosurgical device 112 can include at least one electrical component selected from a group of electrical components including a printed circuit board 132 (e.g., a flexible printed circuit board) and / or one or more housing conductors 134 configured to conduct electrosurgical energy from power cord 122 to electrosurgical electrode 128. One or more of these electrical components can be positioned within an internal bore defined by handle 124 and / or within an inner cavity defined by shaft 126.

[0024] In an example, user input device 130 may include one or more buttons on the outer surface of handle 124. Each button on user input device 130 may be operable to activate a respective one of a plurality of switches 136 on printed circuit board 132. Generally, switches 136 and / or printed circuit board 132 are operable to control the supply of electrosurgical energy from electrosurgical generator 110 to electrosurgical electrodes 128. For example, in one embodiment, when each button is actuated (e.g., pressed), the respective switch 136 associated with the button is actuated, causing printed circuit board 132 to send a signal to electrosurgical generator 110, causing electrosurgical generator 110 to responsively supply electrosurgical energy having a power level and / or waveform corresponding to the operating mode associated with the button. In another implementation, actuation of a button, thereby actuating a respective switch 136 associated with the button, closes switch 136 and completes a circuit to electrosurgical generator 110, causing electrosurgical generator 110 to responsively supply electrosurgical energy having a power level and / or waveform corresponding to the operating mode associated with that button. In some instances of this embodiment, printed circuit board 132 may be omitted.

[0025] In any exemplary implementation, the electrosurgical energy provided by electrosurgical generator 110 can be supplied (i) from power cord 122, printed circuit board 132, and / or switch 136, and (ii) to electrosurgical electrode 128 by housing conductors 134. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 , printed circuit board 132 can be coupled to power cord 122, printed circuit board 132 can be coupled to housing conductors 134, and housing conductors 134 can be coupled to electrosurgical electrode 128. In this configuration, housing conductors 134 can conduct electrosurgical energy to electrosurgical electrode 128. In some examples, switch 136 can be coupled to printed circuit board 132.

[0026] Generally, housing conductors 134 may each include one or more conductive elements that provide a conductive bus for supplying electrosurgical energy to electrosurgical electrode 128. In some examples, the electrical components of electrosurgical device 112 may be electrically coupled to one another in a manner suitable for supplying electrosurgical energy from power cord 122 to electrosurgical electrode 128 (i) while shaft 126 and / or electrosurgical electrode 128 telescopically move relative to handle 124, and / or (ii) while electrosurgical electrode 128 rotates relative to handle 124.

[0027] 1 , user input device 130 may, in another example, be separate from electrosurgical device 112. For example, user input device 130 may additionally or alternatively include one or more foot pedals operable to control the operation of electrosurgical device 112 as described above. The foot pedals may be communicatively coupled to electrosurgical generator 110 to provide a signal responsive to actuation of the foot pedal.

[0028] 1 , in some embodiments, electrosurgical device 112 can additionally include one or more light sources 138 configured to emit light. In some examples that include light source 138, user input device 130 can cause light source 138 to generate light that can be emitted by electrosurgical device 112 to illuminate an area of ​​interest (e.g., target tissue at a surgical site). In some embodiments, light source 138 can be located at the distal end of housing 123 and / or the distal end of shaft 126 to provide light directly in a distal direction to illuminate the surgical distal end of electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0029] 1 , light source 138 may be optically coupled to optical structure 140, which is configured to receive light emitted by light source 138 and transmit the light distally toward the surgical site to illuminate the surgical site while performing electrosurgery using electrosurgical electrode 128. Configuring light source 138 to directly illuminate the surgical field can help reduce the cost of manufacturing, for example, while transmitting light using optical structure 140 can help improve the quality of light transmitted from electrosurgical device 112 (e.g., by providing light with improved uniformity and / or reduced heat generation).

[0030] By way of example, in embodiments including an optical structure 140, the optical structure 140 can include at least one optical structure selected from the group consisting of an optical lens, a non-fiber optic light guide, and an optical fiber. When the optical structure 140 includes an optical lens (e.g., a parabolic lens, an aspheric lens, and / or a Fresnel lens), the optical structure 140 can help direct the light emitted by the light source 138 in a distal direction, thereby improving the quality of the light illuminating the surgical site. The optical structure 140 can additionally or alternatively include a non-fiber optic light guide and / or an optical fiber to transmit light over a relatively large distance in the shaft 126. For example, the light guide can transmit light in a distal direction via total internal reflection. In such embodiments, the light guide can include cladding and / or voids on the outer surface of the light guide to help promote total internal reflection. In some embodiments, the non-fiber optic light guide can be formed as a single monolithic structure.

[0031] In some examples, optical structure 140 may additionally or alternatively include other light-shaping optical elements, such as, for example, multiple facets, one or more prisms, and / or one or more optical gratings. While optical structure 140 may help improve the quality of light directed toward the surgical site, in other examples, electrosurgical device 112 may omit optical structure 140 and instead emit light directly from light source 138 onto the surgical field without transmitting light through optical structure 140.

[0032] 1 , light source 138 can be coupled to shaft 126. As such, light source 138 can also telescopically move with shaft 126 relative to handle 124. However, in other examples, light source 138 can be in an internal bore of handle 124 and / or coupled to an outer surface of handle 124. By way of example, light source 138 can include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), optical fibers, non-fiber optic waveguides, and / or lenses. Additionally, for example, light source 138 can include an LED printed circuit board having one or more light sources (e.g., LEDs).

[0033] Optical structure 140 may be at the distal end of shaft 126. In some examples, optical structure 140 may circumferentially surround electrosurgical electrode 128 to emit light distally around all sides of electrosurgical electrode 128. This may help to reduce shadows and provide greater uniformity of illumination at all rotational alignments of shaft 126 relative to housing 123 and / or electrosurgical device 112 relative to the target tissue. However, in other examples, optical structure 140 may extend partially, but not entirely, around electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0034] In embodiments including a light source 138, the user input device 130, the printed circuit board 132, the switch 136, and / or the housing conductors 134 may additionally provide power to the light source 138 from a direct current (DC) power source 142. In one example, the DC power source 142 may include a battery disposed in the handle 124, the plug of the power cord 122, and / or a battery receptacle located along the power cord 122 between the handle 124 and the plug. Although the electrosurgical device 112 includes the DC power source 142 in FIG. 1 , in other examples, the DC power source 142 may be separate and distinct from the electrosurgical device 112. For example, in another example, the electrosurgical generator 110 may include the DC power source 142.

[0035] Additionally, in embodiments that include a light source 138, user input device 130 can be operable to cause light source 138 to emit light. In one example, user input device 130 can include a button that independently controls light source 138, separate from the button that controls the electrosurgical mode of operation of electrosurgical device 112. In another example, user input device 130 and printed circuit board 132 can be configured such that operation of the button that controls the electrosurgical mode of operation simultaneously controls operation of light source 138 (e.g., light source 138 can be automatically activated to emit light when the button is operated to apply electrosurgical energy to electrosurgical electrode 128).

