Electrosurgical Radiating Tip for Multi-Frequency Microwave Energy Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrosurgical instruments face challenges in efficiently delivering microwave energy to biological tissue, particularly in achieving rapid and localized heating while maintaining maneuverability, as they often require physically long radiating tips to support resonance at sub-GHz frequencies, making it difficult to target specific tissue regions.
Innovation Solution
An electrosurgical instrument with a radiating tip portion designed to support resonance at multiple microwave frequencies by varying its relative permeability and permittivity, allowing it to effectively deliver energy at different frequencies, thereby reducing the physical length required and enhancing maneuverability while achieving efficient tissue heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the radiating tip is designed to support resonance at sub-GHz frequencies, then effective energy delivery into tissue is achieved, but the physical length of the radiating tip becomes excessively long, reducing maneuverability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by utilizing frequency-dependent variation in the relative permeability of magnetic material within the radiating tip. At different microwave frequencies, the magnetic material exhibits different permeability values, which directly changes the electrical length of the radiating tip. This allows the same physical structure to resonate at multiple frequencies with different effective lengths, resolving the contradiction between achieving resonance at sub-GHz frequencies (which requires long physical length) and maintaining maneuverability (requiring short physical length).
Solution Approach 2:
The radiating tip is designed to perform multiple functions by supporting resonance at two or more different microwave frequencies. The magnetic material enables the tip to adapt its electrical characteristics across different frequency bands, making it universally applicable for both sub-GHz deep penetration treatments and higher frequency localized treatments without requiring multiple different physical tip designs.
2Speed
If higher microwave frequencies are used, then faster and more localized heating is achieved, but the depth and volume of treatment are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by enabling the electrosurgical instrument to dynamically switch between different microwave frequencies based on the desired treatment outcome. The magnetic material's frequency-dependent permeability allows the system to adapt its operational characteristics in real-time, selecting higher frequencies for rapid localized heating when speed is prioritized, and lower frequencies when deeper penetration and larger treatment volume are required.
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
The instrument enables rapid and effective heating of large volumes of tissue by supporting resonance at multiple frequencies, allowing for efficient energy delivery and minimizing treatment time, while maintaining the ability to target specific tissue regions, such as tumors or hemorrhoids, without the need for excessively long radiating tips.
Implementation Method 1
The normal mechanism by which energy is transferred into biological tissue at microwave frequencies is dielectric heating, where the microwave EM energy drives molecular oscillations in the tissue.
Implementation Method 2
biological tissue adjacent to the dielectric heating zone also typically experiences a rise in temperature. The mechanism for this is conduction, i.e. heat energy dissipating outwards from the dielectric heating zone.
Implementation Method 3
the first effective relative permeability and the second effective relative permeability are selected to cause an electrical length of the radiating tip portion to support resonance and the first frequency and the second frequency respectively
Data Source
AI summary
An electrosurgical instrument with a radiating tip portion having a relative permeability and/or relative permittivity that is selected to provide an electrical length for the radiating tip portion that enables effective delivery into biological tissue of microwave EM energy supplied thereto, at two or more frequencies of choice. The instrument has a radiating tip portion disposed to receive microwave EM energy from a coaxial cable, the radiating tip portion having a first effective relative permeability at a first frequency and a second effective relative permeability at a second frequency.