CA1279376C - Circuitry for processing requests made from the sterile field of a surgicalprocedure to change the output power level of an electrosurgical generator - Google Patents
Circuitry for processing requests made from the sterile field of a surgicalprocedure to change the output power level of an electrosurgical generatorInfo
- Publication number
- CA1279376C CA1279376C CA000497191A CA497191A CA1279376C CA 1279376 C CA1279376 C CA 1279376C CA 000497191 A CA000497191 A CA 000497191A CA 497191 A CA497191 A CA 497191A CA 1279376 C CA1279376 C CA 1279376C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- power
- generator
- changing
- output power
- power level
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B18/04—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by heating
- A61B18/12—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by heating by passing a current through the tissue to be heated, e.g. high-frequency current
- A61B18/1206—Generators therefor
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B18/04—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by heating
- A61B18/12—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by heating by passing a current through the tissue to be heated, e.g. high-frequency current
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B2018/00636—Sensing and controlling the application of energy
- A61B2018/0066—Sensing and controlling the application of energy without feedback, i.e. open loop control
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B2018/0091—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device
- A61B2018/00916—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device with means for switching or controlling the main function of the instrument or device
- A61B2018/00928—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device with means for switching or controlling the main function of the instrument or device by sending a signal to an external energy source
- A61B2018/00934—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device with means for switching or controlling the main function of the instrument or device by sending a signal to an external energy source the signal being non electric, e.g. pneumatic, hydraulic, optical
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B2018/0091—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device
- A61B2018/00916—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device with means for switching or controlling the main function of the instrument or device
- A61B2018/00958—Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device with means for switching or controlling the main function of the instrument or device for switching between different working modes of the main function
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure An electrosurgical generating system including an electrosurgical generator; a handpiece including an ac-tive electrode connected to the generator for applying electrosurgical current from the generator to a pa-tient; and an initializing device or circuit for making an initial determination as to whether the handpiece includes power changing switches for changing the level of the output power delivered from the generator to the patient. Assuming the handpiece does include such switches, circuitry is also disclosed for limiting the amount the power can be increased or decreased from the handpiece. Also circuitry is disclosed for effecting the power increase or decrease in incremental steps.
Description
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- 1 - 64680~353 Cross-Reference to Related Application This application is related to co-pending Canadian application Serial ~o. 498,582 filed on Dec. 24, 1985 by David W. Newton entitled "Method and Apparatus for Changing the Output Power Level of an Electrosurgical Generator While Remaining in the Sterile Field of an Electrosurgical Procedure".
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~7~376 BACKGRO~ND OF THE INVENTION
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This invention relates to electrosurgery and in particular to apparatus and circuitry for changing ~he power delivered from an electrosurgical generator.
Prior to the invention of the subject a~plicakion, the capability of changing output power delivered from an electrosurgical generator has been provided by con-trols located at the keyboard or control panel of the generator. At the handpiece held by the surgeon J a capability has been provided of changing the mode of operation of the generator - that ic, two switches have been employed at the handpiece ~.rhere either the cut or coagulation ~ode of operation could be selected. This is a very ccnvenient feature in that the surgeon can change the mode of operation while in the sterile field f the surgical procedure without having to return to the control panel of the generator, which is outside the sterile field. However, in order to effect a change in the level of the po~er delivered by the generator, it has been necessary to return to the generator to effect such a change. Since it would be very desirable - to be able to also effect this type change in the sterile field, the apparatus of the prior art has had a shortcoming in this respect.
SU.~,MARY OF THE INVENTION_ It is thus a primary object of this invention to provide, in electrosurgery, the capability o. changing the power delivered by the generator, the change being effected in the sterile field, in addition to, at the control panel of the generator.
It is a further object of this invention to pro-vide, at an electrosurgical handpiece, the capability of effecting changes in the generator output power.
- 1 - 64680~353 Cross-Reference to Related Application This application is related to co-pending Canadian application Serial ~o. 498,582 filed on Dec. 24, 1985 by David W. Newton entitled "Method and Apparatus for Changing the Output Power Level of an Electrosurgical Generator While Remaining in the Sterile Field of an Electrosurgical Procedure".
J~li~
~7~376 BACKGRO~ND OF THE INVENTION
. .
This invention relates to electrosurgery and in particular to apparatus and circuitry for changing ~he power delivered from an electrosurgical generator.
Prior to the invention of the subject a~plicakion, the capability of changing output power delivered from an electrosurgical generator has been provided by con-trols located at the keyboard or control panel of the generator. At the handpiece held by the surgeon J a capability has been provided of changing the mode of operation of the generator - that ic, two switches have been employed at the handpiece ~.rhere either the cut or coagulation ~ode of operation could be selected. This is a very ccnvenient feature in that the surgeon can change the mode of operation while in the sterile field f the surgical procedure without having to return to the control panel of the generator, which is outside the sterile field. However, in order to effect a change in the level of the po~er delivered by the generator, it has been necessary to return to the generator to effect such a change. Since it would be very desirable - to be able to also effect this type change in the sterile field, the apparatus of the prior art has had a shortcoming in this respect.
SU.~,MARY OF THE INVENTION_ It is thus a primary object of this invention to provide, in electrosurgery, the capability o. changing the power delivered by the generator, the change being effected in the sterile field, in addition to, at the control panel of the generator.
It is a further object of this invention to pro-vide, at an electrosurgical handpiece, the capability of effecting changes in the generator output power.
- 3 - 646ao-353 It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved handpiece where functions such as coagulation, cutting, power increase and power decrease can be selected thereat while at the same time employing a minimal number of wires betwaen t~e handpiece and the generator.
It is a further object of this invention to provide improved circuitry for decoding the signals transmitted from the handpiece in such a manner as to minimize the number of wires employed between the handpiece and the generator.
It is a further object of this invention to provide means for enabling the generator to determine whether the handpiece has the capability of changing the power level thereat.
It is a further object of this invention to provide the capability of changing the generator power output level in re-sponse to a request to do so from the handpiece.
It is a further object of this invention to provide the capability of determining whether the requested power increase or decrease exceeds a predetermined maximum or minimum.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides an electrosurgical generating system comprising:
an electrosurgical generator;
a handpiece including (a) an active electrode connected to said generator for applying electrosurgical current from the generator to a patient and (b) power changing means for changing the level of output power delivered from the generator to the patient; and initializing means responsive to said power changing means for making an initial determination that said handpie~e - 3a - ~ ~ 7937~ 64680-353 includes said power changing means and thus permit said power changing means to change said output power level only if said handpiece includes said power changing means.
The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whlch:
Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating in general an electrosurgical system.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative handpiece and the wires connected thereto in accordance with the present invention.
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It is a further object of this invention to provide improved circuitry for decoding the signals transmitted from the handpiece in such a manner as to minimize the number of wires employed between the handpiece and the generator.
It is a further object of this invention to provide means for enabling the generator to determine whether the handpiece has the capability of changing the power level thereat.
It is a further object of this invention to provide the capability of changing the generator power output level in re-sponse to a request to do so from the handpiece.
