Segmented Electrode Clamp for Impedance-Guided Tissue Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue ablation technologies lack precision and efficiency in creating uniform energy fields for effective tissue ablation, particularly in bipolar systems, and do not adequately monitor tissue impedance to ensure complete ablation.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a controller and RF generator with segmented electrode pairs that alternately activate and deactivate to create overlapping energy fields, monitoring tissue impedance to ensure complete ablation and adjust power distribution based on impedance readings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a single electrode pair is used for tissue ablation, then the device complexity is low, but the manufacturing precision and uniformity of energy field distribution are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is divided into multiple discrete segments along its length, with each segment capable of independent activation. This segmentation allows for more precise control of energy distribution along the electrode-tissue contact area, enabling uniform energy field creation across the entire electrode surface while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different segments of the electrode can be activated independently based on local tissue impedance and ablation requirements. This allows each region of the electrode to deliver energy according to specific local conditions, improving overall energy field uniformity and ablation precision without requiring the entire electrode to be complex.
2Measurement precision
If electrode pairs are activated simultaneously, then the productivity is high, but the measurement precision of tissue impedance and control accuracy are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode segments are activated in alternating sequences rather than all at once. Each segment or group of segments is activated periodically, allowing the control system to monitor tissue impedance responses between activations. This periodic activation pattern enables precise impedance measurement and real-time control adjustments while maintaining high overall ablation productivity through continuous cycling.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple electrode segments are activated in overlapping time windows such that while one segment is being monitored for impedance, adjacent segments remain active or are prepared for imminent activation. This ensures continuous useful ablation action occurs throughout the tissue treatment area without interruption, maintaining high productivity while enabling precise measurement during inter-segment intervals.
3Productivity
If high power is delivered to create sufficient energy field, then the productivity is improved, but the object-generated harmful factors increase
Solution Approach 1:
High total power is divided across multiple electrode segments, with each segment receiving a lower, more controlled power level. This segmentation approach allows the system to achieve the necessary total energy delivery for high productivity ablation while keeping individual segment power levels below thresholds that would cause collateral damage, improving safety without sacrificing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system continuously monitors tissue impedance and power delivery in real-time during electrode activation. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts power delivery to each segment, increasing power when needed to maintain productivity and decreasing power when impedance changes indicate approaching harmful thresholds, thus preventing collateral tissue damage while maintaining high ablation efficiency.
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 system achieves precise and efficient tissue ablation by creating a substantially constant energy field with overlapping zones, ensuring complete tissue ablation by adjusting power distribution based on impedance, thereby improving ablation precision and effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a controller and an RF generator and a plurality of segmented electrode pairs... each electrode pair, when activated, generates an energy field within the tissue between the electrode pairs
Implementation Method 2
the electrodes of each pair being of opposite RF energy polarity so as to provide a current flux between the electrodes of each pair when activated
Data Source
AI summary
Surgical equipment including controllers, RF generators, and surgical devices for use with ablating tissue. More specifically, surgical equipment that includes a plurality of segmented electrode pairs operatively coupled to a controller, where the controller is configured to determine, based upon impedance calculations, for each of the segmented electrode pairs whether to power the segmented electrode pairs individually or power at least some of the segmented electrode pairs as a group.