Patent ID: 7972329
Filing Date: 2011-07-05
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An electrosurgical generator which evaluates its functionality in response to a delivered electrosurgical output power signal and which regulates the amount of output power in the delivered output power signal from feedback information, comprising: a plurality of sensors connected to sense current and voltage of the delivered output power signal and operative to supply current and voltage sense measurement signals related to the sensed amount of output current and output voltage of the delivered output power signal; a plurality of processors; one of the plurality of processors constituting a control processor, the control processor receiving the current and voltage sense measurement signals and performing a first computation based on the received current and voltage sense measurement signals to derive a first value related to the output power of the delivered output power signal, the control processor also deriving the feedback information from the received current and voltage sense measurement signals to regulate the amount of output power in the delivered output power signal; one of the plurality of processors other than the control processor constituting a monitor processor, the monitor processor receiving the current and voltage sense measurement signals and performing a second computation separate from the first computation and based on the received current and voltage sense measurement signals to derive a second value related to the output power of the delivered output power signal; a communication path connecting the processors over which the control and monitor processors communicate information including the first and second values; one of the plurality of processors constituting a comparison processor, the comparison processor receiving the first and second values and executing a comparison procedure for comparing the first and second values with each other and delivering an error condition signal indicating an error in functionality of the electrosurgical generator when the first and second values differ by a predetermined amount; and the electrosurgical generator responding to the assertion of the error condition signal by at least one of issuing an error indication or terminating the delivery of the output power signal.