A proposed method for quantitative performance evaluation of electrosurgical dispersive electrodes

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Physics
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Measuring the thermal performance of electrosurgical dispersive electrodes is challenging due to high-energy, high-frequency electric fields.
• Traditional contact sensors are unsuitable for accurately assessing transient temperature fields in these conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a non-contact measurement approach for evaluating the thermal performance of electrosurgical dispersive electrodes.
• To demonstrate the capability of high-speed video-scanning thermography for this application.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing high-speed video-scanning thermographic systems to capture transient temperature fields.
• Employing a method that avoids direct contact, thus circumventing sensor limitations.
• Recording temperature-time histories for detailed analysis.

Main Results:

• The high-speed thermography system effectively measures spatial temperature distributions.
• The method provides repeatable and quantitative thermal performance data.
• The overall uncertainty in temperature rise determination is approximately 0.4 degrees C.

Conclusions:

• High-speed video-scanning thermography is a viable and accurate method for assessing electrosurgical dispersive electrode thermal performance.
• This non-contact technique overcomes limitations of traditional sensors and provides valuable data for surgical safety.
• The approach has been validated through experiments on human subjects.