Patent ID: 8419727
Filing Date: 2013-04-16
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An electrosurgery method, comprising the steps of: applying energy to an individual's tissue with an electrosurgical appliance that comprises a plurality of electrosurgical appliance electrodes; monitoring rate of tissue impedance change; generating a signal indicative of said rate of tissue impedance change; providing a processor configured to determine an impedance ramp and/or slope rate from said signal, said impedance ramp and/or slope rate indicates a rate at which said individual's tissue is undergoing a phase or state change; said processor configured to continuously adjust a ramp and/or slope of energy applied to said individual's tissue via said electrosurgical appliance in real time, and to adjust a rate at which an ultimate level of energy is achieved while applying energy to said individual's tissue in accordance with said impedance ramp and/or slope rate; and continuing to monitor said rate of tissue impedance change and to adjust said level of energy applied to said individual's tissue until tissue processing is complete; wherein energy is applied to said individual's tissue at levels that allow tissue phase or state change to occur in an optimum fashion, wherein a first radiofrequency, RF, pulse for a seal starts at a power level defined as start value, the RF power level is then increased from the start value until the power level reaches an upper level and the RF power level remains at this upper level until the end of the pulse time is reached, at the end of each pulse, the tissue impedance value is calculated and recorded as an RF Pulse End Impedance, and the power levels are then set to zero, for all pulses subsequent to the first, the following evaluations are made, if the RF Pulse End Impedance is less than a threshold, the RF power delivered is ramped similar to the first pulse, and if the RF Pulse End Impedance is greater than said threshold, the RF power delivered is not ramped but stepped directly to said upper level.