Stabilization of Electrosurgical Cutting Performance Based on Electrode Speed

Electrosurgical cutting is used for surgical incisions and resections where hemostasis is important. Much research has been performed on electrosurgical generator control methods that can improve cutting performance. It is also known that speed of the electrode as it is applied to tissue can impact cutting performance. However little work has been done to tie electrode speed to generator improvements. In this paper, the theory of cutting is analyzed, and experiments are performed to determine the impacts of electrode speed combined with generator control methods. This analysis and the experiments demonstrate that 1) voltage control provides improvement to power control for cutting, 2) power factor control may further improve cutting, and 3) speed compensation is even more impactful in improving cutting performance.