[0036] 1 , in response to manipulation of user input device 130 to activate light source 138, DC power source 142 can supply power (e.g., a DC voltage) to light source 138 via printed circuit board 132 and / or housing conductors 134. In this embodiment, one or more of the conductive elements of housing conductors 134 can be configured to supply power from DC power source 142 to light source 138 and / or return power from light source 138 to DC power source 142. Thus, housing conductors 134 can additionally or alternatively help provide electrical communication between DC power source 142 and light source 138 as shaft 126 and light source 138 move telescopically relative to handle 124.

[0037] In the example described above, the user input device 130 on the handle 124 may be manipulated to control the operation of the light source 138, however, the light source 138 may additionally or alternatively be operated by one or more user input devices on the electrosurgical generator 110 (e.g., via the user interface 116) and / or on a plug in the power cord 122.

[0038] In some examples, the electrosurgical device 112 may additionally or alternatively include features for evacuating surgical smoke from the target tissue to a location outside the surgical site. Surgical smoke is a by-product of various surgical procedures. For example, during a surgical procedure, surgical smoke may be generated as a by-product of an electrosurgical unit (ESU), laser, electrocautery device, ultrasonic device, and / or other powered surgical instruments (e.g., bone saws and / or drills). In some examples, surgical smoke may contain toxic gases and / or biological products resulting from tissue destruction. In addition, surgical smoke may contain an unpleasant odor. For these and other reasons, many guidelines indicate that surgical personnel's exposure to surgical smoke should be reduced or minimized.

[0039] To reduce (or minimize) exposure to surgical smoke, a smoke evacuation system can be used during a surgical procedure. Generally, a smoke evacuation system can include a suction pump 144 capable of generating sufficient suction and / or vacuum pressure to draw the surgical smoke away from the surgical site. In some embodiments, the smoke evacuation system can be coupled to an exhaust system (e.g., an in-wall exhaust system) that exhausts the surgical smoke from the operating room. In other embodiments, the smoke evacuation system can filter the air containing the surgical smoke and return the air to the operating room. In examples, the suction pump 144 and the electrosurgical generator 110 can be provided as separate devices or integrated into a single device (e.g., within a common housing).

[0040] 1, shaft 126 may include a smoke evacuation channel 146 within an interior cavity of shaft 126. Smoke evacuation channel 146 may also include one or more smoke inlets at one or more locations about electrosurgical electrode 128. In some examples, smoke evacuation channel 146 may include multiple smoke inlets on opposite sides of electrosurgical electrode 128. In this configuration, the smoke inlets of the smoke evacuation channel may serve to receive surgical smoke into smoke evacuation channel 146 at multiple rotational orientations of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to handle 124 and / or electrosurgical device 112 relative to the target tissue.

[0041] In one example, the smoke evacuation channel 146 in the shaft 126 defines a first portion of the smoke flow path, and the internal bore 148 of the handle 124 defines a second portion of the smoke flow path. In this configuration, surgical smoke can be received from the surgical site into the smoke evacuation channel 146 in the shaft 126 and can flow along the smoke evacuation channel 146 proximally to the internal bore 148 of the handle 124. In the internal bore 148 of the handle 124, the smoke can further flow to a smoke conduit 150 coupled to the proximal end of the handle 124 and configured to convey the smoke from the handle 124 to the suction pump 144.

[0042] As described above, electrosurgical electrode 128 can apply electrosurgical energy to target tissue to perform electrosurgical actions (e.g., cutting, coagulating, ablating, and / or sealing the target tissue). In an example, electrosurgical electrode 128 can include an electrosurgical substrate formed from an electrically conductive material. By way of example, the electrically conductive material can be stainless steel.

[0043] 2, a schematic block diagram of an electrosurgical electrode 128 according to one example is shown. Electrosurgical electrode 128 has a longitudinal axis extending between a first end 252A of electrosurgical electrode 128 and a second end 252B of electrosurgical electrode 128. Thus, electrosurgical electrode 128 can be axially elongated between first end 252A of electrosurgical electrode 128 and second end 252B of electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0044] 2, electrosurgical electrode 128 can have a first end effector 254A at a first end 252A and a second end effector 254B at a second end 252B. Electrosurgical electrode 128 can also include an attachment portion 256 between first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B. For example, attachment portion 256 can be at an intermediate portion 252C of electrosurgical electrode 128 between first end 252A and second end 252B. Attachment portion 256 is configured to detachably and reversibly couple electrosurgical electrode 128 to housing 123 of electrosurgical device 112. For example, the electrosurgical electrode 128 can be configured to be removably coupled to the housing 123 in (i) a first state in which the first end effector 254A is within the inner cavity of the housing 123 and the second end effector 254B extends from the distal end of the housing 123, and (ii) a second state in which the second end effector 254B is within the inner cavity of the housing 123 and the first end effector 254A extends from the distal end of the housing 123. In this configuration, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123, one of first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B extends distally from the distal end of housing 123 and applies electrosurgical energy to target tissue during electrosurgical procedures, and the other of first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B is contained within the internal cavity of housing 123 and cannot be used during electrosurgical procedures.

[0045] In some examples, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can have the same configuration. For example, first end effector has a first configuration and second end effector has a second configuration, where the first and second configurations are the same size, shape, and material. In other words, in these examples, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can be identical to one another. In this example, electrosurgical electrode 128 can initially be used in a first state for use with first end effector 254A, and then electrosurgical electrode 128 can be switched in housing 123 from the first state to a second state for use with second end effector 254B. The switching can be performed after some degradation in performance of first end effector 254A (e.g., due to char accumulation). This can help improve operational efficiency compared to other electrosurgical devices that require replacing the entire electrosurgical electrode with a new one (e.g., involving obtaining an entirely different electrosurgical electrode from the package and discarding the previous electrosurgical electrode in a sharps bin).

[0046] In other examples, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can have different configurations. In such examples, first end effector 254A can have a first configuration and second end effector 254B can have a second configuration, and the first and second configurations can differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group of characteristics consisting of size, shape, and material. As such, by selectively coupling electrosurgical electrode 128 to housing 123 in a first state or a second state, a surgeon can select a configuration that achieves a desired surgical effect and / or the surgeon can selectively switch between the first and second states to change the surgical effect imparted to target tissue by electrosurgical device 112 during an electrosurgical procedure.

[0047] In one embodiment, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can be different types of electrodes selected from the group consisting of blade electrodes, ball-tip electrodes, and needle-tip electrodes. Blade electrodes can be used to cut, coagulate, ablate, and / or seal tissue. Ball-tip electrodes can be advantageous for coagulation and fulgation procedures. Needle-tip electrodes can be useful for delivering precise and focused electrosurgical energy during dissection, ablation, and / or pinpoint coagulation procedures.

[0048] In another exemplary embodiment, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can be the same type of electrode but have different sizes. For example, first end effector 254A can have a first length and second end effector 254B can have a second length, which can be different from the second length. This can facilitate performing electrosurgery at multiple different depths within tissue (e.g., due to different patient anatomical shapes and / or sizes) and / or at multiple different angles.

