Field of the invention

The invention relates to the field of surgical instruments such as can be used for ablation of tissue in arthroscopy, for example, which comprise a probe or wand which can be bent by a surgeon to suit the requirements of a particular operation. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to bendable electrosurgical electrodes.

Background of the invention

Keyhole surgery such as arthroscopy may be carried out with long, narrow surgical instruments inserted through a small incision, usually guided by camera or external imaging. It requires instruments which can be inserted into the patient's body and reach a target operation site some distance from the entry incision. The target may be inaccessible to rigid, straight instruments, for example due to the geometry of the intervening bone and tissue. In this description, the particular example of electrosurgical ablation in a distracted hip joint, where the ablation electrode must be manipulated in the space between between the femoral head and the acetabulum, will be used to illustrate the principles of the invention. However, the invention may also find beneficial application in other surgical applications in which a long, narrow probe is required to be bent to a particular shape or angle.

As mentioned above, electrosurgical electrodes may be used, for example, to ablate tissue in regions which are inaccessible along a straight path. An example is shown in figure 1, which shows a distracted hip joint, and an electrode 1, with its probe 2 inserted through the capsule 11 to reach the foveal ligament 8 which connects the head 6 of the femur 10 to the acetabulum 7. The electrode is guided by the surgeon, using the handle 3, to bring the electrode tip 4 of the probe 2 to the target site. In this example, the probe 2 is of the fixed-bend type and has a pre-bent probe 2 with a fixed bend 5. A similar arrangement, with a different probe geometry, can be used to ablate a region of the labrum 9. The probe 2 (also referred to as wand or shaft) of such electrodes 1 may be a disposable part, designed for one-off use. For electrosurgery such as ablation, the electrode 1 may be supplied with electrical power via cables (not shown) through the handle 3.

Prior art

It is known to provide pre-bent electrosurgical electrodes for particular applications. These are electrodes which are manufactured and supplied already bent with a predetermined bend amount. They have the advantage that they can be fabricated simply and with great flexural strength, so that they can be used in surgical situations where it is important that the electrode does not bend. As an example, a surgeon may attempt to rotate the bent part of the probe past an immovable obstruction; the rotation may require significant force, and fixed-bend electrodes are fabricated such that they do not bend when subjected to such forces. As described above with reference to such figure 1, such a situation may arise during a hip arthroscopy, when the surgeon tries to rotate the electrode around the femoral head.

Fixed-bend electrodes have the disadvantage that the surgeon must keep a stock of multiple electrodes with different bend profiles and tip angles. In order to overcome this problem, it has also been suggested to provide electrodes which can be custom-bent for particular applications. International application W02004/050171 describes an electrode which can be bent in a single plane. However, the fabrication of such an electrode is complicated. Furthermore, its structure has by design a reduced flexural strength, which means that the electrode, once bent, lacks sufficient rigidity in the bending plane to be used in applications where a strong, rigid electrode is required, such as the femoral head situation described above. The rotation of the probe of

W02004/050171 against the femoral head (which may be carried out with significant manual force) may cause the probe to deform in the bending plane. As a result, the surgeon, if he or she realises the problem, may have to withdraw the bendable electrode and attempt the operation again using a fixed-bend electrode instead. Or, if the surgeon is unaware of the problem, he or she may attempt to perform the ablation using an electrode probe which does not have the intended bend geometry, which may result in an incorrect ablation of the target site.

It is known from patent applications US20150245868 and US20160367313 to provide an electrode having a wand which can be bent at the time of surgery, and which can be re-bent during surgery to suit the requirements of the particular surgical application, such as tonsillectomy. The solution proposed in these documents is to fabricate the electrode wand with a section which is deliberately weakened, for example by the inclusion of notches in the wall of the probe, or by softening of the material of the probe, so that the section can be repeatedly bent. In order for the electrode to be repeatedly bendable, the section must retain its reduced flexural strength during and after bending, thereby rendering the electrode unsuitable for applications, such as the ablation of the labrum described above, where a strong, rigid electrode is required.

US20150245868 and US20160367313 also describe a bending tool which can be used to apply the bending moment required to bend the weakened section. The bending tool fits on to the probe with its handle parallel to the probe. This 'end-on' collinear arrangement of the known bending tool is apparently sufficient to enable a surgeon to bend the prior art probe, because of the latter's reduced flexural strength, but it has the disadvantage that, if used to bend a probe with greater flexural strength, the 'end-on' bending tool would not be sufficient on its own, ie purely as a hand-held device. The surgeon would be obliged to use the tool to press the handle-end of the electrode against a fixed surface, which may damage the electrode.