It is a further object of this invention to provide the capability of determining whether the requested power increase or decrease exceeds a predetermined maximum or minimum.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides an electrosurgical generating system comprising:
an electrosurgical generator;
a handpiece including (a) an active electrode connected to said generator for applying electrosurgical current from the generator to a patient and (b) power changing means for changing the level of output power delivered from the generator to the patient; and initializing means responsive to said power changing means for making an initial determination that said handpie~e - 3a - ~ ~ 7937~ 64680-353 includes said power changing means and thus permit said power changing means to change said output power level only if said handpiece includes said power changing means.
The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whlch:
Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating in general an electrosurgical system.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative handpiece and the wires connected thereto in accordance with the present invention.
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Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of illustrative decoding circuitry in accordance with the present inven-tion.
Figure ~ is a truth table which illustrates the operation o~ the decoding circuitry of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a flow chart of an illustrative main control loop of a computer program ~or use in the subject invention.
Figure 6 is a flow chart of a subroutine of the main control loop of Figure 5, this subroutine determin-ing whether the remote power change capability of the present invention has been requested.
Figure 7 is a flow chart of a subroutine which determines whether the power is to be increased or decreased.
Figure ~ is a flow chart of subroutines which preliminarily process requests for either a power in-crease or decrease.
Figurc 9 is a flow chart of a subrout~ne t~hich effects the requested power increase or decrease.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIOI~ OF A
PREFERRED EMBODI~iENT OF THE II~VENTIO~
Reference should be made to the drawing where like reference numerals re~er to like parts.
Referring to Figure l, there is illustrated a generalized electrosurgical system comprising a genera-tor lO, a handpiece 12 having an active electrode l~, thi`s electrode contacting the patient to effect either a cut or coagulation procedure depending upon the mode selected. Attached to the patient is a return electrode 16 which returns the electrosurgical current from the patient to generator lO.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of illustrative decoding circuitry in accordance with the present inven-tion.
Figure ~ is a truth table which illustrates the operation o~ the decoding circuitry of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a flow chart of an illustrative main control loop of a computer program ~or use in the subject invention.
Figure 6 is a flow chart of a subroutine of the main control loop of Figure 5, this subroutine determin-ing whether the remote power change capability of the present invention has been requested.
Figure 7 is a flow chart of a subroutine which determines whether the power is to be increased or decreased.
Figure ~ is a flow chart of subroutines which preliminarily process requests for either a power in-crease or decrease.
Figurc 9 is a flow chart of a subrout~ne t~hich effects the requested power increase or decrease.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIOI~ OF A
PREFERRED EMBODI~iENT OF THE II~VENTIO~
Reference should be made to the drawing where like reference numerals re~er to like parts.
Referring to Figure l, there is illustrated a generalized electrosurgical system comprising a genera-tor lO, a handpiece 12 having an active electrode l~, thi`s electrode contacting the patient to effect either a cut or coagulation procedure depending upon the mode selected. Attached to the patient is a return electrode 16 which returns the electrosurgical current from the patient to generator lO.
5 ~ 7~376 Referring to Figure 2, there is shown in more detail handpiece 12 with active electrode 1~ connected thereto. The handpiece is connected by a cable 1~ to generator 10 via a connector 20. Three wires or lines, 22, 2~ and 26 pass through the cable where wire 22 conducts the electrosurgical current from ~he generator to the active electrode, this wire sometimes hereafter being referred to as the active line. This wire also conducts a DC voltage from the generator whlch is employed for mode selecting at handpiece 12, 2S iS well known and is described in U.S. Patent Numbers 3,6991967 and 3,~Gl,~00, A single pole, coagulation mode switch 2 and a single pole, cut mode switch 30 are provided at the handpiece the provision of such switches again being conventional as described in the above patents.
Closure of coagulation mode switch 2~ will return the above-mentioned DC signal applied to line 22 to the generator via line 2~ to thereby signal to the genera-tor a request to effect a coagulation mode of operation where line 2~ is sometimes hereafter referred to as the ccagulation line. In a similar ~lanner, closure of cut mode switch 30 will effect the cut mode of operation where line 26 is sometimes hereafter referred to as the cut line.
In accordance with the present invention, two more switches are added to handpiece 12 to thereby provide the capability of incrementing or decrementing the out-put power level, this capability being present at the hardpiece and thus in the sterile field. In particular, switch 32 connected between the coagulation and cut lines is employed to increment the power level, the 7~37~i incrernents typically being ten percent of the power ievel last set at the control panel of generator 10 or one ~att, whichever is greaterJ in a manner which will be described in more detail hereinafter. A double pole switch or functional equivalen~, generally indicated at 34 having a first switching element 36 connected be-tween the active and coagulation lines and a second switching element 3~ connected between the coagulation and cut lines where the switching elements are ganged as indicated, provides decrementing of the output po-ler level, the decrements typically being ten percent of the po~:er level last set at the control panel or one ~:att, whichever is greater. Connector 20 includes con-nectors ~0, ~2 and ~ which are respectively connected to terminals ~6, ~g and 50 of the decoding circuitry 51 of Figure 3.
One functional eo,uivalent (not shown) which may be employed in place of double pole switch 3~ comprises a single pole switch having one terminal thereof connect-ed to active line 22 and the other terminal thereof connected to the anodes of t~o diodes ~here the cath-odes of the diodes are respectively connected to coa~u-l~tion line 2~ and cut line 26~
In the circuitry of Figure 3 are provided three window co~parat.ors 52 through 56. Reference voltages for these comparators are applied to the positive ter-minals thereof, these reference voltages being derived from an isolated po~er supply 5~ and a voltage dividing netw~rk 60 comprising resistors 62 through 66 connected between supply 5~ and ground 6~. ~he isolated power supply 5~ is known and an example thereof is provided ~7~37~
in U.S. Patent ~o. 3,~01,~00. The voltage at terminal 4~ is applied to the minus terminal of window compara-tor S2 via a voltage divider 70, which comprises resis-tors 72 and 7~. The voltage at terminal 50 is ~pplied to (a) the rninus terminal of window comparator 54 via a voltage divider 71 comprising resistors 73 and 75 and (b) the minus terminal of window comparator 56 via a voltage divider 77 comprising resistors 79 and ~1. The specific values of the resistors of voltage dividers 70, 71, and 77 may vary and thus the values of the D.C.
signals applied to the comparators 52 through 56 may be different. A resistor 76 is provided from the active line to the coagulation line. The outputs of the compar-ators 52 through 56 are respectively applied to photo-diodes 7~ through ~2 or like electrically responsive, light emitting elements, the photodiodes each being connected in series with a resistor ~ to the isolated power supply 5~.
Photodiodes 7~ through ~2 are respectively optical-ly coupled to phototransistors ~6 through 90 or other like light responsive, switching elements where each of the transistors is connected to a voltage source 92 through a lOâd resistor 93 and grounded at 9~. The outputs of the phototransistors ~6 through 90 are applied to a microprocessor 96, the processor having an output which is applied to electrosurgical generator lO
to control the power level thereof. ~n particular, the microprocessor, which may be an INT~L ~039, is programm-ed to be responsive to different combinations of out-3 puts occurring at phototransistors ~6 throu~h 90 as will be described below with respect to ~igures 5 throu~h 9.