[0049] As another exemplary embodiment, the tip of first end effector 254A can be a ball of a first diameter and the tip of second end effector 254B can be a ball of a second diameter, where the first diameter can be different from the second diameter. In another embodiment, first end effector 254A can be a needle of a first gauge and second end effector 254B can be a needle of a second gauge, where the first gauge can be different from the second gauge.

[0050] In another embodiment, first end effector 254A can be a first electrosurgical blade having a first dimension and second end effector 254B can be a second electrosurgical blade having a second dimension, where the first dimension can be different from the second dimension. Each electrosurgical blade can include (i) a first lateral side (e.g., a surface or edge), (ii) a second lateral surface (e.g., a surface or edge) opposite the first lateral side, (iii) a first major surface extending between the first and second lateral sides on a first side of the electrosurgical blade, and (iv) a second major surface extending between the first and second lateral sides on a second side opposite the first side of the electrosurgical blade. The first and second lateral sides have a relatively small surface area compared to the surface area of ​​the first and second major surfaces, such that the thickness of the electrosurgical blade (e.g., the dimension between the first and second major surfaces) is relatively small compared to the length (e.g., the dimension extending between the proximal and distal ends of the electrosurgical blade) and width (the dimension between the first and second lateral sides). In this embodiment, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can have different dimensions in at least one dimension selected from the group consisting of thickness, length, and width.

[0051] As mentioned above, in some instances, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can have different or the same materials. For example, in some instances, first end effector 254A and / or second end effector 254B of electrosurgical electrode 128 can also include an outer layer of material covering the electrosurgical substrate at first end effector 254A and / or second end effector 254B. The outer layer of material can be formed from at least one material selected from the group consisting of polymeric materials, fluorocarbon materials (e.g., polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)), silicone, enamel, ceramic materials, and inorganic lubricating materials (e.g., titanium nitride, zirconium nitride, titanium aluminum nitride, and nitrone). The outer layer of material can, for example, help inhibit eschar buildup and / or focus electrosurgical energy on one or more portions of electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0052] Additionally, in some examples, first end effector 254A and / or second end effector 254B of electrosurgical electrode 128 can include an intermediate layer between the electrosurgical substrate and the outer layer. The intermediate layer can be configured to provide thermal conductivity that helps mitigate heating of the outer layer that leads to destruction of the outer layer. The intermediate layer can also be configured to maintain the electrical conductivity of the electrosurgical substrate so that the intermediate layer does not reduce the transmission of electrosurgical energy from the electrosurgical substrate to the target tissue.

[0053] The intermediate layer can be an anisotropic thermally conductive material in which the in-plane (e.g., parallel to the electrode surface) thermal conductivity significantly exceeds the out-of-plane (e.g., perpendicular to the electrode surface) thermal conductivity. The anisotropic thermally conductive material has a coefficient of thermal expansion that matches (or is about 10% higher or about 10% lower than) the electrosurgical substrate and outer layer. By way of example, the intermediate layer can comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of pyrolytic graphite / carbon, graphene, and molybdenum disulfide.

[0054] 2, the electrosurgical electrode can include electrical contacts 258 capable of receiving electrosurgical energy from the electrosurgical device 112 (e.g., via the housing conductors 134). The electrical contacts 258 can be electrically coupled to the first end effector 254A and / or the second end effector 254B such that the electrical contacts 258 can provide the electrosurgical energy received from the housing conductors 134 to the first end effector 254A and / or the second end effector 254B to perform at least one of cutting, coagulating, or sealing tissue in monopolar electrosurgery.

[0055] Electrical contact 258 can be at an intermediate portion 252C of electrosurgical electrode 128 between first end 252A and second end 252B. As described above, attachment portion 256 can also be at intermediate portion 252C between first end 252A and second end 252B, thereby providing a common connection point for (i) mechanically coupling electrosurgical electrode 128 to housing 123 and (ii) electrically coupling electrosurgical electrode 128 to housing conductors 134 in both the first and second states.

[0056] In one example, electrical contacts 258 can be configured to simultaneously supply electrosurgical energy to both first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B. For example, the electrosurgical substrates of first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B can be formed as a single monolithic structure extending along first end 252A, intermediate portion 252C, and second end 252B. Electrical contacts 258 can be electrically coupled to the electrosurgical substrate at a location along intermediate portion 252C.

[0057] In another example, electrical contacts 258 can be configured to supply electrosurgical energy to only one of first end effector 254A or second end effector 254B at a time. For example, electrosurgical substrate can include a first portion on first end effector 254A and a second portion on second end effector 254B, and electrode insulators can be between the first and second portions of the electrosurgical substrate. The electrode insulators can be configured to resist or prevent electrical communication between first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B. Electrical contacts 258 can include a first electrical contact coupled to the first portion of the electrosurgical substrate and a second electrical contact coupled to the second portion of the electrosurgical substrate. When electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the first state, the second electrical contact is electrically coupled to housing conductors 134 and the first electrical contact is decoupled from housing conductors 134. Thus, in the first state, housing conductor 134 can deliver electrosurgical energy to second end effector 254B rather than first end effector 254A. In contrast, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the second state, the first electrical contact is electrically coupled to housing conductor 134 and the second electrical contact is decoupled from housing conductor 134. Thus, in the second state, housing conductor 134 can deliver electrosurgical energy to first end effector 254A rather than second end effector 254B.

[0058] Figure 3 shows a perspective view of electrosurgical electrode 128 shown in Figure 2, according to one example. As shown in Figure 3, electrosurgical electrode 128 includes a first end effector 254A at a first end 252A and a second end effector 254B at a second end 252B. Additionally, as shown in Figure 3, first end 252A is opposite second end 252B, and electrosurgical electrode 128 has a longitudinal axis 360 extending between first end 252A and second end 252B.

[0059] 3, first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B are blade-type electrodes and have the same size, shape, and material composition. In other examples, as described above, first end effector 254A can have a first configuration and second end effector 254B can have a second configuration, and the first and second configurations can differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group of characteristics consisting of size, shape, and material.

[0060] 3, mounting portion 256 and electrical contact 258 are at an intermediate portion 256C between first end 252A and second end 252B. In this example, mounting portion 256 includes a first mounting portion 356A on a first side of electrical contact 258 and a second mounting portion 356B on a second side of electrical contact 258. First mounting portion 356A can couple electrosurgical electrode 128 to a receptacle in housing 123 when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in a first state (e.g., with first end effector 254A in the interior cavity of housing 123 and second end effector 254B extending distally of housing 123). The second mounting portion 356B can couple the electrosurgical electrode 128 to a receptacle in the housing 123 when the electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to the housing 123 in a second state (e.g., with the second end effector 254B within the inner cavity of the housing 123 and the first end effector 254A extending distally of the housing 123).

[0061] 3, first mounting portion 356A and second mounting portion 356B each have a hexagonal shape that is configured to mate with a corresponding hexagonal receptacle on housing 123. In other examples, mounting portions 256 and receptacles can have other shapes.

[0062] When electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in either the first condition or the second condition, electrical contact 258 can be coupled to housing conductor 134. In FIG. 3 , electrical contact 258 is an annular ring that extends around the entire circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128. This can facilitate electrically coupling electrical contact 258 to housing conductor 134 at multiple rotational positions of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123.