There is thus a need for an electrosurgical device having a probe which has a flexural strength comparable to that of fixed-bend electrodes, but which can nevertheless be bent by hand to a degree specified by the surgeon.

Brief description of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome at least some of the above

disadvantages of prior art surgical instruments. To this end, an electrosurgical device according to the invention is described in the attached claim 1, methods according to the invention are described in claims 9 and 11, and a bending tool according to the invention is described in claim 12. Further variants of the invention are described in the dependent claims and in the following description.

The combination of the novel features in each of the independent claims enables the electrosurgical device to be used in situations where a) a customised bend geometry is required, and b) significant force, in particular rotational force, may be exerted on the probe by the surgeon during the operation.

The invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a distracted hip joint and a prior art surgical instrument.

Figure 2 shows in schematic cross-sectional view an example of an

electrosurgical device according to the invention.

Figures 2b and 2c show cross-sectional views of the device of figure 2a in planes A-A and B-B respectively.

Figures 3a to 3d show lateral elevation, plan, end elevation and isometric projection views respectively of a bending tool according to the invention.

Figure 4 shows in schematic plan view the bending tool of figures 3a to 3d used for bending the electrosurgical device of figure 2a.

Figure 5 shows in isometric projection view a variant of the bending tool of figures 3a to 3d according to the invention.

Figure 6 shows in schematic plan view the electrosurgical device and bending tool of figure 4 after bending.

Figure 7 shows the electrosurgical device of figure 6.

Figure 8 shows the bending tool of figure 6.

It should be noted that the figures are provided merely as an aid to understanding the principles underlying the invention, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of protection sought. Where the same reference numbers are used in different figures, these are intended to indicate similar or equivalent features. It should not be assumed, however, that the use of different reference numbers is intended to indicate any particular degree of difference between the features to which they refer.

Detailed description of the invention

As described above in relation to figure 1, an electrosurgical device 1 may need to be bent in order for its tip 4 to reach the target site for electrosurgery (eg ablation of tissue). An example of an unbent electrode 1 is shown in figures 2a to 2c. The device comprises a handle 3 and a probe 2 with a tip 4 at distal portion 16 of the probe 2, bendable medial portion 17 of the probe 2 and proximal portion 18 of the probe 2. In this example, the electrode is a bipolar device, and the probe 2 has two electrical conductors 13 and 15, separated by a first insulator 14 and surrounded by a second insulator 12. The invention may also be implemented in monopolar electrodes or other probe-like surgical instruments. The conductors 13 and 15 of the example bipolar electrode supply electrical energy to the tip 4 in known fashion. The electrode may include aspiration and/or irrigation channels (not shown), for example passing through the inner electrical conductor 13. As shown in figures 2b and 2c, the conductor and insulator parts of the probe 2 preferably have a substantially circular cross-section. The handle 3 of the device 1 is advantageously detachable from the probe 2. To this end, the probe 2 comprises engagement part 19 for detachably fixing to the handle 3. Electrical power to the probe's connectors 13 and 15 may be provided via connectors (not shown) in the handle. The engagement part 19 preferably comprises a rotation-blocking engagement means 19', which prevents the handle 3 from rotating relative to the probe 2 when the device 1 is being manipulated by a surgeon. For the sake of clarity, the device of figure 2a is shown with the proximal portion of the probe foreshortened.

As will be described below, the medial portion 17 of the probe 2 is manufactured to be bendable by hand, but to have greater flexural strength after bending. To this end, at least the outer conductor 15 of the probe 2 is manufactured from such a material, and is treated in such a way, that its flexural strength is significantly greater (for example 20% or more) after bending than before bending. As mentioned above, it is known in the prior art to provide a probe which has a sufficiently low flexural strength to be bent by hand. It is also known to use a bending tool which fits on to the probe end-on, with its handle parallel to the probe. However, it is an aim of the invention to provide a bent probe whose bent portion has a flexural strength which is greater than, or almost as great as, that of the unbent portions, and the prior art bending tool would not be suitable for bending such a probe, for reasons explained above.