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The output of generator 10 is applied to a trans-former indicated at 9~, the high side of the transform-er secondarY winding being applied throu~h a capacitor 100 to active electrode 1~ via terminal ~6 ~hile the low side thereof is connected to return electrorle 16 via capacitor 102, the purpose of the capacitors being to remove the DC current and other low frequency cur-rents from the circuit connected to the patient. Al-though electrosurgical generator 10 has been shown as a separate element in Figure 3, in practice, transformer ~, decoding circuitry 51, and microprocessor 96 may be included in the generatorO
Reference should now be made to the truth table of Figure 4 ~hich illustrates how c'ecoding circuitry 51 of ~5 Figure 3 decodes the various combinations of signals provided by switches 28 through 3~ into other combina-tions of signals at the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 for processing by microprocessor 96. If none of the s-.itches 2B through 34 is activated (that is ~0 closed), none of the reference voltages at comparators 52 through 56 will be exceeded and therefore none of the photodiodes 7~ through ~2 will be activated. Accord-- ingly, none of the phototransistors ~6 through 90 will be conducting and thus the voltages at the collectors of each of the phototransistors will be ~V. Due to the type of logic employed, the output O~T I occurring at the collector of phototransistor ~6, is considered to be logic one or off when its collector voltage is +V, this being shown in the table of Figure 4. Since none of the phototransistors ~6 through 90 are conducting, the outputs thereof are all off or logical ones.
Referring to the third entry in the table of Figure 4, it is assumed coagulation ~.ode switch 2g is ~7~1376 closed, it being understood that only one of the switch-es 2~ through 34 is closed at any particular moment of time - that is, these switches are each typically of the type which close when pressed and open upon re-lease, such switches being well known in this art. When s~itch 2~ is closed, terminal ~g of Figure 3 is connect-ed to the full output of isolated power supply 5~ so that the voltage at the minus terminal of comparakor 52 exceeds the reference potential established at the posi-tive terminal of the comparator by the potential divid-ing network 60. Accordingly, a path is closed from power supply 5~ through photodiode 7~, and comparator 52 to ground to thus activate the photodiode. This in turn causes phototransistor ~6 to conduct whereby a current path is established between the voltage source ~2 for ph~otransistor ~6 through the phototransistor to ground 94 whereby the output voltage of the photo-transistor drops to a level near that of ground. Accord-ingly, in accordance with the foregoing logic, OUT 1 becomes zero which indicates this output is on.
Thus, as can be seen in the table of Figure 4 the combination of outputs occurring at phototransistors ~6 through 90 is as shown. The outputs of phototransistors ~ ~ and 90 are not switched since no voltage is applied to terminal 50 when coagulation mode switch 2~ is closed.
It is next assumed cut mode switch 30 is closed, this being illustrated in the second entry of the Figure 4 table. At this time the full voltage of 3 isolated power supply 5~ is applied to terminal 50. The voltages applied to the minus terminals of comparators 54 and 56 will be determined by the voltage at terminal 7~93~ti 50 and the values of the resistors comprising voltage dividers 71, and 77. The voltages applied to these minus terminals will exceed the reference potential established at the positive terminal Or comparator 5 by potential dividing net~.ork 60 and the reference potential established at the positive terminal of com-parator 56 also by potential dividing netwcrk 60.
Hence, both of these comparators are turned on to effect the energization of photodiodes ~0 and ~2. I~ore-over, the outputs of their associated phototransistors ~g and 90 are switched to thereby provide the combina-tion of outputs indicated in the truth table.
Reference should now be made to the fourth entry in the table of Figure ~ which indicates the combina-tion of output si&nals which occurs ~hen power incre-ment s~itch 32 is closed. I~.'hen this s~itch is closed, a path is established from isolated power supply 5 through resistor 76 (Figure 3~ and s~.itch 32 ~igure 2) to terminal 50 of Figure 3. However, in this instance, the full voltage of the isolated power supply ~ is not applied to terminal 50; rather, the po~er supply volt-age is dropped by an amount depending upon the size of resistor 76. The size of resistor 76 is so selected that the voltage occurring at the minus terminal of comparator 56 will exceed the reference potential at this comparator. However, the voltage occurring at the minus terminal of comp2rator 5~ will not exceed the reference potential at this comparatorO Thus, when .switch 32 is closed, only photodiode B2 is activated to 3 switch the output of phototransistor 90. Accordingly, as can be seen in Figure ~, the combination of outputs occurring at phototransistors ~6 through 90 is as indi-cated.
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Referring now to the last entry in the table o~
Figure 4, and in particular to the closure of power decrement switch 34, it can be seen that when this switch is closed, the full voltage of the isolated power supply is applied through switching elemen~s 36 and 3~ to both terminals 4~ and 50 of Figure 3.
Accordingly, the reference voltages of all the com-parators 52 through 56 are exceeded to thus energize all of the photodiodes 7~ through ~2. Hence, all of the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 are switched as indicated in the table of Figure 4. It can thus be seen that the decoding circuitry 51 of Figure 3 pro-vides various combinations of outputs at the collectors of phototransistors ~6 through 90 depen~ing on which of the swltches 2~ through 34 is actuated at handpiece 12.
Reference should now be made to Figures 5 through 9 which illustrate ~arious flow charts of an illustra-tive program and subroutines thereof which may be employed in microprocessor 96 to process the outputs of decoding circuit 51 and thus Yary the control exercised by the surgeon in the sterile field. Figure 5 is a flow chart of the main control loop of the program and Figures 6 through 9 are various subroutines which are entered either directly or indirectly from the main control loop of Figure 5. In Figure 5, the program first processes at block 106 any changes in the power level requested from the control panel. Changes request-ed from this source are as such not part of the present in~ention and thus are not ~urther discussed. The pro-3 gram next acquires at block 10~ the state of a flag which when set indicates a remote po~Jer change feature has been enâbled - that is, that the accessory has been actuated in a way to indicate that it has the capabil-ity of signalling a request for an increase or decrease in power in accordance with the present invention. The manner of setting this flag will be described below with respect to Figure 6. Once the contents of the flag have been acauired, the contents thereof are checked at 110 to determine whether the remote power function has been enabled. Assuming it has not been enabled, the program passes control to block 112 to test whether the remote power function is now being requested even tnough it was not initialized at the time the check at 110 was made. The flow chart for the test effected at block 112 is illustrated in Figure 6. Ho~ever, before proceeding to Figure 6, the remainder of the functions executed by the main control loop of Figure 5 will be briefly described. Thus, assuming the remote power func-tion has been enabled as determined at 110, the progra~.
passes control to block 11~ to test for and implement any requested remote power change routines, these being described in further detail with respect to Figures 7 through 9. Once the power change has been effected, the main control loop moves to block 116 where it senses for and implements any change of the chosen mode of ` operation - that is, the specific type of coagulation or cutting desired. Finally, at block 11~, the output is ke~ed and the power delivered to the patient, the parameters of the delivered power corresponding to those described above.