[0063] Figure 4A shows an embodiment of electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figure 1 with electrosurgical electrode 128 shown in Figure 3 in a first state, Figure 4B shows the assembled coupling of electrosurgical electrode 128 to receptacle 462 and housing conductor 434 in the first state, Figure 4C shows an embodiment of electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figure 1 with electrosurgical electrode 128 shown in Figure 3 in a second state, and Figure 4D shows the assembled coupling of electrosurgical electrode 128 to receptacle 462 and housing conductor 434 in the second state.

[0064] As shown in Figures 4A and 4C, electrosurgical device 112 includes a housing 123 extending from a proximal end 423A to a distal end 423B, and an electrosurgical electrode 128 extending from the distal end 423B of housing 123. As shown in Figure 4A, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in a first state, first end effector 254A is within the inner cavity of housing 123, and second end effector 254B extends from the distal end 423B of housing 123. As shown in Figure 4C, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in a second state, second end effector 254B is within the inner cavity of housing 123, and first end effector 254A extends from the distal end 423B of housing 123.

[0065] As shown in Figures 4B and 4D, mounting portion 256 is located between first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B, and mounting portion 256 detachably and reversibly couples electrosurgical electrode 128 to housing 123. More specifically, first mounting portion 356A of mounting portion 256 is coupled to receptacle 464 of housing 123 in a first state shown in Figure 4B, and second mounting portion 356B of mounting portion 256 is coupled to receptacle 464 of housing 123 in a second state shown in Figure 4D. Also, in Figures 4B and 4D, in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (shown in Figure 3) of electrosurgical electrode 128, mounting portion 256 has a non-circular cross-sectional shape, and receptacle 464 has a cross-sectional shape that matches the cross-sectional shape of mounting portion 256 such that mounting portion 256 is non-rotatably coupled to receptacle 464. In this example, the first mounting portion 356A, the second mounting portion 356B, and the receptacle 464 are hexagonal in shape, however, the first mounting portion 356A, the second mounting portion 356B, and the receptacle 464 can have other non-circular or circular shapes in other examples.

[0066] 4B and 4D , housing 123 includes an insulator 466 that defines an insulator cavity 468. For example, insulator 466 can be tubular-shaped. Insulator 466 can have a length from the proximal end of insulator 466 to the distal end of insulator 466. The distal end of insulator 466 can include a receptacle 464. As shown in FIG. 4B , when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the first condition, first end effector 254A is received in insulator cavity 468 defined by insulator 466. When electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the first condition, insulator 466 can serve to reduce or mitigate the transfer of electrosurgical energy from first end effector 254A to other components of electrosurgical device 112. As shown in Figure 4D, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the second state, second end effector 254B is received in insulator cavity 468 defined by insulator 466. When electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the second state, insulator 466 can serve to reduce or mitigate the transmission of electrosurgical energy from second end effector 254B to other components of electrosurgical device 112. In the example shown in Figures 4B and 4D, the length of insulator 466 is such that the proximal end of insulator 466 is proximal to electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0067] As shown in Figures 4B and 4D, electrosurgical electrode 128 includes electrical contacts 258 between first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B. Housing conductors 134 include protrusions 469 biased toward electrical contacts 258 to electrically couple one or more housing conductors 134 to electrosurgical electrode 128. Although electrical contacts 258 have a ring shape extending around the entire circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128 in Figures 4B and 4D, electrical contacts 258 can extend around a segment of the circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128, where the segment is less than the entire circumference.

[0068] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, electrosurgical electrode 128 may additionally be rotatable about an axis of rotation parallel to the longitudinal axis of electrosurgical device 112. In one example, electrosurgical electrode 128 may be rotated (i) by decoupling mounting portion 256 from receptacle 464, (ii) by rotating electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123 after decoupling mounting portion 256 from receptacle 464, and (iii) by rotating electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123 and then recoupling mounting portion 256 of electrosurgical electrode 128 to receptacle 464. Thus, in this example, rotating electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123 involves a time-consuming process that involves manually decoupling, rotating, and recoupling electrosurgical electrode 128 using two hands while the electrosurgical procedure is paused.

[0069] In another example, electrosurgical device 112 is configured to rotate electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123 while electrosurgical electrode 128 remains coupled to housing 123 (e.g., while mounting portion 256 remains coupled to receptacle 464). This can result in faster and more effective rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128, and in some embodiments, can result in rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128 with one hand without removing the hand from housing 123.

[0070] 5 shows a schematic block diagram of an electrosurgical system 500, according to one example, in which electrosurgical electrode 128 is rotatable relative to housing 123 while electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123. Electrosurgical system 500 is substantially similar to or identical to electrosurgical system 100 described above with respect to FIG. 1 , except that electrosurgical device 112 includes a rotatable member 570 operable to rotate electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123.

[0071] 5, rotatable member 570 is exposed on the exterior surface of housing 123 between the proximal and distal ends (e.g., proximal end 423A and distal end 423B shown in FIGS. 4A and 4C) of housing 123. Rotatable member 570 is rotatable to rotate electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123 about the longitudinal axis of housing 123.

[0072] 5 , rotatable member 570 can be coupled to receptacle 462 in a rotatably fixed manner, whereby rotation of rotatable member 570 relative to housing 123 rotates receptacle 462 relative to housing 123. As described above, electrosurgical electrode 128 can be removably or permanently coupled to receptacle 462 in a rotatably fixed manner such that rotation of receptacle 462 relative to housing 123 rotates electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123. In this configuration, rotating rotatable member 570 relative to housing 123 rotates receptacle 462 relative to housing 123, which in turn allows electrosurgical electrode 128 to rotate relative to housing 123.

[0073] In some examples, the rotatable member 570 can be rotatable more than 360 degrees relative to the housing. This can improve ease of use by allowing the operator to freely rotate the electrosurgical electrode 128 using the rotatable member 570 without restriction. However, in other embodiments, the electrosurgical electrode 128 can be rotatable less than 360 degrees (e.g., 180 degrees, 270 degrees, or 360 degrees). This can still allow the operator to achieve the desired rotational configuration, but with the possibility that the operator can rotate in a first direction, reach a stop that limits further rotation, and then rotate back in a second direction to achieve the desired rotational configuration. In one embodiment, the rotatable member 570 can be rotatable approximately 270 degrees or less. This can provide a good balance of simplified manufacturing and assembly while still allowing the operator to easily rotate the electrosurgical electrode 128 to the desired rotational orientation relative to the housing 123 and / or surgical site.

[0074] In some examples, the rotatable member 570 can extend around the entire circumference of the housing 123. This can beneficially provide increased access to the rotatable member 570 and / or facilitate rotation of the rotatable member 570 more than 360 degrees relative to the housing 123. In examples where the rotatable member 570 extends around the entire circumference of the housing 123, the rotatable member 570 can comprise an annular ring. In other examples, the rotatable member 570 can extend around less than the entire circumference of the housing 123. This can be beneficial in embodiments where the rotatable member 570 is rotatable less than 360 degrees relative to the housing 123. In some examples where the rotatable member 570 extends around less than the entire circumference of the housing 123, the rotatable member 570 can be an arc-shaped structure having a radius of curvature approximately equal to the radius of curvature of the surface of the housing 123.

