The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 08, 2004
Filed:
Apr. 17, 2001
Terry S. Davison, San Francisco, CA (US);
Theodore C. Ormsby, Milpitas, CA (US);
Christopher L. Willink, Mountain View, CA (US);
Arthrocare Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
Electrosurgical methods, systems, and apparatus for the controlled ablation of tissue from a target site of a patient. An electrosurgical instrument includes a working portion having a plurality of working zones differentiated according to their relative rates of aspiration and ablation. The instrument further includes an aspiration channel in communication with a plurality of aspiration ports, and a plurality of active electrodes disposed on the working portion. Each of the plurality of working zones may have at least one of the plurality of active electrodes and at least one of the plurality of aspiration ports. The aspiration rate of each working zone is dependent, inter alia, on the number, size, and distribution of the aspiration ports on that zone. In one embodiment, the ablation rate of a working zone is inversely related to the aspiration rate of that zone. Each of the plurality of active electrodes is adapted for ablating tissue to form low molecular weight ablation by-products. The ablation by-products may be aspirated from the target site via aspiration port(s) on one or more of the plurality of working zones.