US 12,329,587 B2
Electrosurgical instrument with a functional element
Kester Julian Batchelor, Mound, MN (US); Riyad Moe, Madison, WI (US); and Huisun Wang, Maple Grove, MN (US)
Assigned to Gyrus ACMI, Inc., Westborough, MA (US)
Filed by GYRUS ACMI, INC., Westborough, MA (US)
Filed on Jul. 13, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/812,389.
Application 17/812,389 is a continuation of application No. 15/894,212, filed on Feb. 12, 2018, granted, now 11,413,109.
Prior Publication US 2023/0000583 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A61B 18/14 (2006.01); A61B 18/00 (2006.01); A61B 18/12 (2006.01); A61B 90/30 (2016.01); H02M 7/06 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 90/30 (2016.02) [A61B 18/1402 (2013.01); A61B 18/1442 (2013.01); A61B 2018/00589 (2013.01); A61B 2018/00595 (2013.01); A61B 2018/00601 (2013.01); A61B 2018/00607 (2013.01); A61B 2018/0063 (2013.01); A61B 2018/0091 (2013.01); A61B 2018/1266 (2013.01); A61B 2018/1412 (2013.01); A61B 2090/309 (2016.02); H02M 7/06 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrosurgical assembly comprising:
a proximal portion including a handpiece, a distal portion including a distal end effector including distal first and second working electrodes, and a shaft extending between the proximal portion and the distal portion;
first and second AC electrical conductors extending, via the shaft, between the first and second working electrodes and the handpiece for coupling to an external AC power source that is electrically connectable to the handpiece, the first and second AC electrical conductors coupled to a first pair of electrical terminals on the assembly;
a snap-on smoke ionizer unit including:
an ionizer housing, the ionizer housing including a second pair of electrical terminals, configured to respectively be electrically-coupled to the first and second AC electrical conductors, via the first pair of electrical terminals, for receiving, from the external AC power source, AC power that is configured for operating the distal first and second working electrodes for performing AC electrical tissue modification, the ionizer housing including:
an on-board rectifier, electrically connected to the first and second AC electrical conductors when the ionizer housing is snapped-onto the assembly, the rectifier configured to convert the AC power, on the first and second AC electrical conductors, that is configured for operating the distal first and second working electrodes for performing AC electrical tissue modification into a high voltage DC power signal at a high voltage DC-powered ionizing element including a negatively charged first DC electrode and a positively charged second DC electrode carried by the ionizer housing, the smoke ionizer unit configured to snap onto the assembly to removably attach the smoke ionizer unit to the assembly, wherein upon snapping the smoke ionizer unit onto the assembly, the second pair of electrical terminals of the smoke ionizer unit contacts the first pair of electrical terminals to electrically power the smoke ionizer unit by the high voltage DC power signal generated from the AC power, on the first and second AC electrical conductors, that is configured for operating the distal first and second working electrodes for performing AC electrical tissue modification, wherein the smoke ionizer unit is operable to ionize surgical smoke particles generated at a surgical site using the negatively charged first DC electrode and to attract the ionized surgical smoke particles towards the positively charged second DC electrode for removal from the surgical site.