[0075] In some examples, rotatable member 570 is bi-directionally rotatable relative to housing 123 to rotate electrosurgical electrode 128 in a first direction and a second direction, the first direction being opposite to the second direction. This may allow the operator to more quickly rotate electrosurgical electrode 128 to a desired rotational orientation relative to housing 123 and / or the surgical site. In other examples, rotatable member 570 may be rotatable in a first direction relative to housing 123 but not rotatable in a second direction relative to housing 123. This may be beneficial to resist inadvertent rotation of rotatable member 570 in embodiments where rotatable member 570 is positioned on handle 124 where an operator would normally grasp electrosurgical device 112 and apply a force to rotatable member 570 in a second direction while cutting or coagulating tissue at a surgical site.

[0076] Figures 6A-6D show an embodiment of electrosurgical device 112 of Figure 5 in which electrosurgical electrode 128 is rotatable relative to housing 123 while electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123, according to one example. In this example, electrosurgical electrode 128 is configured as described above with respect to Figures 2-4D. Thus, electrosurgical electrode 128 has a first end effector 254A at a first end 252A of electrosurgical electrode 128 and a second end effector 254B at a second end 252B of electrosurgical electrode 128. As described below with respect to Figures 7A-7B, in other examples, electrosurgical electrode 128 can have a single end effector at one end and attachment portion 256 can be present at the opposing end of electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0077] Figure 6A shows an embodiment of electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figure 5 with electrosurgical electrode 128 shown in Figure 3 in a first state, according to one example. Figure 6B shows an assembly of rotatable member 570, receptacle 462, electrosurgical electrode 128 coupled to receptacle 462 in the first state, and housing conductor 434, according to one example for the embodiment shown in Figure 6A. Figure 6C shows an embodiment of electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figure 5 with electrosurgical electrode 128 shown in Figure 3 in a second state, according to one example. Figure 6D shows an assembly of rotatable member 570, receptacle 462, electrosurgical electrode 128 coupled to receptacle 462 in the second state, and housing conductor 434, according to one example for the embodiment shown in Figure 6C.

[0078] 6A and 6C, electrosurgical device 112 includes a housing 123 extending from a proximal end 423A to a distal end 423B, and an electrosurgical electrode 128 extending from the distal end 423B of housing 123. As shown in FIG. 6A, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in a first state, first end effector 254A is within the inner cavity of housing 123, and second end effector 254B extends from the distal end 423B of housing 123. As shown in FIG. 6C, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in a second state, second end effector 254B is within the inner cavity of housing 123, and first end effector 254A extends from the distal end 423B of housing 123.

[0079] As shown in Figures 6B and 6D, mounting portion 256 is located between first end effector 254A and second end effector 254B, and mounting portion 256 detachably and reversibly couples electrosurgical electrode 128 to housing 123. More specifically, first mounting portion 356A of mounting portion 256 is coupled to receptacle 464 of housing 123 in a first state shown in Figure 6B, and second mounting portion 356B of mounting portion 256 is coupled to receptacle 464 of housing 123 in a second state shown in Figure 6D. Also, in Figures 6B and 6D, in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (shown in Figure 3) of electrosurgical electrode 128, mounting portion 256 has a non-circular cross-sectional shape, and receptacle 464 has a cross-sectional shape that matches the cross-sectional shape of mounting portion 256 such that mounting portion 256 is non-rotatably coupled to receptacle 464. In this example, the first mounting portion 356A, the second mounting portion 356B, and the receptacle 464 are hexagonal in shape, however, the first mounting portion 356A, the second mounting portion 356B, and the receptacle 464 can have other non-circular shapes in other examples.

[0080] 6B and 6D , housing 123 includes an insulator 466 that defines an insulator cavity 468. Insulator 466 can couple rotatable member 570 to receptacle 464 such that rotatable member 570 is rotatably fixed relative to receptacle 464. For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 6B and 6D , receptacle 464 can be coupled to or defined by a distal end of insulator 466, and rotatable member 570 can be coupled to a proximal end of insulator 466. In this configuration, rotation of rotatable member 570 relative to housing 123 causes (i) insulator 466 to rotate due to the coupling between insulator 466 and rotatable member 570, (ii) receptacle 464 to rotate due to rotation of insulator 466, and (iii) electrosurgical electrode 128 to rotate due to the coupling between mounting portion 256 and receptacle 464.

[0081] 6B and 6D , electrosurgical electrode 128 includes electrical contacts 258, and housing conductors 134 include protrusions 469 biased toward electrical contacts 258 to electrically couple one or more housing conductors 134 to electrosurgical electrode 128. Protrusions 469 and electrical contacts 258 are within an interior cavity defined by housing 123. Additionally, in this example, protrusions 469 and electrical contacts 258 are distal to rotatable member 570. This can be useful for providing a relatively short electrosurgical electrode 128. In another example, protrusions 469 and electrical contacts 258 can be proximal to rotatable member 470. This configuration can be beneficial in embodiments in which electrosurgical electrode 128 is relatively long.

[0082] As described above, electrical contacts 258 can have a ring shape that extends around the entire circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128, or electrical contacts 258 can extend around a segment of the circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128, where the segment is less than the entire circumference. For example, in the example shown in Figures 6A-6D, rotatable member 570 can be rotatable 360 ​​degrees or more relative to housing 123, and the ring shape of electrical contacts 258 can help maintain electrical communication between electrosurgical electrode 128 and housing conductors 134 at all rotational positions of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123. However, in examples where rotatable member 570 is rotatable less than 360 degrees, electrical contacts 258 can extend around a segment of the circumference sufficient to maintain electrical communication between electrosurgical electrode 128 and housing conductors 134 at all rotational positions of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123.

[0083] In an example, electrosurgical device 112 can be configured to resist inadvertent rotation of rotatable member 570 and electrosurgical electrode 128. For example, electrical contact 258 can have a plurality of detents 672 around at least a portion of the circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128, and protrusion 469 can be configured to engage detents 672 one at a time and provide a force to electrosurgical electrode 128 that counteracts a rotational force applied to rotatable member 570. In FIGS. 6B and 6D , detent 672 includes a plurality of teeth 674 extending outwardly from a base surface 676 of electrical contact 258. The gap between each adjacent pair of teeth 674 corresponds to a respective rotational position of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123. At each rotational position, protrusion 469 is configured to be received in the gap between adjacent ones of teeth 674 that correspond to the rotational position. In this example, teeth 674 can engage protrusions 469 to help resist rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128 when a force below a threshold amount of force is applied to rotatable member 570 and / or electrosurgical electrode 128 (e.g., to mitigate inadvertent rotation), and protrusions 469 can be configured to move past teeth 674 when a force above a threshold amount of force is applied to rotatable member 570 (e.g., to allow intentional rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128).