Reference should now be made to Figure 6 which is 3 the flow chart for testing whether the remote power change feature is to be enabled as indicated from the handpiece, this test occurring at 112 in the main ~L~7~3~76 control loop of Figure 5. In Figure 6, the hand switch input is acquired at 122 - that isl the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 of Figure 3 are sampled.
At 12L~ a check is made to see whether switch 32 is being actuated. The test that is particularly made is whether the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 correspond to the settings shown in the fourth entry of' the table of Figure ~. If they do not, return to the main control loop occurs from 134 of Figure 6 to 104 of Flgure 5. Assuming the up butkon 32 is being actuated, the remote power change flag is set to thereby this fact. Thusj in accordance with an,important aspect of the ir.vention, up switch 32 must be actuated at the handp ece before the rerr,ote power change feature can be implemented. Of course, another switch provided on the handpiece could also perrr,it initialization of this fea-ture. Only after this initialization of the re~ote power changing feature has occurred will the system of the present invention operate in this mode. By provid-ing this initialization feature, it is possible to use other handpieces which do not have a rernote power changing capability and yet the remote po.~er change of the present invention will not be inadvertently imple-~ , rrlented since the above initialization procedure must be follo~:ed before it can be effected. Hence, compatabil-ity with other handpieces is provided. It should also be noted other means can be employed to implement the initialization of the remote power 'changing. For exam-ple, an additional pin or connector (not shown) may be provided on connector 20 and an additional terrrlinal may be provided at interface circuit 51 whereby ~heneYer this prong is present, it indicates the handpiece has ~79376 the remote power changing capability. See Canadian Patent No. 1,200,286 issued February 4, 1986, for example, where pin actuated switch 51 serves a similar function for a different feature.
Once the remote power change flag has been set at block 126, a bong is sounded to alert the surgeon the remote power change feature has now been initialized and is ready to use. In this connection, it should be noted that the first actuation of the up switch 32 does not effect an incrementa-tion of the output power but rather simply initializes this feature as discussed above. The program next moves to 130 where it loops until the bong is completed. It then moves to 132 where it again loops until the up switch 32 is released.
At that time, it returns to main control loop 104 of Figure 5 via 134.
At the main control loop, it again acquires the remote power change flag at 108. Now that this flag has been set at block 126 of Figure 6, the test at 110 will be passed and the program will pass to the remote power change routines 114. In particular, referring to Figure 7 the outputs of phototransistors 86 through 90 are once again acquired. A
determination is then made at 140 to see if the up button 32 is being pressed. If not, a determination is then made to see if down button 34 is being pressed. If not, the program returns to the main control loop of Figure 5 via 144 of Fig-ure 7. The main control loop of Figure 5 is cycled through approximately 20 times per second until an input is sensed.
Thus, when the program returns to 140 a fraction of a second later to determine if up button 32 has been pressed, it will be assumed that it is being pressed at this time.
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Thus, program control is transferred via 1~6 to the power increase routine of Figure ~. Next, at block 150 the last function keyed at the control panel of ~enerator 10 is acquired - that is, a determina~ion is made as to whether the coagulation or cut function was last activated. ~ext, at 152 a check is made to see whether or not more than five increments in power have been requested, In accordance with the present inven-tion, no more than a predetermined number of increments in the output power is permitted when the increments are initiated from the sterile field, This number is chosen to be five in the present invention. Of course, other numbers may be employed depending upon the parti-cular s~stem, Once this number of power increr~ents have been recuested from the sterile field, the sur~eon is required to return to the control panel to effect any further increase in the po~er setting if so desired. In this manner, the surgeon is given an additional amount of time to be certain the increased power requirerr,ent is needed. If the number of requested power increments is five, program control returns to the main control loop of Figure 5 via 15~, If the nurrlber of power increments is less than five, the power is increased at block 156 in the following manner. First, the current output power is obtained and then added to it is one-tenth of the keyboard power. By keyboard power it is meant the power setting last set at the control panel of the ~enerator. For e~arr,ple, if the last output power level set at the control panel was 100 watts, and assuming the current output po~er of the generator is 130 watts (the power already having been incremented three ti~!es), one-tenth of the lOO watt setting ~or lO
watts) ~ould be added to the current output poher to arrive at a ternporarY power of 1~0 watts.
~2~93 Before this ternporary power is accepted a test is made at 15~ to deter~ine whether this temporary power exceeds the ma~imum power permissible for the particu-lar mode of operation the generator is presently in.
Thus, for example in the cut mode the maxirnum permiss-ible power might be 300 watts while for the coagulation mode it might be 120 ~atts. As long as the newly calculated temporary power does not exceed this maximum power, normal operation will continue. However, if it does exceed the maximum power, program control passes to 160 where a determination is made as to whether the up button or switch 32 is still being pressed.~f it is, the program loops until it is released, at which time it returns to the control loop without effecting any increase in the output power.
hssuming the temporary power does not exceed the maxi~,um power, program control is transferred to block 164 where the remote power change count is incremented.
It is this count which is checked at 152. Next at 166 control is trcnsferred to the store power routine of Figure 9. Thus, assuming the new power is 140 watts, the new po~er is displayed at the control panel at 1~0 and a digital to analog converter value is calculated at 1~2 for later utilization by the generator when keyed to effect the actual change in the output power of the generator. This method of changing the output power level is known and corresponds to a method which is already employed to change the power level from the control panel. This change in output power may also be effected in many ways known to those having ordinary skill in this art. At 1~, a bong is sounded to alert ~7~376 the operator tha-t the po~er has been increased by a ten percent factor. At 1~6 the program loops until the bong is completed and then it returns to the main control loop of Figure 5 via 1~
It should be noted, in accordance with the present invention, the increase in power is not a ten percent increase in the current po~er but rather the increase is ten percent of the power last set at the keyboard or control panel of the generator. If the power were increaseà by ten percent of the current power, certain difficulties could arise. For example, suppose the ini-tial po~er setting is 100 ~atts and the increments are ten percent of the current output power. Hence, the first increase ~ould increr!ent the output po~er to 110 ~:atts. T;~e next increment would increase it to 121 ~atts. If the power ~ere now decremented by ten per-cent, it would be decreased to about 109 ~atts and a further cecrement would decrease it to about 9~ atts.
Hence, it can be seen that, although the initial power ~as 100 watts, the power, after two increases of ten percent each and two decreases of ten percent 9 is 9~
watts. The operator would expect that the power to return to the initial power after such a seouence. To avoid this difficulty, the procedure of the present invention is employed ~here the keyboard po~er (that is, the last output power set at the control panel of the generator) is employed as a reference point for subsecuent changes in po-.er. Although these changes have been described in terms of ten percent increments 3 or decrements, the percentage change may be, of course, other than ten percent. Further, the percentage change may vary from step to step if so desired.
~;~7~3376 --lg--In summary, if the initial power setting from the keyboard or control panel of the generator is 100 watts and the surgeon increases that power from the hand switch to 150 watts by five ten percent increments, he can effect no further increases from the handpiece and must return to the keyboard to change the power se~ting thereat. Assume he changes the setting to 200 watts at the control panel. If he then subsequently increments the power by a ten percent factor, the power increase will be 20 watts since the last output power set at the control panel was 200 watts. It will not be 10 watts which is ten percent of the original output power setting at the control panel.
