Electrosurgical Units Safety Features

Safety Features

One of the greatest advancements in electrosurgery over the past two decades has been the advent of tissue impedance monitoring. This technology offers a detailed analysis of how much resistance a current encounters as it passes between the patient’s body and the return electrode. The implementation of this technology varies between makes and models, but some electrosurgical units are managed digitally for optimal current analysis. The hardware in the DRE ASG Series, for instance, measures tissue impedance 5000 times per second. In the occurrence of insufficient conductivity with the patient return electrode, the current is interrupted and the surgeon is alerted via audible and visual alerts.

Offering unparalleled patient safety, the Bovie FDFS™ (Fast Digital Feedback System) is implemented in some units as a means of offering superior control and consistency of electrosurgical cutting and coagulation. Other Bovie technologies implemented in some new units include Neutral Electrode Monitoring and Digital Error Detection, taking patient safety to new heights. All three of these systems are included in the full line of ASG Series electrosurgical units from DRE.

Ease of Use

With the advent of digital technology, electrosurgical usability has reached new heights. The first indication of this progress can be noted the moment you take the unit out of the box; analogue units required a complicated calibration process to be ready for usage, whereas the new digital technology implemented in units like the ASG Series from DRE eliminates the need for calibration. Once the unit is in use, the advancements abound:

• Digitally controlled cutting can be used in high-powered/high-impedance procedures and general applications alike. This innovative technology ensures greater precision and more efficient performance. Equipped with this technology, the ASG Series is able to operate at a lower power setting and produces little or no uncontrolled sparks.Â
• For greater control, some units feature a Surgeon’s Preset Center like those on the ASG Series that allow up to 10 surgeons to store their preferred power settings in the Cut, Coagulation, and Bipolar Modes.
• The ASG Series from DRE is equipped with 10 blend settings in 6% increments, combining cut and coagulation in a way that allows for greater flexibility and customization. A greater variety of available cut/coagulation permutations can substantially decrease operational transitions and surgery durations.

Improvements in coagulation technology allow Monopolar and Bipolar operation in every type of tissue and a variety of procedures.  Digitally controlled Monopolar Coagulation effects include Pinpoint, a rapid desiccation effect without carbonization and less sticking of the electrode; and Spray, a slight penetration of the tissue surface which is very efficient for treatments like diffuse bleeding or tissue devitalization. In Bipolar Coagulation the digital technology reduces active electrode sticking by minimizing tissue carbonization. It is important to find a unit that is equipped with all of these settings.