[0084] Figures 7A-7B show another example implementation of electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figure 5. Electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figures 7A-7B is substantially similar to or identical to the electrosurgical device shown in Figures 6A-6D, except that rotatable member 570 is shown in an alternative location on housing 123 and detent 672 has an alternative configuration.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 7A , electrosurgical device 112 includes a user input device 130 operable to supply electrosurgical energy to electrosurgical electrode 128. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 7A , user input device 130 extends across at least a portion of rotatable member 570. In this configuration, an operator can easily operate both user input device 130 and rotatable member 570 with one hand (without removing their hand from housing 123). Additionally or alternatively, for example, positioning a portion of rotatable member 570 below user input device 130 can help mitigate inadvertent rotation of rotatable member 570 while performing electrosurgery. This is because the operator's fingers can be positioned on user input device 130 while the remainder of the operator's hand can grasp a portion of housing 123 proximal to user input device 130 (and rotatable member 570).

[0086] 7B, in this example, rotatable member 570 can be coupled to a central portion of insulator 466 between the proximal end of insulator 466 and the distal end of insulator 466 (e.g., at a position disposed between insulator 466 and stamped metal part 730 of user input device 130 shown in FIGS. 6B and 6D). This can allow rotatable member 570 to be positioned closer to distal end 423B of housing 123 while still allowing insulator 466 to have a length such that the proximal end of insulator 466 is proximal to electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0087] 7B , in this example, detent 672 can include a plurality of recesses 778 extending inwardly from base surface 676 of electrical contact 258. Each recess 778 corresponds to a respective rotational position of electrosurgical electrode 128 relative to housing 123. At each rotational position, protrusion 469 is configured to be received in recess 778 corresponding to the rotational position. In this example, recess 778 can engage protrusion 469 to help resist rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128 when a force below a threshold amount of force is applied to rotatable member 570 and / or electrosurgical electrode 128 (e.g., to mitigate unintended rotation), and protrusion 469 can be configured to move out of recess 778 when a force above a threshold amount of force is applied to rotatable member 570 (e.g., to allow intentional rotation of electrosurgical electrode 128).

[0088] 6A-7B, rotatable member 570 extends around the entire circumference of housing 123 and electrical contacts 258 extend around the entire circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128. As mentioned above, in other examples, rotatable member 570 can extend around less than the entire circumference of housing 123 and / or electrical contacts 258 can extend around less than the entire circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0089] 8A-8B show an embodiment of electrosurgical device 112 shown in FIG. 5 , according to one example, in which rotatable member 570 extends around less than the entire circumference of housing 123 and electrical contacts 258 extend around less than the entire circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128. In this example, rotatable member 570 and electrosurgical electrode 128 may be rotatable 270 degrees or less. As shown in FIGS. 8A-8B , rotatable member 570 is an arc-shaped structure having a radius of curvature approximately equal to the radius of curvature of the surface of housing 123, and electrical contacts 270 extend around approximately 270 degrees of the circumference of electrosurgical electrode 128.

[0090] Figures 9A-9E show, according to an additional example, multiple electrosurgical electrodes 128 that can be used with the electrosurgical device 112 shown in Figures 1 and / or 5. Figure 9A shows an electrosurgical electrode 128 having a single end effector 954 (as opposed to a first end effector 254A and a second end effector 254B). As shown in Figure 9A, electrosurgical electrode 128 also includes a mounting portion 956 and electrical contacts 958, which are substantially similar to or identical to mounting portion 956 and electrical contacts 258 described above.

[0091] As described above with respect to FIG. 2, in some examples, electrical contacts 258 can be configured to supply electrosurgical energy to only one of first end effector 254A or second end effector 254B at a time. FIG. 9B shows an electrosurgical electrode 128 in accordance with one such example. In FIG. 9B, electrosurgical electrode 128 includes a first electrical contact 958A electrically coupled to first end effector 254A and a second electrical contact 958B electrically coupled to second end effector 254B. For example, an electrosurgical substrate can include a first portion at first end effector 254A and a second portion at second end effector 254B, and an electrical insulator can be between the first portion of the electrosurgical substrate and the second portion of the electrosurgical substrate. In FIG. 9B, the first electrical contact 958A and the first end effector 254 are electrically insulated from the second electrical contact 958B and the second end effector 254B by an electrode insulator 980. In FIG.

[0092] When electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the first state, second electrical contact 958B is electrically coupled to housing conductor 134 and first electrical contact 958A is decoupled from housing conductor 134. Thus, in the first state, housing conductor 134 can deliver electrosurgical energy to second end effector 254B rather than first end effector 254A. In contrast, when electrosurgical electrode 128 is coupled to housing 123 in the second state, first electrical contact 958A is electrically coupled to housing conductor 134 and second electrical contact 958B is decoupled from housing conductor 134. Thus, in the second state, housing conductor 134 can deliver electrosurgical energy to first end effector 254A rather than second end effector 254B.

[0093] Figure 9C shows an embodiment of an electrosurgical electrode 128 in which a first end effector 254A has a different size than a second end effector 254B, according to one example. Figure 9D shows an embodiment of an electrosurgical electrode 128 in which a first end effector 254A and a second end effector 254B are different types of electrodes, according to one example. For example, in Figure 9D, the first end effector 254A is a blade-type electrode and the second end effector is a ball-tip-type electrode. Figure 9D shows an embodiment of an electrosurgical electrode 128 in which a first end effector 254A and a second end effector 254B are different types of electrodes, according to another example. For example, in Figure 9D, the first end effector 254A is a blade-type electrode and the second end effector is a needle-type electrode.

[0094] Referring now to FIG. 10 , a flowchart of a process 1000 for operating an electrosurgical device is shown, according to one example. As shown in FIG. 10 , process 1000 includes providing an electrosurgical device at block 1010. The electrosurgical device includes a housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end and an electrosurgical electrode coupled to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from the distal end of the housing. At block 1012, process 1000 includes rotating a rotatable member relative to the housing. The rotatable member is exposed on an outer surface of the housing between the proximal and distal ends of the housing. In response to rotating the rotatable member relative to the housing at block 1012, process 1000 includes rotating the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing at block 1014.

[0095] 11-17 illustrate additional aspects of process 1000 according to further examples. In Fig. 11, the electrosurgical device includes one or more housing conductors configured to transfer electrosurgical energy from a power cord to an electrosurgical electrode, the electrosurgical electrode including electrical contacts, and the one or more housing conductors including protrusions. As shown in Fig. 11, process 1000 further includes, at block 1016, biasing the protrusions toward the electrical contacts to electrically couple the one or more housing conductors to the electrosurgical electrode.

[0096] In Figure 12, the electrical contact includes a plurality of detents around at least a portion of the circumference of the electrosurgical electrode. As shown in Figure 12, process 1000 includes, at block 1018, applying a force to the electrosurgical electrode that counteracts a rotational force applied to the rotating member through engagement between the protrusions and the detents.

[0097] 13, rotating the rotatable member at block 1014 includes bi-directionally rotating the rotatable member relative to the housing at 1020 to rotate the electrosurgical electrode in a first direction and a second direction, the first direction being opposite the second direction.

[0098] 14 , rotating the rotatable member at block 1014 includes rotating the rotatable member in a first direction relative to the housing while preventing rotation of the rotatable member in a second direction relative to the housing at block 1022. The first direction is opposite to the second direction.

