Carbon Fiber Electrode for Uniform Large-Area Tissue Coagulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrosurgical instruments struggle to efficiently coagulate large areas of biological tissue quickly and evenly, particularly in applications like gastric mucosal ablation, where precise and uniform treatment is required.
Innovation Solution
An electrosurgical instrument with a carbon fiber electrode that distributes current evenly over a large surface area, allowing for both contact coagulation and plasma coagulation, featuring a shaft with carbon fibers that conduct current and are arranged to minimize local current density peaks, optionally with a gas stream to form plasma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a conventional electrode is used for contact coagulation, then local treatment precision is improved, but the treatment area is limited and cannot cover large surfaces efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is segmented into multiple carbon fiber elements arranged in a grid pattern, allowing current to be distributed across many discrete contact points simultaneously. This segmentation enables coverage of large tissue areas while maintaining uniform current distribution through the distributed fiber array.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode material is changed from conventional solid metal to carbon fibers, fundamentally altering the electrical and thermal parameters. Carbon fibers provide higher electrical conductivity, higher melting point, and lower thermal mass, enabling large-area contact coagulation with uniform current and heat distribution across the entire electrode surface.
2Reliability
If a solid metal electrode is used, then electrical conductivity is improved, but the electrode sticks to the tissue during coagulation
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode combines carbon fibers (for electrical conductivity) with a polyimide binder matrix (for non-stick properties). This composite structure provides both high electrical conductivity through the carbon fiber network and non-adherence to tissue due to the chemically inert polyimide material that does not bond to biological tissues.
3Productivity
If the electrode width is increased to treat larger areas, then treatment efficiency is improved, but current density becomes uneven and concentrates at edges
Solution Approach 1:
The large-area electrode is segmented into numerous discrete carbon fiber elements distributed across the surface. This segmentation prevents edge concentration effects because current flows through many parallel fiber paths rather than a continuous solid surface, distributing current density uniformly across the entire electrode area including edges.
Solution Approach 2:
Each carbon fiber element provides localized current delivery with optimal current density, while the collective array ensures uniform overall distribution. The local quality of each fiber (high conductivity, small contact area) combined with the global arrangement achieves both high treatment efficiency and uniform current distribution.
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
Enables rapid and uniform coagulation of extensive tissue areas with reduced risk of electrode adherence, achieving both contact and plasma coagulation effectively.
Implementation Method 1
The electrode has carbon fibers which are electrically conductive and determine the electrical conductivity of the electrode
Implementation Method 2
The carbon fibers form individual, resistive linear conductors, each of which conducts electrical current and distributes it relatively evenly over the area where there is contact between the electrode and the tissue
Implementation Method 3
If one or more lumens are provided in the elongated shaft, so that the shaft is designed as a tube or pipe... A suitable gas, particularly an inert gas such as argon, may be discharged from the outlet port
Data Source
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AI summary
In an instrument (15) according to the invention for the surgical treatment of a tissue surface (14), in particular for coagulation or ablation thereof, an electrode (23) consisting of carbon fibers (29) or at least comprising carbon fibers (29) serves to supply current to the tissue surface (14). Due to the anisotropy of the electrical conductivity of the carbon fibers (29) or of the formed electrode (23), a large-area and uniform current distribution can be achieved. This is true both in direct contact coagulation and in mixed coagulation with plasma formation with at least partial contact of the tissue surface (14) by the electrode (23). The formation of the electrode surface from carbon fibers (29) and in particular their high thermal conductivity effectively prevents the electrode (23) from adhering to the tissue surface (14).