ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICE HAVING BUBBLE TRAP AND FLOATING-POTENTIAL ELECTRODE
Disclosed herein are embodiments of an electrosurgical device that include one or more floating electrodes and are specifically adapted to remove, cut, resect, ablate, vaporize, denaturize, drill, coagulate and form lesions in soft tissues, with or without externally supplied liquids, preferably in combination with a resectoscope, particularly in the context of urological, gynecological, laparoscopic, arthroscopic, and ENT procedures. Specific adaptations for urological and gynecological applications, for example kidney stone removal and BPH treatment, are also described.
1 . An electrosurgical instrument comprising:
a. a linear elongate shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis, wherein said proximal end is configured for connection to an electrosurgical power source;
b. first and second laterally opposed, distally extending, insulated conductive members having proximal ends mounted to the distal end of said linear elongate shaft and distal ends configured to receive an active electrode;
c. an active electrode formed from an electrically conductive material and electrically connected to said linear elongate shaft, wherein said active electrode is mounted to and extends between the distal ends of said first and second insulated conductive members, wherein said active electrode comprises a wire cutting loop having first and second portions that extend away from the distal ends of said first and second insulated conductive members, respectively, and a third portion that connects said first and second portions to each other; and
d. a bubble trap mounted to said active electrode that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of said linear elongate shaft.
2 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein said bubble trap comprises a transverse planar component mounted perpendicularly to and extending between the first portion of the active electrode and the second portion of the active electrode.
3 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein said bubble trap comprises a first bubble trap element affixed to said first portion of said active electrode and a second bubble trap element affixed to said second portion of said active electrode.
4 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 3 , wherein said first and second bubble trap elements comprise a pair of circular members, wherein a first of the pair of circular members is mounted to and projects radially from said first portion of said active electrode and a second of the pair of circular members is mounted to and projects radially from said second portion of said active electrode.
5 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , further comprising at least one floating electrode that is not directly electrically connected to either the linear elongate shaft or the electrosurgical power source.
6 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 5 , wherein said active and floating electrodes are formed from a suitable metallic material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, nickel, titanium, and tungsten whereas the insulator is formed from a suitable dielectric material selected from the group consisting of alumina, zirconia, and high-temperature polymers.
7 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 5 , wherein said at least one floating electrode comprises a pair of floating electrodes, wherein a first floating electrode of the pair of floating electrodes is concentrically disposed about the distal end of said first insulated conductive member and a second floating electrode of the pair of floating electrodes is concentrically disposed about the distal end of said second insulated conductive member.
8 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 5 , wherein said at least one floating electrode comprises a conductive element that is positioned laterally between said first and second conductive members.
9 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein said bubble trap further comprises a dielectric layer that extends between said first and second insulated conductive members.
10 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , further comprising an electrode stabilizer mounted to the distal end of the linear elongate shaft for stabilizing the active electrode.
11 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein said first and second insulated conductive members comprise a pair of parallel tubes adapted for attachment of said electrosurgical instrument to a resectoscope.
12 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein said instrument further comprises a return electrode that is electrically connected to said linear elongate shaft.
13 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , further comprising at least one lumen disposed along the length of said linear elongate shaft, said lumen configured to deliver an irrigant to the active electrode.
14 . The electrosurgical instrument of claim 1 , further comprising at least one lumen disposed along the length of said linear elongate shaft, said lumen forming an aspiration path between the active electrode and an external vacuum source.