[0099] 15, the electrosurgical electrode has a longitudinal axis extending between a first end and a second end, the electrosurgical electrode having a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end. As shown in FIG. 15, process 1000 may also include, at block 1024, coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a first state, wherein the first end effector is within the interior cavity of the housing and the second end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 16 , after coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a first state in block 1024, process 1000 can include (i) decoupling the electrosurgical electrode from the housing in block 1026, and (ii) coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a second state in block 1028, wherein in the second state the second end effector is within the inner cavity of the housing and the first end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

[0101] In FIG. 17 , the housing includes an insulator defining an insulator cavity and a receptacle coupled to a mounting portion of an electrosurgical electrode. In a first state, a first end effector is received in the insulator cavity. In a second state, a second end effector is received in the insulator cavity. The insulator couples the rotatable member and the receptacle such that the rotatable member is rotatably fixed relative to the receptacle. As shown in FIG. 17 , rotating the rotatable member relative to the housing in block 1012 includes rotating the insulator, the receptacle, and the electrosurgical electrode coupled to the receptacle in block 1030.

[0102] Referring now to FIG. 18 , a flowchart of a process 1800 for forming an electrosurgical device, according to one example, is shown. As shown in FIG. 18 , process 1800 includes forming a housing at block 1810. The housing extends from a proximal end to a distal end. At block 1812, process 1800 includes coupling an electrosurgical electrode to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from the distal end of the housing. At block 1814, process 1800 includes coupling a rotatable member to the housing such that the rotatable member is exposed on an outer surface of the housing between the proximal and distal ends of the housing. The rotatable member is rotatable to rotate the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing about a longitudinal axis of the housing.

[0103] Referring now to FIG. 19 , a flowchart of a process 1900 for operating an electrosurgical device is shown, according to another example. As shown in FIG. 19 , process 1900 includes providing a housing at block 1910. The housing extends from a proximal end to a distal end. At block 1912, process 1900 includes coupling an electrosurgical electrode to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from the distal end of the housing. The electrosurgical electrode extends between a first end and a second end. The electrosurgical electrode has a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end.

[0104] 20-24 illustrate additional aspects of process 1900 according to further examples. As shown in FIG. 20, coupling an electrosurgical electrode to a housing in block 1912 includes coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a first state in block 1914, wherein a first end effector is within the interior cavity of the housing and a second end effector extends from a distal end of the housing.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 21 , after coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a first state in block 1914, process 1900 can include (i) decoupling the electrosurgical electrode from the housing in block 1916, and (ii) coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a second state in block 1918, wherein in the second state the second end effector is within the inner cavity of the housing and the first end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

[0106] Referring now to FIG. 22 , a flowchart of a process 2200 for forming an electrosurgical device, according to one example, is shown. As shown in FIG. 22 , process 2200 includes forming a housing at block 2210. The housing extends from a proximal end to a distal end. At block 2212, process 2200 includes forming an electrosurgical electrode. The electrosurgical electrode extends between a first end and a second end. The electrosurgical electrode has a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end. At block 2214, process 2200 includes coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from the distal end of the housing.

[0107] The description of different advantageous configurations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosed forms. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Moreover, different advantageous embodiments may offer different advantages over other advantageous embodiments. The selected implementation(s) have been chosen and described to best explain the principles and practical applications of the embodiments and to enable those skilled in the art to understand the present disclosure in terms of various embodiments, including various modifications suitable for the particular intended use.

Claims

1. a housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end; an electrosurgical electrode extending from the distal end of the housing; a rotatable member exposed on an exterior surface of the housing between the proximal and distal ends of the housing; Equipped with An electrosurgical device, wherein the rotatable member is rotatable to rotate the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing about a longitudinal axis of the housing.

2. The electrosurgical device of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable member extends around the entire circumference of the housing.

3. The electrosurgical device according to claim 1 , wherein the rotatable member extends around less than the entire circumference of the housing.

4. one or more housing conductors configured to conduct electrosurgical energy from the power cord to the electrosurgical electrode; the electrosurgical electrode includes an electrical contact; The electrosurgical device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more housing conductors include a protrusion biased toward the electrical contact to electrically couple the one or more housing conductors to the electrosurgical electrode.

5. the electrical contact includes a plurality of detents around at least a portion of the circumference of the electrosurgical electrode; The electrosurgical device according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion is configured to engage the plurality of detents one at a time to provide a force on the electrosurgical electrode that counteracts a rotational force applied to the rotatable member.

6. the plurality of detents include a plurality of teeth extending outwardly from a base surface of the electrical contact; a gap between each adjacent pair of the plurality of teeth corresponds to a respective rotational position of the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing; The electrosurgical device of claim 5 , wherein at each rotational position, the protrusion is configured to be received in the gap between the adjacent pair of the plurality of teeth corresponding to the rotational position.

7. the plurality of detents include a plurality of recesses extending inwardly from a base surface of the electrical contact; each recess corresponds to a respective rotational position of the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing; The electrosurgical device of claim 5 , wherein at each rotational position, the protrusion is configured to be received in the recess corresponding to the rotational position.

8. The electrosurgical device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the electrical contact has a ring shape extending around the entire circumference of the electrosurgical electrode.

9. The electrosurgical device of any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the electrical contact extends around a segment of the circumference of the electrosurgical electrode, the segment being less than the entire circumference.

10. The electrosurgical device of any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the protrusions and the electrical contacts are distal to the rotatable member.

11. The electrosurgical device according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the protrusions and the electrical contacts are within an internal cavity defined by the housing.

12. 12. The electrosurgical device of claim 1, wherein the rotatable member is bidirectionally rotatable relative to the housing to rotate the electrosurgical electrode in a first direction and a second direction, the first direction being opposite to the second direction.

13. 13. The electrosurgical device of claim 1, wherein the rotatable member is rotatable relative to the housing in a first direction and not rotatable relative to the housing in a second direction, the first direction being opposite to the second direction.

14. The electrosurgical electrode has a longitudinal axis extending between a first end and a second end; The electrosurgical device according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein the electrosurgical electrode has a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end.

15. The electrosurgical device according to claim 14, wherein the electrosurgical electrode includes an electrical contact between the first end effector and the second end effector.

16. the first end effector has a first configuration and the second end effector has a second configuration; The electrosurgical device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the first configuration and the second configuration differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group of characteristics consisting of size, shape, and material.

17. The electrosurgical device according to claim 16, wherein the first end effector is an electrosurgical blade and the second end effector is a ball-tip electrode.

18. the first end effector has a first configuration and the second end effector has a second configuration; The electrosurgical device of claim 14 or 15, wherein the first configuration and the second configuration are the same size, shape, and material as one another.

19. The housing includes: an insulator defining an insulator cavity; a receptacle configured to couple to a mounting portion of the electrosurgical electrode; Equipped with In a first state, the first end effector is received in the insulator cavity; In a second state, the second end effector is received in the insulator cavity; The electrosurgical device of any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the insulator couples the rotatable member and the receptacle such that the rotatable member is rotatably fixed relative to the receptacle.

