Electrosurgical instrument
View Patent ↗An improved insulating layer for electrosurgical instruments and its use for electrosurgical instruments for reducing smoke generation at a surgical site is disclosed. The insulating layer may include a ceramic material that is substantially sealed with a coating comprising substantially of a material based on polydiorganosiloxanes or derivatives thereof that have been cured. Such an insulating layer may advantageously include one or more insulating materials with pores that have been sealed so as to prevent biological materials from entering the pores with such sealing material preferably containing one or more of silicate materials or materials that form silicates. Heat sinks may be included in various embodiments to establish a thermal gradient away from functional portions of the instrument.
1. An electrosurgical instrument, comprising:
at least one substantially metallic element; and,
an insulating layer positioned over at least a portion of the at least one substantially metallic element, said insulating layer including a porous insulating material and a sealing material, wherein said sealing is substantially hydrophobic, substantially seals at least an outer surface of said insulating material, and penetrates at least a portion of said porous insulating material.
2. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said porous insulating material further comprises a metal-oxide based binder.
3. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said porous insulating material comprises at least one ceramic material.
4. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said insulating layer has a thickness of less than 0.01 inches.
5. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sealing material penetrates at least about 10% of a total thickness of said insulating layer.
6. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 5 , wherein said sealing material comprises at least one material from a group consisting of polydiorganosiloxanes and materials derived therefrom.
7. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said at least one substantially metallic element includes: a metal body having a main body portion and a peripheral edge portion.
8. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 7 , wherein said metal body is laterally-tapered down in cross-sectional thickness from said main body portion to said peripheral edge portion.
9. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 8 , wherein said peripheral edge portion is not covered by said insulating layer.
10. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 9 , wherein said substantially sealed insulating layer has a thickness of less than 0.01 inches.
11. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 10 , wherein said peripheral edge portion has a thickness less than about 1/10 of the maximum cross-sectional thickness of the main body portion.
12. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 9 , wherein said insulating layer substantially covers the entirety of said metal body apart from said peripheral edge portion.
13. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 7 , wherein said metal body comprises stainless steel.
14. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 7 , wherein said metal body has a thermal conductivity of at least about 0.35 W/cm° K. when measured at about 300° K.
15. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 14 , wherein said metal body comprises a first material selected from a group consisting of aluminum, silver, copper, gold, tungsten tantalum, columbium and molybdenum.
16. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 7 , wherein said metal body comprises:
a first metal layer defining said peripheral edge portion; and,
at least one second metal layer adjacent to said first metal layer, wherein said first metal layer and said at least one second metal layer comprise different materials.
17. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 16 , wherein the first metal layer comprises a first material selected from a group consisting of tungsten, tantalum, columbium and molybdenum.
18. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 16 , wherein said at least one second metal layer has a thermal conductivity of at least about 2 W/cm° K. when measured at about 300° K.
19. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 18 , wherein said at least one second metal layer comprises second material selected from a group consisting of gold aluminum, silver, and copper.
20. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sealing material comprises at least one of a group consisting of silicates, solutions containing silicates, and solutions forming silicates upon curing.
21. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 20 , wherein said sealing material penetrates at least about 10 percent of a total thickness of said insulating layer.
22. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sealing material has a kinematic viscosity of less than about 350 cSt.
23. An electrosurgical instrument as recited in claim 22 , wherein said sealing material has a kinematic viscosity of less than about 200 cSt.
24. A method for manufacturing an electrosurgical instrument, comprising:
providing a substantially metallic element;
applying a porous insulating material over at least a portion of the substantially metallic element;
applying a sealing material over at least an outer surface of the insulating material, the sealing material being substantially hydrophobic and applied so as to penetrate at least a portion of the porous insulating material; and
curing the porous insulating material and sealing material to form a substantially sealed insulating layer.
25. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein said porous insulating material comprises a metal-oxide based binder.
26. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein said porous insulating material comprises at least one ceramic material.
27. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein said porous insulating material and sealing material are applied so the formed substantially sealed insulating layer has a thickness of less than 0.01 inches.
28. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein said sealing material is applied so as to penetrate at least about 10% of a total thickness of said porous insulating material.
29. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein said sealing material comprises at least one material from a group consisting of polydiorganosiloxanes and materials derived therefrom.
30. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein the substantially metallic element comprises a metal body having a main body portion and a peripheral edge portion.
31. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein the substantially metallic element comprises a metal body having a main body portion that is laterally-tapered down in cross-sectional to a peripheral edge portion.
32. The method as recited in claim 31 , wherein the porous insulating material is applied so the peripheral edge portion is not covered by the substantially sealed insulating layer.
33. The method as recited in claim 32 , wherein the insulating material and sealing material are applied so the formed substantially sealed insulating layer has a thickness of less than 0.01 inches.
34. The method as recited in claim 33 , wherein the peripheral edge portion has a thickness less than about 1/10 of the maximum cross-sectional thickness of the main body portion.
35. The method as recited in claim 33 , wherein the porous insulating material and sealing material are applied so as to form the substantially sealed insulating layer covering the entirety of said metal body apart from said peripheral edge portion.
36. The method as recited in claim 30 , wherein said metal body is formed from stainless steel.
37. The method as recited in claim 30 , wherein said metal body is formed from a metal that has a thermal conductivity of at least about 0.35 W/cm° K. when measured at about 300° K.
38. The method as recited in claim 30 , wherein said metal body is formed from a first material selected from a group consisting of aluminum, silver, copper, gold, tungsten tantalum, columbium and molybdenum.
39. The method as recited in claim 30 , wherein providing the substantially metallic body comprises:
forming a first metal layer defining said peripheral edge portion; and
roll-bonding at least one second metal layer onto said first metal layer, wherein said first metal layer and said at least one second metal layer comprise different materials.
40. The method as recited in claim 39 , wherein the first metal layer comprises a first material selected from a group consisting of tungsten, tantalum, columbium and molybdenum.
41. The method as recited in claim 39 , wherein said at least one second metal layer has a thermal conductivity of at least about 2 W/cm° K. when measured at about 300° K.
42. The method as recited in claim 41 , wherein said at least one second metal layer comprises a second material selected from a group consisting of gold, aluminum, silver, and copper.
43. The method as recited in claim 42 , wherein said sealing material comprises at least one of a group consisting of silicates, solutions containing silicates, and solutions forming silicates upon curing.
44. The method as recited in claim 42 , wherein said sealing material is applied so the sealing material penetrates at least about 10 percent of a total thickness of the insulating material.
45. The method as recited in claim 24 , wherein said sealing material has a kinematic viscosity of less than about 350 cSt.
46. The method as recited in claim 45 , wherein said sealing material has a kinematic viscosity of less than about 200 cSt.