Electrosurgical instrument
US6027501A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 21, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 22, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 21, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2018/1472
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An electrosurgical instrument, which is used to treat tissue in the presence of an electrically-conductive fluid, comprises an instrument shaft and an electrode assembly at one end of the shaft. The electrode assembly comprises a tissue treatment electrode and a return electrode which is electrically insulated from the tissue treatment electrode by means of an insulation member. The tissue treatment electrode is exposed at the extreme distal end of the instrument, and the return electrode has a fluid contact surface spaced from the exposed end of the tissue treatment electrode by the insulation member. The instrument further comprises feed means for feeding electrically-conductive fluid to the region of the exposed end of the tissue treatment electrode in such a manner as to define, in use, a conductive fluid path that completes an electrical circuit between the tissue treatment and the return electrode.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.