Returning to Figure 7 and, in particular the re-mote power change routine 114, it was assumed the up button 32 had been pressed and thus the routine of Figure ~ was entered at 146. However, if the down button is pressed thereby indicating a desire on the part of the surgeon to decrease the power by ten percent, this will be determined at 142 whereby the routine of ~igure ~ is entered at 14~ to effect the power decrease. At block 16~, the last ~unction keyed (cut or coagulation) is acquired. Next, the temporary power is calculated by subtracting from the current power one tenth of the keyboard power (again, the output power level last set at the keyboard or control panel of the generator). A test is then made at 172 to determine if the temporary power is less than or equal to one watt. If it is, the routine aborts and returns to the main control loop of ~igure 5. This is done after the test at 174 is passed to determine if the 1;~7~376 down button is still pressed. There the program loops until this button is released whereafter it does return to the main control loop.
If the temporary power is not less than or equal to one watt, program control transfers to block 17~
where the remote power change count is decremented by one. Thus, assuming that the initial output power level was set at the control panel to 100 watts, it is possible to increment the power level four times to 1~0 watts and then decrement it three times to 110 watts followed by three more increments back to 140 watts. As can be seen, the increment function has been executed seven times in this sequence and yet the remote power change count 9 as tested at 152, will not have exceeded five because this count was decremented three times in the foregoing illustrative sequence. Only when the sur-geon attempts to change the output level to 150 watts will the test at 152 not be passed. Thus, as stated above, this test ensures that the surgeon can effect only so much increase in the output power from the sterile field before he must return to the control panel to effect a ~urther increase. The number of power decreases is limited only by the minimum power level of ` ` one watt - any requests for power decrease which would result in less than one watt of power would not be processed. Once the power has been decremented at 17~, control is transferred to the store power routine of Figure 9 where the actual power delivered to the pa-tient is decremented at that tlme as described above.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of the direct transmission of an electrical signal from the sterile field to the generator, it is ~;~7~3~6 to be understood other signals such as optical, ultra-sound, etc. may also be transmitted in the foregoing manner. Moreover, other signal transmission arrange-ments may also be employed such as a wire(s) connected at one end to the generator and dedicated to power output changes where, in the sterile field, a power changing switching device would be connected to the other end of the wire and where the switching device may or may not be located at handpiece 12. Another signal transmission arrangement which might be employed comprises a switch operated transmitter which may or may not be located at the handpiece to thus transmit the signal(s) by wireless transmission. Furthermore, although three lines are employed in the above describ-ed embodiment for transmitting the mode and power change information from the handpiece, a two wire arrangement may also be employed where different re-sistors or resistor combinations corresponding to the different items of information to be transmitted may be placed across the two lines and switched in depending on the item of information to be transmitte~. Thus, associated with each item would be a different voltage level which could be detected at the generator.
It is to be understood that the above detailed description of the various embodiments of the invention is provided by way of example only. Various details of design and construction ma~ be modified without depart-ing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Closure of coagulation mode switch 2~ will return the above-mentioned DC signal applied to line 22 to the generator via line 2~ to thereby signal to the genera-tor a request to effect a coagulation mode of operation where line 2~ is sometimes hereafter referred to as the ccagulation line. In a similar ~lanner, closure of cut mode switch 30 will effect the cut mode of operation where line 26 is sometimes hereafter referred to as the cut line.
In accordance with the present invention, two more switches are added to handpiece 12 to thereby provide the capability of incrementing or decrementing the out-put power level, this capability being present at the hardpiece and thus in the sterile field. In particular, switch 32 connected between the coagulation and cut lines is employed to increment the power level, the 7~37~i incrernents typically being ten percent of the power ievel last set at the control panel of generator 10 or one ~att, whichever is greaterJ in a manner which will be described in more detail hereinafter. A double pole switch or functional equivalen~, generally indicated at 34 having a first switching element 36 connected be-tween the active and coagulation lines and a second switching element 3~ connected between the coagulation and cut lines where the switching elements are ganged as indicated, provides decrementing of the output po-ler level, the decrements typically being ten percent of the po~:er level last set at the control panel or one ~:att, whichever is greater. Connector 20 includes con-nectors ~0, ~2 and ~ which are respectively connected to terminals ~6, ~g and 50 of the decoding circuitry 51 of Figure 3.
One functional eo,uivalent (not shown) which may be employed in place of double pole switch 3~ comprises a single pole switch having one terminal thereof connect-ed to active line 22 and the other terminal thereof connected to the anodes of t~o diodes ~here the cath-odes of the diodes are respectively connected to coa~u-l~tion line 2~ and cut line 26~
In the circuitry of Figure 3 are provided three window co~parat.ors 52 through 56. Reference voltages for these comparators are applied to the positive ter-minals thereof, these reference voltages being derived from an isolated po~er supply 5~ and a voltage dividing netw~rk 60 comprising resistors 62 through 66 connected between supply 5~ and ground 6~. ~he isolated power supply 5~ is known and an example thereof is provided ~7~37~
in U.S. Patent ~o. 3,~01,~00. The voltage at terminal 4~ is applied to the minus terminal of window compara-tor S2 via a voltage divider 70, which comprises resis-tors 72 and 7~. The voltage at terminal 50 is ~pplied to (a) the rninus terminal of window comparator 54 via a voltage divider 71 comprising resistors 73 and 75 and (b) the minus terminal of window comparator 56 via a voltage divider 77 comprising resistors 79 and ~1. The specific values of the resistors of voltage dividers 70, 71, and 77 may vary and thus the values of the D.C.
signals applied to the comparators 52 through 56 may be different. A resistor 76 is provided from the active line to the coagulation line. The outputs of the compar-ators 52 through 56 are respectively applied to photo-diodes 7~ through ~2 or like electrically responsive, light emitting elements, the photodiodes each being connected in series with a resistor ~ to the isolated power supply 5~.
Photodiodes 7~ through ~2 are respectively optical-ly coupled to phototransistors ~6 through 90 or other like light responsive, switching elements where each of the transistors is connected to a voltage source 92 through a lOâd resistor 93 and grounded at 9~. The outputs of the phototransistors ~6 through 90 are applied to a microprocessor 96, the processor having an output which is applied to electrosurgical generator lO
to control the power level thereof. ~n particular, the microprocessor, which may be an INT~L ~039, is programm-ed to be responsive to different combinations of out-3 puts occurring at phototransistors ~6 throu~h 90 as will be described below with respect to ~igures 5 throu~h 9.
