Electrosurgical generator for minimizing neuromuscular stimulation

1. An electrosurgical generator for minimizing neuromuscular stimulation, comprising:

a converter configured to output a DC waveform, the converter including at least one first switching element operated via a first pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal;

an inverter coupled to the converter and including at least one second switching element operated via a second pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal, the inverter configured to invert the DC waveform to generate an electrosurgical pulse waveform; and

a controller coupled to the converter and the inverter and configured to:

control a duty cycle of the first PWM signal to adjust a magnitude of the electrosurgical pulse waveform;

determine whether a repetition frequency of the second PWM signal is above a first threshold;

determine whether a pulse width of the second PWM signal is greater than a second threshold, when the repetition frequency is determined to be greater than the first threshold; and

adjust the second PWM signal to adjust at least one property of the electrosurgical pulse waveform, when the pulse width period of the second PWM signal is greater than the second threshold.

2. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 1 , wherein the electrosurgical pulse waveform is monophasic to cause neuromuscular stimulation, and

wherein the at least one property includes at least one of a repetition frequency of the electrosurgical pulse waveform or a pulse width period of the electrosurgical pulse waveform.

3. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the repetition frequency of the second PWM signal so that a repetition frequency of the monophasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is greater than about 100 kHz.

4. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the pulse width period of the second PWM signal so that a pulse width period of the electrosurgical pulse waveform is less than about 2 μs.

5. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 1 , wherein the electrosurgical pulse waveform is biphasic to reduce an amount of a neuromuscular blocking agent, and

wherein the at least one property includes at least one of a repetition frequency of the electrosurgical pulse waveform or a pulse width period of the electrosurgical pulse waveform.

6. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the repetition frequency of the second PWM signal so that a repetition frequency of the biphasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is greater than about 100 kHz.

7. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the pulse width period of the second PWM signal such that a highest amplitude peak of the biphasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is present from about 500 kHz to about 5 MHz in a frequency domain.

8. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 1 , wherein the converter is a buck converter.

9. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 1 , wherein the inverter is a boost converter.

10. A method for controlling an electrosurgical generator to minimize neuromuscular stimulation, the method comprising:

operating at least one first switching element of a converter of the electrosurgical generator via a first pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal to output a DC waveform;

operating at least one second switching element of an inverter of the electrosurgical generator via a second pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal to convert the DC waveform to generate an electrosurgical pulse waveform;

controlling a duty cycle of the first PWM signal to adjust a magnitude of the electrosurgical pulse waveform;

determining whether a repetition frequency of the second PWM signal is above a first threshold;

determining whether a pulse width period of the second PWM signal is greater than a second threshold, when the repetition frequency is determined to be greater than the first threshold; and

adjusting the second PWM signal to adjust at least one property of the electrosurgical pulse waveform, when the pulse width period of the second PWM signal is determined to be greater than the second threshold.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the electrosurgical pulse waveform is monophasic, and

wherein the at least one property includes at least one of a repetition frequency of the electrosurgical pulse waveform or a pulse width period of the electrosurgical pulse waveform.

12. The method according to claim 11 , adjusting the repetition frequency of the second PWM signal so that the monophasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is greater than about 100 kHz.

13. The method according to claim 11 , adjusting the pulse width period of the second PWM signal such that a highest amplitude peak of the monophasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is present from about 500 kHz to about 5 MHz in a frequency domain.

14. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the electrosurgical pulse waveform is biphasic, and

wherein the at least one property includes at least one of a repetition frequency of the electrosurgical pulse waveform or a pulse width period of the electrosurgical pulse waveform.

15. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising adjusting the repetition frequency of the second PWM signal such that the biphasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is greater than about 100 kHz.

16. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising adjusting the pulse width period of the second PWM signal such that a pulse width period of each cycle of the biphasic electrosurgical pulse waveform is less than about 2 μs.

17. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:

measuring at least one of a tissue property or an energy property; and

adjusting the first and second PWM signals in response to at least one of the tissue property or the energy property.

18. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether the second PWM signal is biphasic.

19. The electrosurgical generator according to claim 18 , wherein the controller determines whether the pulse width of the second PWM signal is greater than the second threshold when the second PWM signal is determined to be biphasic.