Development Of Electrosurgical Standardized Test Rig And Anti-Sticking Electrode

Electrosurgical units are widely used in clinical surgery due to excellent cutting efficiency and hemostasis effect.However,the adhesion of tissue to electrode seriously restricts their application in minimally invasive surgery.Currently,many anti-sticking measures do not take into account the enhancement effects of high-frequency electric field on tissue sticking including tissue particle acceleration and electrode surface arc erosion.Therefore,it is very necessary to investigate the preparation of anti-sticking electrodes from the perspective of super-hydrophobic and anti-arc erosion,which would promote the application of electrosurgical units in minimally invasive surgery.In this study,a standardized electrosurgery test rig was developed,and a super-hydrophobic Ni-W-Cu coated electrode was prepared.The coatings were obtained using electrodeposition technique.The cutting efficiency of electrodes was characterized by self-made test rig and the tissue sticking behavior was examined using a material testing machine and SEM.The main results and conclusions were drawn as below.(1)The self-made standardized electrosurgery test rig can be used to simulate the cutting process of electrodes and evaluate the cutting efficiency of electrodes.The rig has such advantages as the precise control of cutting parameters including speed,depth and length,decreased human error,and increased testing repeatability.The cutting resistance during electrosurgery process is measured with force sensor in real time.(2)The adhesion of tissue to electrode is effectively inhibited by the Ni-W-Cu coating on the electrode surface under electrosurgical conditions.For Ni-W-Cu coated electrode,the tissue adhesion amount is reduced by about 40% in comparison with 304 stainless steel electrode and tungsten-coated electrode,and its cutting resistance is smallest among the three electrodes.Due to the tip discharge generated by the tapered columnar structure on the surface of Ni-W-Cu coating,the sticking tissue is porous and easy to be removed.(3)As the arc ablation time increases,the super-hydrophobic structure on the surface of the Ni-W-Cu coating is partially destroyed.Thus,the surface contact angle of Ni-W-Cu coated electrode is decreased,but it is still much larger than those of 304 stainless steel electrode and tungsten-coated electrode.And the electrode surface is still hydrophobic and exhibits certain resistance against arc erosion.