~7~937~
The output of generator 10 is applied to a trans-former indicated at 9~, the high side of the transform-er secondarY winding being applied throu~h a capacitor 100 to active electrode 1~ via terminal ~6 ~hile the low side thereof is connected to return electrorle 16 via capacitor 102, the purpose of the capacitors being to remove the DC current and other low frequency cur-rents from the circuit connected to the patient. Al-though electrosurgical generator 10 has been shown as a separate element in Figure 3, in practice, transformer ~, decoding circuitry 51, and microprocessor 96 may be included in the generatorO
Reference should now be made to the truth table of Figure 4 ~hich illustrates how c'ecoding circuitry 51 of ~5 Figure 3 decodes the various combinations of signals provided by switches 28 through 3~ into other combina-tions of signals at the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 for processing by microprocessor 96. If none of the s-.itches 2B through 34 is activated (that is ~0 closed), none of the reference voltages at comparators 52 through 56 will be exceeded and therefore none of the photodiodes 7~ through ~2 will be activated. Accord-- ingly, none of the phototransistors ~6 through 90 will be conducting and thus the voltages at the collectors of each of the phototransistors will be ~V. Due to the type of logic employed, the output O~T I occurring at the collector of phototransistor ~6, is considered to be logic one or off when its collector voltage is +V, this being shown in the table of Figure 4. Since none of the phototransistors ~6 through 90 are conducting, the outputs thereof are all off or logical ones.
Referring to the third entry in the table of Figure 4, it is assumed coagulation ~.ode switch 2g is ~7~1376 closed, it being understood that only one of the switch-es 2~ through 34 is closed at any particular moment of time - that is, these switches are each typically of the type which close when pressed and open upon re-lease, such switches being well known in this art. When s~itch 2~ is closed, terminal ~g of Figure 3 is connect-ed to the full output of isolated power supply 5~ so that the voltage at the minus terminal of comparakor 52 exceeds the reference potential established at the posi-tive terminal of the comparator by the potential divid-ing network 60. Accordingly, a path is closed from power supply 5~ through photodiode 7~, and comparator 52 to ground to thus activate the photodiode. This in turn causes phototransistor ~6 to conduct whereby a current path is established between the voltage source ~2 for ph~otransistor ~6 through the phototransistor to ground 94 whereby the output voltage of the photo-transistor drops to a level near that of ground. Accord-ingly, in accordance with the foregoing logic, OUT 1 becomes zero which indicates this output is on.
Thus, as can be seen in the table of Figure 4 the combination of outputs occurring at phototransistors ~6 through 90 is as shown. The outputs of phototransistors ~ ~ and 90 are not switched since no voltage is applied to terminal 50 when coagulation mode switch 2~ is closed.
It is next assumed cut mode switch 30 is closed, this being illustrated in the second entry of the Figure 4 table. At this time the full voltage of 3 isolated power supply 5~ is applied to terminal 50. The voltages applied to the minus terminals of comparators 54 and 56 will be determined by the voltage at terminal 7~93~ti 50 and the values of the resistors comprising voltage dividers 71, and 77. The voltages applied to these minus terminals will exceed the reference potential established at the positive terminal Or comparator 5 by potential dividing net~.ork 60 and the reference potential established at the positive terminal of com-parator 56 also by potential dividing netwcrk 60.
Hence, both of these comparators are turned on to effect the energization of photodiodes ~0 and ~2. I~ore-over, the outputs of their associated phototransistors ~g and 90 are switched to thereby provide the combina-tion of outputs indicated in the truth table.
Reference should now be made to the fourth entry in the table of Figure ~ which indicates the combina-tion of output si&nals which occurs ~hen power incre-ment s~itch 32 is closed. I~.'hen this s~itch is closed, a path is established from isolated power supply 5 through resistor 76 (Figure 3~ and s~.itch 32 ~igure 2) to terminal 50 of Figure 3. However, in this instance, the full voltage of the isolated power supply ~ is not applied to terminal 50; rather, the po~er supply volt-age is dropped by an amount depending upon the size of resistor 76. The size of resistor 76 is so selected that the voltage occurring at the minus terminal of comparator 56 will exceed the reference potential at this comparator. However, the voltage occurring at the minus terminal of comp2rator 5~ will not exceed the reference potential at this comparatorO Thus, when .switch 32 is closed, only photodiode B2 is activated to 3 switch the output of phototransistor 90. Accordingly, as can be seen in Figure ~, the combination of outputs occurring at phototransistors ~6 through 90 is as indi-cated.
3~;
Referring now to the last entry in the table o~
Figure 4, and in particular to the closure of power decrement switch 34, it can be seen that when this switch is closed, the full voltage of the isolated power supply is applied through switching elemen~s 36 and 3~ to both terminals 4~ and 50 of Figure 3.
Accordingly, the reference voltages of all the com-parators 52 through 56 are exceeded to thus energize all of the photodiodes 7~ through ~2. Hence, all of the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 are switched as indicated in the table of Figure 4. It can thus be seen that the decoding circuitry 51 of Figure 3 pro-vides various combinations of outputs at the collectors of phototransistors ~6 through 90 depen~ing on which of the swltches 2~ through 34 is actuated at handpiece 12.
Reference should now be made to Figures 5 through 9 which illustrate ~arious flow charts of an illustra-tive program and subroutines thereof which may be employed in microprocessor 96 to process the outputs of decoding circuit 51 and thus Yary the control exercised by the surgeon in the sterile field. Figure 5 is a flow chart of the main control loop of the program and Figures 6 through 9 are various subroutines which are entered either directly or indirectly from the main control loop of Figure 5. In Figure 5, the program first processes at block 106 any changes in the power level requested from the control panel. Changes request-ed from this source are as such not part of the present in~ention and thus are not ~urther discussed. The pro-3 gram next acquires at block 10~ the state of a flag which when set indicates a remote po~Jer change feature has been enâbled - that is, that the accessory has been actuated in a way to indicate that it has the capabil-ity of signalling a request for an increase or decrease in power in accordance with the present invention. The manner of setting this flag will be described below with respect to Figure 6. Once the contents of the flag have been acauired, the contents thereof are checked at 110 to determine whether the remote power function has been enabled. Assuming it has not been enabled, the program passes control to block 112 to test whether the remote power function is now being requested even tnough it was not initialized at the time the check at 110 was made. The flow chart for the test effected at block 112 is illustrated in Figure 6. Ho~ever, before proceeding to Figure 6, the remainder of the functions executed by the main control loop of Figure 5 will be briefly described. Thus, assuming the remote power func-tion has been enabled as determined at 110, the progra~.
passes control to block 11~ to test for and implement any requested remote power change routines, these being described in further detail with respect to Figures 7 through 9. Once the power change has been effected, the main control loop moves to block 116 where it senses for and implements any change of the chosen mode of ` operation - that is, the specific type of coagulation or cutting desired. Finally, at block 11~, the output is ke~ed and the power delivered to the patient, the parameters of the delivered power corresponding to those described above.
Reference should now be made to Figure 6 which is 3 the flow chart for testing whether the remote power change feature is to be enabled as indicated from the handpiece, this test occurring at 112 in the main ~L~7~3~76 control loop of Figure 5. In Figure 6, the hand switch input is acquired at 122 - that isl the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 of Figure 3 are sampled.
