Active Cooling Vascular Tissue Sealing Jaws
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrosurgical instruments face challenges in minimizing thermal spread to adjacent tissue structures during tissue sealing, leading to collateral damage and prolonged healing times.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an active cooling system within the electrosurgical instrument, utilizing a cooling agent source and venting ports in the jaw members to rapidly cool the electrodes, either by predetermined duration or temperature-sensing control, to reduce thermal spread and enhance tissue sealing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrosurgical energy is applied to seal tissue, then tissue sealing is achieved, but thermal spread occurs causing collateral damage to adjacent tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies active cooling to the jaw members immediately after electrosurgical energy application to rapidly remove heat and convert the harmful thermal spread into a controlled cooling process. This prevents collateral damage to adjacent tissue while maintaining the effectiveness of the sealing procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cooling agent as an intermediary substance that transfers heat from the jaw members to the surrounding environment. This mediator enables rapid heat removal without directly contacting or damaging the tissue, thus reducing thermal spread while preserving sealing effectiveness.
2Device complexity
If passive cooling is used after energy application, then natural heat exchange occurs, but cooling rate is insufficient and sealing cycle is prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the passive mechanical heat exchange process with an active cooling system that uses a cooling agent source and delivery mechanism. This substitution dramatically increases the cooling rate and shortens the sealing cycle while adding controlled complexity to the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary cooling action by activating the cooling agent delivery system immediately after electrosurgical energy application. This preliminary cooling prevents excessive heat accumulation and accelerates the sealing cycle without requiring complex real-time temperature monitoring.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If cooling rate is increased to reduce thermal spread, then collateral damage is minimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from the general device architecture by using a separate, dedicated cooling agent source and delivery system. This extraction allows the cooling mechanism to be optimized for rapid heat removal without integrating complex temperature sensing and control systems into the main electrosurgical apparatus.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Active cooling significantly reduces the thermal spread, shortens the sealing cycle, and promotes faster tissue healing by minimizing collateral damage and improving the formation of a fused tissue mass.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling agent source is configured to supply a cooling agent to the channel during active cooling of the second jaw member
Data Source
AI summary
An end effector assembly for use with an electrosurgical instrument is provided. The end effector assembly has a first jaw member and a second jaw member. The second jaw member includes a channel defined therein and coupled to a cooling agent source and at least one venting port defined therein and fluidly coupled to the channel. During active cooling of the second jaw member, the cooling agent source is configured to supply a cooling agent to the channel.