20. The electrosurgical device of any preceding claim, wherein the rotatable member is rotatable greater than 360 degrees relative to the housing.

21. The electrosurgical device of any preceding claim, wherein the rotatable member is rotatable relative to the housing by no more than 270 degrees.

22. The electrosurgical device of any preceding claim, further comprising a user input device operable to supply electrosurgical energy to the electrosurgical electrode.

23. The electrosurgical device according to claim 22, wherein the user input device extends over at least a portion of the rotatable member.

24. The electrosurgical device of any preceding claim, wherein the housing defines a smoke evacuation channel within an interior cavity of the housing.

25. a housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end; an electrosurgical electrode extending from the distal end of the housing; Equipped with the electrosurgical electrode extends between a first end and a second end; An electrosurgical device, wherein the electrosurgical electrode has a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end.

26. 26. The electrosurgical device according to claim 25, wherein the electrosurgical electrode is configured to removably couple to the housing in (i) a first state in which the first end effector is within an internal cavity of the housing and the second end effector extends from the distal end of the housing, and (ii) a second state in which the second end effector is within the internal cavity of the housing and the first end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

27. the housing includes an insulator defining an insulator cavity; In the first state, the first end effector is received in the insulator cavity; The electrosurgical device of claim 26, wherein in the second condition, the second end effector is received in the insulator cavity.

28. The electrosurgical device of claim 27, wherein the insulator is a tube.

29. the electrosurgical electrode includes a mount between the first end effector and the second end effector; The electrosurgical device of any one of claims 25 to 28, wherein the mounting portion is configured to detachably and reversibly couple the electrosurgical electrode to the housing.

30. The electrosurgical device according to claim 29, wherein in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the electrosurgical electrode, the mounting portion has a non-circular cross-sectional shape.

31. the housing includes a receptacle configured to couple to the mounting portion of the electrosurgical electrode; 31. The electrosurgical device of claim 30, wherein in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the receptacle has a cross-sectional shape that matches the cross-sectional shape of the mounting portion such that the mounting portion is configured to non-rotatably couple to the receptacle.

32. 1. An electrosurgical electrode comprising: a first end effector at a first end; a second end effector at a second end, the first end opposite the second end, the electrosurgical electrode having a longitudinal axis extending between the first end and the second end; a mount between the first end effector and the second end effector, the mount configured to couple the electrosurgical electrode to a housing of an electrosurgical device; and 1. An electrosurgical electrode comprising:

33. An electrosurgical electrode according to claim 32, wherein the electrosurgical electrode includes an electrical contact between the first end effector and the second end effector.

34. the first end effector has a first configuration and the second end effector has a second configuration; 34. An electrosurgical electrode according to claim 32 or 33, wherein the first configuration and the second configuration differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group of characteristics consisting of size, shape, and material.

35. 35. The electrosurgical electrode according to claim 34, wherein the first end effector is an electrosurgical blade and the second end effector is a ball-tip electrode.

36. the first end effector has a first configuration and the second end effector has a second configuration; An electrosurgical electrode according to claim 32 or 33, wherein the first configuration and the second configuration are the same size, shape, and material as one another.

37. 1. A method of operating an electrosurgical device, comprising: providing an electrosurgical device comprising a housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end and an electrosurgical electrode coupled to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from the distal end of the housing; rotating a rotatable member relative to the housing, the rotatable member being exposed on an exterior surface of the housing between the proximal end and the distal end of the housing; rotating the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing in response to rotating the rotatable member relative to the housing; A method comprising:

38. the electrosurgical device includes one or more housing conductors configured to conduct electrosurgical energy from a power cord to the electrosurgical electrode; the electrosurgical electrode includes an electrical contact; the one or more housing conductors include protrusions; 38. The method of claim 37, further comprising biasing the protrusion toward the electrical contact to electrically couple the one or more housing conductors to the electrosurgical electrode.

39. the electrical contact includes a plurality of detents around at least a portion of the circumference of the electrosurgical electrode; 39. The method of claim 38, further comprising providing a force on the electrosurgical electrode that counteracts a rotational force applied to the rotating member by engagement between the protrusion and the detent.

40. 40. The method of any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein rotating the rotatable member comprises rotating the rotatable member bidirectionally relative to the housing to rotate the electrosurgical electrode in a first direction and a second direction, the first direction being opposite the second direction.

41. 40. The method of any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein rotating the rotatable member comprises rotating the rotatable member in a first direction relative to the housing while preventing rotation of the rotatable member in a second direction relative to the housing, the first direction being opposite to the second direction.

42. The electrosurgical electrode has a longitudinal axis extending between a first end and a second end; The method of any one of claims 37 to 41, wherein the electrosurgical electrode has a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end.

43. 43. The method of claim 42, further comprising coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a first condition, wherein in the first condition the first end effector is within an internal cavity of the housing and the second end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

44. 44. The method of claim 43, further comprising, after coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in the first condition, (i) decoupling the electrosurgical electrode from the housing; and (ii) coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a second condition, wherein in the second condition the second end effector is within the interior cavity of the housing and the first end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

45. the housing includes an insulator defining an insulator cavity and a receptacle coupled to a mounting portion of the electrosurgical electrode; In the first state, the first end effector is received in the insulator cavity; In the second state, the second end effector is received in the insulator cavity; the insulator couples the rotatable member and the receptacle such that the rotatable member is rotatably fixed relative to the receptacle; 45. The method of claim 44, wherein rotating the rotatable member relative to the housing includes rotating the insulator, the receptacle, and the electrosurgical electrode coupled to the receptacle.

46. 1. A method of forming an electrosurgical device, comprising: forming a housing, the housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end; coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from a distal end of the housing; coupling the rotatable member to the housing such that the rotatable member is exposed on an exterior surface of the housing between the proximal end and the distal end of the housing; Including, The rotatable member is rotatable to rotate the electrosurgical electrode relative to the housing about a longitudinal axis of the housing.

47. 1. A method of operating an electrosurgical device, comprising: providing a housing, the housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end; coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from a distal end of the housing; Including, the electrosurgical electrode extends between a first end and a second end; The electrosurgical electrode has a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end.

48. 48. The method of claim 47, wherein coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing comprises coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a first condition, wherein in the first condition the first end effector is within an internal cavity of the housing and the second end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

49. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising, after coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in the first condition, (i) decoupling the electrosurgical electrode from the housing; and (ii) coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing in a second condition, wherein in the second condition the second end effector is within the interior cavity of the housing and the first end effector extends from the distal end of the housing.

50. the housing includes an insulator defining an insulator cavity; In the first state, the first end effector is received in the insulator cavity; 50. The method of claim 49, wherein in the second state, the second end effector is received in the insulator cavity.

51. 1. A method of forming an electrosurgical device, comprising: forming a housing, the housing extending from a proximal end to a distal end; forming an electrosurgical electrode extending between a first end and a second end, the electrosurgical electrode having a first end effector at the first end and a second end effector at the second end; coupling the electrosurgical electrode to the housing such that the electrosurgical electrode extends from the distal end of the housing; A method comprising:

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