At 12L~ a check is made to see whether switch 32 is being actuated. The test that is particularly made is whether the outputs of phototransistors ~6 through 90 correspond to the settings shown in the fourth entry of' the table of Figure ~. If they do not, return to the main control loop occurs from 134 of Figure 6 to 104 of Flgure 5. Assuming the up butkon 32 is being actuated, the remote power change flag is set to thereby this fact. Thusj in accordance with an,important aspect of the ir.vention, up switch 32 must be actuated at the handp ece before the rerr,ote power change feature can be implemented. Of course, another switch provided on the handpiece could also perrr,it initialization of this fea-ture. Only after this initialization of the re~ote power changing feature has occurred will the system of the present invention operate in this mode. By provid-ing this initialization feature, it is possible to use other handpieces which do not have a rernote power changing capability and yet the remote po.~er change of the present invention will not be inadvertently imple-~ , rrlented since the above initialization procedure must be follo~:ed before it can be effected. Hence, compatabil-ity with other handpieces is provided. It should also be noted other means can be employed to implement the initialization of the remote power 'changing. For exam-ple, an additional pin or connector (not shown) may be provided on connector 20 and an additional terrrlinal may be provided at interface circuit 51 whereby ~heneYer this prong is present, it indicates the handpiece has ~79376 the remote power changing capability. See Canadian Patent No. 1,200,286 issued February 4, 1986, for example, where pin actuated switch 51 serves a similar function for a different feature.
Once the remote power change flag has been set at block 126, a bong is sounded to alert the surgeon the remote power change feature has now been initialized and is ready to use. In this connection, it should be noted that the first actuation of the up switch 32 does not effect an incrementa-tion of the output power but rather simply initializes this feature as discussed above. The program next moves to 130 where it loops until the bong is completed. It then moves to 132 where it again loops until the up switch 32 is released.
At that time, it returns to main control loop 104 of Figure 5 via 134.
At the main control loop, it again acquires the remote power change flag at 108. Now that this flag has been set at block 126 of Figure 6, the test at 110 will be passed and the program will pass to the remote power change routines 114. In particular, referring to Figure 7 the outputs of phototransistors 86 through 90 are once again acquired. A
determination is then made at 140 to see if the up button 32 is being pressed. If not, a determination is then made to see if down button 34 is being pressed. If not, the program returns to the main control loop of Figure 5 via 144 of Fig-ure 7. The main control loop of Figure 5 is cycled through approximately 20 times per second until an input is sensed.
Thus, when the program returns to 140 a fraction of a second later to determine if up button 32 has been pressed, it will be assumed that it is being pressed at this time.
~7~3~S
Thus, program control is transferred via 1~6 to the power increase routine of Figure ~. Next, at block 150 the last function keyed at the control panel of ~enerator 10 is acquired - that is, a determina~ion is made as to whether the coagulation or cut function was last activated. ~ext, at 152 a check is made to see whether or not more than five increments in power have been requested, In accordance with the present inven-tion, no more than a predetermined number of increments in the output power is permitted when the increments are initiated from the sterile field, This number is chosen to be five in the present invention. Of course, other numbers may be employed depending upon the parti-cular s~stem, Once this number of power increr~ents have been recuested from the sterile field, the sur~eon is required to return to the control panel to effect any further increase in the po~er setting if so desired. In this manner, the surgeon is given an additional amount of time to be certain the increased power requirerr,ent is needed. If the number of requested power increments is five, program control returns to the main control loop of Figure 5 via 15~, If the nurrlber of power increments is less than five, the power is increased at block 156 in the following manner. First, the current output power is obtained and then added to it is one-tenth of the keyboard power. By keyboard power it is meant the power setting last set at the control panel of the ~enerator. For e~arr,ple, if the last output power level set at the control panel was 100 watts, and assuming the current output po~er of the generator is 130 watts (the power already having been incremented three ti~!es), one-tenth of the lOO watt setting ~or lO
watts) ~ould be added to the current output poher to arrive at a ternporarY power of 1~0 watts.
~2~93 Before this ternporary power is accepted a test is made at 15~ to deter~ine whether this temporary power exceeds the ma~imum power permissible for the particu-lar mode of operation the generator is presently in.
Thus, for example in the cut mode the maxirnum permiss-ible power might be 300 watts while for the coagulation mode it might be 120 ~atts. As long as the newly calculated temporary power does not exceed this maximum power, normal operation will continue. However, if it does exceed the maximum power, program control passes to 160 where a determination is made as to whether the up button or switch 32 is still being pressed.~f it is, the program loops until it is released, at which time it returns to the control loop without effecting any increase in the output power.
hssuming the temporary power does not exceed the maxi~,um power, program control is transferred to block 164 where the remote power change count is incremented.
It is this count which is checked at 152. Next at 166 control is trcnsferred to the store power routine of Figure 9. Thus, assuming the new power is 140 watts, the new po~er is displayed at the control panel at 1~0 and a digital to analog converter value is calculated at 1~2 for later utilization by the generator when keyed to effect the actual change in the output power of the generator. This method of changing the output power level is known and corresponds to a method which is already employed to change the power level from the control panel. This change in output power may also be effected in many ways known to those having ordinary skill in this art. At 1~, a bong is sounded to alert ~7~376 the operator tha-t the po~er has been increased by a ten percent factor. At 1~6 the program loops until the bong is completed and then it returns to the main control loop of Figure 5 via 1~
It should be noted, in accordance with the present invention, the increase in power is not a ten percent increase in the current po~er but rather the increase is ten percent of the power last set at the keyboard or control panel of the generator. If the power were increaseà by ten percent of the current power, certain difficulties could arise. For example, suppose the ini-tial po~er setting is 100 ~atts and the increments are ten percent of the current output power. Hence, the first increase ~ould increr!ent the output po~er to 110 ~:atts. T;~e next increment would increase it to 121 ~atts. If the power ~ere now decremented by ten per-cent, it would be decreased to about 109 ~atts and a further cecrement would decrease it to about 9~ atts.
Hence, it can be seen that, although the initial power ~as 100 watts, the power, after two increases of ten percent each and two decreases of ten percent 9 is 9~
watts. The operator would expect that the power to return to the initial power after such a seouence. To avoid this difficulty, the procedure of the present invention is employed ~here the keyboard po~er (that is, the last output power set at the control panel of the generator) is employed as a reference point for subsecuent changes in po-.er. Although these changes have been described in terms of ten percent increments 3 or decrements, the percentage change may be, of course, other than ten percent. Further, the percentage change may vary from step to step if so desired.
~;~7~3376 --lg--In summary, if the initial power setting from the keyboard or control panel of the generator is 100 watts and the surgeon increases that power from the hand switch to 150 watts by five ten percent increments, he can effect no further increases from the handpiece and must return to the keyboard to change the power se~ting thereat. Assume he changes the setting to 200 watts at the control panel. If he then subsequently increments the power by a ten percent factor, the power increase will be 20 watts since the last output power set at the control panel was 200 watts. It will not be 10 watts which is ten percent of the original output power setting at the control panel.
Returning to Figure 7 and, in particular the re-mote power change routine 114, it was assumed the up button 32 had been pressed and thus the routine of Figure ~ was entered at 146. However, if the down button is pressed thereby indicating a desire on the part of the surgeon to decrease the power by ten percent, this will be determined at 142 whereby the routine of ~igure ~ is entered at 14~ to effect the power decrease. At block 16~, the last ~unction keyed (cut or coagulation) is acquired. Next, the temporary power is calculated by subtracting from the current power one tenth of the keyboard power (again, the output power level last set at the keyboard or control panel of the generator). A test is then made at 172 to determine if the temporary power is less than or equal to one watt. If it is, the routine aborts and returns to the main control loop of ~igure 5. This is done after the test at 174 is passed to determine if the 1;~7~376 down button is still pressed. There the program loops until this button is released whereafter it does return to the main control loop.