Figures 3a to 3d show a bending tool 20 which is designed to permit the user (eg the surgeon) to easily hold the electrode in one hand and the bending tool in the other, while enabling him or her to exert significant bending moment on the electrode probe by bringing his or her hands towards each other. It comprises a substantially straight, elongate handle 25 and a receiving region 21 for receiving the tip 4 and the distal portion 16 of the probe 2. The receiving region is shown as a closed region, such that the linear position of the probe 2 to be bent is defined. Alternatively, the receiving region may be open, such that the probe 2 may be positioned at any linear position relative to the bending surface, so that the user can determine where on the probe shaft the bend is made. Retaining and guiding surfaces 22 and 23 retain and guide the probe 2 while it is subjected to the bending moment. Bending surface 24 defines the geometry of the bent probe. The amount of bending may be determined by the surgeon. The bending surface 24 may have a constant radius of curvature, as shown, or it may have a radius of curvature which varies along its peripheral length. The bending surface 24 may preferably have a constant radius of curvature of between 10mm and 60mm, or more preferably between 20mm and 50mm. I In the case of a variable curvature, the bending surface may preferably have a minimum radius of curvature which is between 10mm and 60mm, or more preferably between 20mm and 50mm.

Figure 4 shows a surgical instrument such as the one illustrated in figure 2a engaged in the bending tool of figures 3a to 3d. The tip portion 4 is placed in the receiving region (recess) 21 and the probe 2 can then be bent by holding the handle 3 of the electrode 1 in one hand, and the handle 25 of the bending tool 25 in the other, and exerting a manual force to bring the two handles 3, 25 towards each other, thereby bending the probe 2 around the bending surface 24. The mutual angle of the two handles (90° as illustrated) allows the user to exert considerable controlled force during the bending. If further bending is required after the user has bent the probe, the force required will be even greater, and the reduced angle enables the user to exert the increased force.

Figure 5 shows a variant of the bending tool 20 in which the bending surface 24 is provided with a recessed profiled channel 26 which corresponds to the shape of the probe 2. The profiled channel 26 helps to avoid a flattening or crimping of the probe's tubular components 13, 15 during bending.

Figure 6 shows the bending tool 20 in use to form a bend 5 in the probe 2 of an electrode 1 such as the one described above. As shown in figure 7, the resulting bent probe 2 has a deviation angle 27 of eg more than 20° (80° as illustrated), between the axes 16' and 18' of the proximal 18 and distal 16 portions of the probe respectively. The bending radius 5' of the bend 5 may preferably be between 10mm and 60mm, or more preferably between 20mm and 50mm, for example.

Figure 8 shows the angle 29 at which the bending is started. This is the angle between the longitudinal axis 25' of the handle 25 and the axis 30', which is the tangent of the initial contact part 30 of the curved bending surface 24. The angle 29 may preferably by less than 135°, and more preferably less than 110°, in order that the user may exert enough bending force by bringing his/her hands together. In the illustrated example, the angle 29 is shown as 90°. Figure 8 also shows the radius of curvature 24' of the bending surface 24. As mentioned above, this radius preferably has a minimum value which is between 20mm and 50mm.

As mentioned above, the probe is designed to have a low enough flexural strength to be bendable by hand in its straight state, and a high enough flexural strength to resist bending when in use in its bent state. This can be achieved by judicious selection of materials for the principle elements which contribute to the flexural strength of the probe, and by suitable treatment to reduce the flexural strength without significantly reducing the strain hardening exponent of the material. In the case of the bipolar electrode described above, such a principle element may be the outer conducting tube 13, for example. The material may preferably be stainless steel with a strain hardening exponent of at least 0.4. Treatment preferably comprises subcritical or intercritical annealing at a temperature between 500°C and 700°C, or soft annealing at a temperature of between 700° and 900°. The material and the treatment are preferably such that the material has a flexural strength after treatment which is at least 80% but less than 95% of the flexural strength of the material before treatment, and a flexural strength after bending through at least 20° using the example bending tool 20, which is at least 85% of the flexural strength of the material before treatment. In the example embodiment, the flexural strength of the untreated tube material (stainless steel) may preferably be more than 200 MPa, and that of the treated tube 180 MPa or more. The stainless steel is selected such that the strain hardening which results from bending the tube 13 to a deviation angle of 20° or more increases its flexural strength to 190 MPa or more. The flexural strength may preferably be determined using the three-point flexural bending test, with the distal and proximal portions 16, 18 of the probe supported on the outer points and the bending force applied to the medial portion 17. The example embodiment described above is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. In particular, the description is intended to include combinations of the features described therein or in the claims, even where these combinations have not been explicitly mentioned.