Surgical assembly, system and electrode assembly
A surgical assembly and system are disclosed for use in performing a surgical procedure on a patient. The assembly comprises a surgical tool, the tool being arranged to receive a first signal for use in cutting or cauterizing tissue of the patient during the surgical procedure and an electrode disposed upon the tool. The assembly further comprises an electrical generator communicatively couplable with the electrode, for generating a second signal for use in generating an electrical field from the electrode proximate a site of the surgical procedure, for removing particles suspended proximate the surgical site. The assembly further comprises a controller for controlling the application of the second signal to the electrode, a sensing arrangement for sensing an activation status of the first signal, the sensing arrangement being communicatively coupled with the controller and arranged to output a sensing signal to the controller in dependence of the activation status of the first signal. The controller is arranged to enable the application of the second signal to the electrode upon receiving a sensing signal representative of an activation of the first signal. An electrode assembly comprising a plurality of electrically conductive elements for use with a surgical tool is also disclosed.
1 . A surgical assembly for use in performing a surgical procedure on a patient, the assembly comprising:
a surgical tool comprising a tool-piece disposed at a distal end thereof, the tool-piece being arranged to receive a first signal for use in cutting or cauterizing tissue of the patient during the surgical procedure;
an electrode disposed upon the tool, the electrode being offset from the surgical tool, such that a proximal end of the electrode is radially spaced from the surgical tool and a distal end of the electrode is longitudinally spaced from the distal end of the surgical tool;
a DC electrical generator communicatively couplable with the electrode, for generating a second signal for use in generating an electrical field from the electrode proximate a site of the surgical procedure, for removing particles suspended proximate the surgical site by electrostatic precipitation;
a controller for controlling the application of the second signal to the electrode;
a sensing arrangement communicatively coupled with the controller, the sensing arrangement being arranged to sense an activation status of the first signal and to output a sensing signal to the controller in dependence of the activation status; and
a bleed circuit comprising a bleed resistor configured to discharge from the tool piece a residual charge generated by the second signal, wherein:
the controller is arranged to enable the application of the second signal to the electrode only upon receiving a sensing signal representative of an activation of the first signal and the bleed resistor is configured to discharge the residual charge throughout the activation of the second signal.
2 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is arranged to disable the application of the second signal to the electrode upon receiving a sensing signal representative of a deactivation of the first signal.
3 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a timer for disabling the application of the second signal to the electrode a predefined time after receiving a sensing signal representative of a deactivation of the first signal.
4 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising an override actuator for enabling the application of the second signal to the electrode independently of the activation status of the first signal.
5 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a heater for heating a region of the surgical tool disposed longitudinally between the electrode and the distal end of the surgical tool.
6 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the tool comprises a handle and a shaft which is coupled at a proximal end thereof to the handle, and wherein the electrode is disposed proximate a distal end of the shaft and wherein the shaft comprises a profiled outer surface at least in the region disposed longitudinally between the electrode and the distal end of the shaft.
7 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising an electrically conductive pathway which extends from the electrode to a proximate end of the tool, for communicating the second signal from the electrical generator to the electrode.
8 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the bleed resistor is configured to discharge the residual charge from the tool-piece to the patient.
9 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the bleed resistor is configured to discharge the residual charge from the tool-piece throughout the activation of the first signal.
10 . A surgical assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the resistance of the bleed resistor is 50 MΩ-200 MΩ.
11 . A surgical assembly for use in performing a surgical procedure on a patient, the assembly comprising:
a surgical tool comprising a tool-piece disposed at a distal end thereof, the tool-piece being arranged to receive a first signal for use in cutting or cauterizing tissue of the patient during the surgical procedure;
an electrode disposed upon the tool, the electrode being offset from the surgical tool, such that a proximal end of the electrode is radially spaced from the surgical tool and a distal end of the electrode is longitudinally spaced from the distal end of the surgical tool;
a DC electrical generator communicatively couplable with the electrode, for generating a second signal for use in generating an electrical field from the electrode proximate a site of the surgical procedure, for removing particles suspended proximate the surgical site by electrostatic precipitation;
a controller for controlling the application of the second signal to the electrode; and
a sensing arrangement communicatively coupled with the controller, the sensing arrangement being arranged to sense an activation status of the first signal and to output a sensing signal to the controller in dependence of the activation status; and a bleed circuit comprising a bleed resistor configured to discharge from the tool-piece a residual charge generated by the second signal;
the controller is arranged to enable the application of the second signal to the electrode only upon receiving a sensing signal representative of an activation of the first signal the bleed resistor is configured to discharge the residual charge throughout the activation of the second signal; the electrical generator comprises a closed loop control circuit for monitoring a proximity of the electrode to patient tissue; and
the closed loop control circuit comprises a voltage monitoring device for monitoring the voltage at a distal end of the electrode such that, in the event that the voltage at the distal end of the electrode falls below a threshold value indicative of the electrode being positioned too close to the patient tissue to create a potential difference between the electrode and the patient tissue for ionizing surgical particles and smoke, the closed loop control circuit prevents/terminates the application of the second signal to the electrode.
12 . A surgical assembly according to claim 11 further comprising a current monitoring device for monitoring the current at a distal end of the electrode such that, in the event that the current at the distal end of the electrode exceeds a threshold value indicative of the electrode being positioned too close to the patient tissue to create a potential difference between the electrode and the patient tissue for ionizing surgical particles and smoke, the closed loop control circuit prevents/terminates the application of the second signal to the electrode.
13 . A surgical system for use in performing a surgical procedure on a patient, the system comprising:
a surgical tool comprising a tool-piece disposed at a distal end thereof, a surgical generator communicatively couplable with the tool-piece, for generating a first signal for use in cutting or cauterizing tissue of the patient during the surgical procedure;
an electrode disposed upon the tool, the electrode being offset from the surgical tool, such that a proximal end of the electrode is radially spaced from the surgical tool and a distal end of the electrode is longitudinally spaced from the distal end of the surgical tool;
a DC electrical generator communicatively couplable with the electrode, for generating a second signal for use in generating an electrical field from the electrode proximate a site of the surgical procedure, for removing particles suspended proximate the surgical site by electrostatic precipitation;
a controller for controlling the application of the second signal to the electrode; and
a sensing arrangement communicatively coupled with the controller, the sensing arrangement being arranged to sense an activation status of the first signal and to output a sensing signal to the controller in dependence of the activation status; and
a bleed circuit comprising a bleed resistor configured to discharge from the tool piece a residual charge generated by the second signal, wherein:
the controller is arranged to enable the application of the second signal to the electrode only upon receiving a sensing signal representative of an activation of the first signal and the bleed resistor is configured to discharge the residual charge from the tool-piece throughout the activation of the second signal.