Microwave Forceps Sealing Tissue Using Phase-Offset Antennas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for sealing body vessels during surgical procedures often leave foreign materials inside the patient and can cause collateral damage due to the use of staples, clips, or heat-based techniques, which lack precision and control.
Innovation Solution
The development of microwave forceps with an end effector assembly featuring opposing jaw members equipped with microwave antenna assemblies, shielding members, and a splitter that splits microwave energy signals with a 180° phase offset, allowing for precise tissue sealing with minimal thermal spread and foreign material residue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional staples, clips or sutures are used to seal body vessels, then the vessel can be closed, but foreign body material is left inside the patient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes foreign body materials (staples, clips, sutures) from the vessel sealing process entirely. Instead, it uses microwave energy delivered through antenna assemblies that can be withdrawn after sealing, leaving no permanent foreign material in the tissue. The antenna assemblies are temporary delivery devices rather than permanent implants.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical sealing methods (staples, clips, sutures) with an electromagnetic field-based system. Microwave energy generates heat within the tissue to seal vessels, eliminating the need for mechanical fasteners or suturing materials that would remain as foreign bodies.
2Reliability
If heat treatment is used to seal tissue, then the vessel can be closed, but collateral damage occurs to surrounding body tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs antenna assemblies that concentrate microwave energy precisely at the vessel sealing site. The electromagnetic fields are localized to the immediate tissue between the antenna elements, creating highly localized heating that seals the vessel without significantly heating surrounding tissues. This achieves selective thermal action with spatial precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional external heating methods (which cause thermal spread) with internal microwave generation. The microwave antennas embedded in the sealing device generate electromagnetic fields that couple directly with water molecules in the target tissue, producing heat only where the fields intersect, thereby minimizing collateral thermal damage.
3Reliability
If conventional heat-based sealing is used, then tissue can be sealed, but the process lacks precision and control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates sensors that monitor tissue parameters (such as impedance, temperature, or sealing progress) during the sealing process. This feedback allows the control system to adjust microwave energy delivery in real-time, ensuring precise control over the sealing process and consistent results while preventing overheating or incomplete sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses dynamically controllable microwave energy delivery, adjusting power levels, pulse durations, and antenna activation sequences based on real-time conditions. This dynamic control enables precise thermal management, allowing the system to adapt to varying tissue properties and achieve uniform seals with minimal thermal spread.
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 microwave forceps enable faster tissue desiccation and reduced collateral damage by using electromagnetic near fields to generate heat precisely within the tissue, minimizing thermal spread and foreign material residue while providing a controlled and uniform seal.
Implementation Method 1
The microwave forceps enable faster tissue desiccation and reduced collateral damage by using electromagnetic near fields to generate heat precisely within the tissue
Implementation Method 2
The phase of the first signal is offset in relation to a phase of the second signal, e.g., 180°
Implementation Method 3
Each of the jaw members includes a microwave antenna assembly and a shielding member including a metallic plate coupled to ground and a dielectric material
Data Source
AI summary
An end effector assembly includes a pair of opposing jaw members movable from a first position in spaced relation relative to one another to at least one subsequent position wherein the jaw members cooperate to grasp tissue therebetween. Each of the jaw members includes a microwave antenna assembly and a shielding member including a metallic plate coupled to ground and a dielectric material. The end effector assembly also includes a splitter configured to receive an active signal from a source of microwave energy and split the active signal into a first signal transmitted to the microwave antenna assembly in one of the jaw members and a second signal transmitted in the microwave antenna assembly in the other jaw member.