Flexible Woven Electrode for Tissue Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical devices with flexible electrodes face challenges in easy deployment and cost-effective manufacturing, as they often require complex processes and rigid structures, limiting their effectiveness in electrosurgical ablation procedures.
Innovation Solution
A flexible electrode device made from a sheet of interwoven yarns, where at least some yarns are electrically conductive, forming a conductive fabric that can be easily shaped and expanded for tissue ablation, using a balloon for deployment and connected to an RF energy source for efficient energy transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a solid metal electrode is mounted on an inflatable balloon, then the electrode can be deployed at a treatment site, but the electrode is relatively rigid and difficult to conform to tissue surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by constructing the electrode as a thin, flexible woven fabric made from conductive yarns. This flexible fabric can conform to irregular tissue surfaces while maintaining electrical conductivity, resolving the contradiction between conformability and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by creating a fabric that combines conductive metallic yarns with insulating or supportive fibers. This composite structure provides both the flexibility needed for tissue conformability and the mechanical strength required for electrode functionality.
2Ease of operation
If an expandable/collapsible electrode structure is used, then the electrode can be deployed easily, but a complicated process is required for forming electrodes and electrically connecting them
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the electrode formation and connection processes by integrating conductive yarns directly into the fabric structure during manufacturing. The conductive yarns themselves serve as both the electrode material and the electrical connection pathway, eliminating the need for separate formation and connection steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of the electrode from rigid metal to flexible woven fabric. This parameter change allows the electrode to be easily deployed in a collapsed state and expanded at the treatment site, while the woven structure inherently provides electrical continuity without complex connections.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional fabrics with metal strands are used, then flexible electrodes can be created, but they are not specifically suitable for medical use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates medically suitable composite fabrics by combining biocompatible conductive yarns with medical-grade insulating or supportive fibers. This ensures the fabric meets medical reliability requirements while maintaining the flexibility needed for electrode application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different parts of the fabric - conductive yarns in areas requiring electrical contact and insulating or biocompatible materials in areas requiring tissue safety. This local differentiation ensures both flexibility and medical suitability.
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 flexible electrode device allows for easy deployment and cost-effective manufacturing, enabling efficient tissue ablation with focused RF energy application, protecting healthy tissues and simplifying wiring connections, while maintaining flexibility and expandability for effective treatment.
Implementation Method 1
At least some of the filaments are made at least partially from an electrically conductive material and cooperate so as to form the electrode
Implementation Method 2
utilizes electrosurgical energy (e.g., radio frequency (RF) energy) passed between a pair of electrodes
Implementation Method 3
the balloon is expandable for deploying the electrode at a treatment site
Implementation Method 4
utilizes electrosurgical energy (e.g., radio frequency (RF) energy) passed between a pair of electrodes to create a high current density which ablate the body tissues
Implementation Method 5
Surgical devices have been in use for performing electrosurgical ablation of body tissues
Data Source
AI summary
An electrode device adapted for use in medical devices, such as tissue ablation apparatus, includes a sheet of flexible fabric including at least one surface electrode formed as part of the fabric. More particularly, the sheet is made from a plurality of filaments. At least some of the filaments are made at least partially from an electrically conductive material and cooperate so as to form the electrode. The filaments are formed into a plurality of yarns which are interwoven to form the sheet.