If the temporary power is not less than or equal to one watt, program control transfers to block 17~
where the remote power change count is decremented by one. Thus, assuming that the initial output power level was set at the control panel to 100 watts, it is possible to increment the power level four times to 1~0 watts and then decrement it three times to 110 watts followed by three more increments back to 140 watts. As can be seen, the increment function has been executed seven times in this sequence and yet the remote power change count 9 as tested at 152, will not have exceeded five because this count was decremented three times in the foregoing illustrative sequence. Only when the sur-geon attempts to change the output level to 150 watts will the test at 152 not be passed. Thus, as stated above, this test ensures that the surgeon can effect only so much increase in the output power from the sterile field before he must return to the control panel to effect a ~urther increase. The number of power decreases is limited only by the minimum power level of ` ` one watt - any requests for power decrease which would result in less than one watt of power would not be processed. Once the power has been decremented at 17~, control is transferred to the store power routine of Figure 9 where the actual power delivered to the pa-tient is decremented at that tlme as described above.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of the direct transmission of an electrical signal from the sterile field to the generator, it is ~;~7~3~6 to be understood other signals such as optical, ultra-sound, etc. may also be transmitted in the foregoing manner. Moreover, other signal transmission arrange-ments may also be employed such as a wire(s) connected at one end to the generator and dedicated to power output changes where, in the sterile field, a power changing switching device would be connected to the other end of the wire and where the switching device may or may not be located at handpiece 12. Another signal transmission arrangement which might be employed comprises a switch operated transmitter which may or may not be located at the handpiece to thus transmit the signal(s) by wireless transmission. Furthermore, although three lines are employed in the above describ-ed embodiment for transmitting the mode and power change information from the handpiece, a two wire arrangement may also be employed where different re-sistors or resistor combinations corresponding to the different items of information to be transmitted may be placed across the two lines and switched in depending on the item of information to be transmitte~. Thus, associated with each item would be a different voltage level which could be detected at the generator.
It is to be understood that the above detailed description of the various embodiments of the invention is provided by way of example only. Various details of design and construction ma~ be modified without depart-ing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims (9)
1. An electrosurgical generating system comprising:
an electrosurgical generator;
a handpiece including (a) an active electrode connected to said generator for applying electrosurgical current from the generator to a patient and (b) power changing means for changing the level of output power delivered from the generator to the patient; and initializing means responsive to said power changing means for making an initial determination that said handpiece includes said power changing means and thus permit said power changing means to change said output power level only if said handpiece includes said power changing means.
an electrosurgical generator;
a handpiece including (a) an active electrode connected to said generator for applying electrosurgical current from the generator to a patient and (b) power changing means for changing the level of output power delivered from the generator to the patient; and initializing means responsive to said power changing means for making an initial determination that said handpiece includes said power changing means and thus permit said power changing means to change said output power level only if said handpiece includes said power changing means.
2. A system as in claim 1 where said means for changing the output power level of the generator includes a pair of switches, one power increment switch for effecting an increase in the output power level of the generator and the other a power decrement switch for effecting a decrease thereof.
3. A system as in claim 2 where said initializing means includes one of said switches.
4. A system as in claim 3 where said initializing means includes said power increment switch.
5. A system as in claim 1 including means for preventing changes in the output power once the power has been changed a predetermined amount.
6. A system as in claim 1 including means for changing the output power level of the generator by a plurality of successive, incremental amounts.
7. A system as in claim 6 including further power changing means for changing the output power level of the generator, said further means being disposed at the generator and where said means for changing said output level by a plurality of incre-mental amounts includes means for incrementing the current output power level by a predetermined percentage of the power level last set by the further power changing means at the electrosurgical generator.
8. A system as in claim 7 where said means got incrementing the current output power level by a predetermined percentage includes means for establishing said predetermined percentage as ten percent.
9. An electrosurgical generating system comprising:
an electrosurgical generataor;
a handpiece including an active electrode connected to said electrosurgical generator for applying electrosurgical cur-rent from the generator to a patient, said handpiece having means disposed thereat for changing the level of the output power de-livered from said generator to said patient;
initializing means responsive to said power changing means for making an initial determination that said handpiece includes said power changing means and thus permit said power changing means to change said output power level only if said handpiece includes said power changing means;
means for changing the output power level of the generator by a plurality of successive, incremental amounts;
means for preventing changes in the output power level once the power has been changed a predetermined amount by said power changing means; and further power changing means for changing the output power level of the generator, said further means being disposed at the generator and where said means for changing said output power level by a plurality of incremental amounts includes means for incrementing the current output power level by a predeter-mined percentage of the power level last set by the further power changing means at the electrosurgical generator.
an electrosurgical generataor;
a handpiece including an active electrode connected to said electrosurgical generator for applying electrosurgical cur-rent from the generator to a patient, said handpiece having means disposed thereat for changing the level of the output power de-livered from said generator to said patient;
initializing means responsive to said power changing means for making an initial determination that said handpiece includes said power changing means and thus permit said power changing means to change said output power level only if said handpiece includes said power changing means;
means for changing the output power level of the generator by a plurality of successive, incremental amounts;
means for preventing changes in the output power level once the power has been changed a predetermined amount by said power changing means; and further power changing means for changing the output power level of the generator, said further means being disposed at the generator and where said means for changing said output power level by a plurality of incremental amounts includes means for incrementing the current output power level by a predeter-mined percentage of the power level last set by the further power changing means at the electrosurgical generator.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US06/680,966 US4632109A (en) | 1984-12-11 | 1984-12-11 | Circuitry for processing requests made from the sterile field of a surgical procedure to change the output power level of an electrosurgical generator |
| US680,966 | 1984-12-11 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1279376C true CA1279376C (en) | 1991-01-22 |
Family
ID=24733235
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000497191A Expired - Lifetime CA1279376C (en) | 1984-12-11 | 1985-12-09 | Circuitry for processing requests made from the sterile field of a surgicalprocedure to change the output power level of an electrosurgical generator |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4632109A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1279376C (en) |
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| US3439680A (en) * | 1965-04-12 | 1969-04-22 | Univ Northwestern | Surgical instrument for cataract removal |
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| US4334539A (en) * | 1980-04-28 | 1982-06-15 | Cimarron Instruments, Inc. | Electrosurgical generator control apparatus |
| JPS5764036A (en) * | 1980-10-08 | 1982-04-17 | Olympus Optical Co | Endoscope apparatus |
| JPS5778844A (en) * | 1980-11-04 | 1982-05-17 | Kogyo Gijutsuin | Lasre knife |
-
1984
- 1984-12-11 US US06/680,966 patent/US4632109A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1985
- 1985-12-09 CA CA000497191A patent/CA1279376C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4632109A (en) | 1986-12-30 |
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