Plasma Scalpel System Approved for General Surgery

A new plasma scalpel system has the precision of a standard scalpel and the cauterization abilities of an electrosurge, but without the accompanying singeing of peripheral flesh.

The Peak surgery system combines the Pulsar Generator, which supplies pulsed plasma radiofrequency (RF) energy, with the Peak PlasmaBlade, a low-temperature surgical cutting and coagulation tool. Unlike most RF-based surgical products that use continuous voltage waveforms to cut tissue, the Pulsar Generator supplies pulsed plasma-mediated electrical discharges through the PlasmaBlade. Because the RF is provided in short on-and-off pulses and the blade contains highly insulated electrodes, the PlasmaBlade cuts tissue at an average temperature that is half that of a conventional electrosurgery device and can be as low as 50 ^oC. This temperature reduction results in reduced heat transfer and half the damage to surrounding tissues compared with traditional electrosurgical devices. The Peak surgery system is a product of Peak Surgical (Palo Alto, CA, USA), and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"Surgeons typically must switch between a scalpel and a traditional electrosurgery device depending on the surgical field and type of tissue they are cutting,” said Thomas Krummel, M.D., professor and chair of surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, CA, USA). "I believe the PlasmaBlade has the potential to revolutionize the way surgery is performed because it eliminates the need to change from one surgical tool to another as a surgeon cuts through all types of soft tissue, including skin, fat, and muscle. It also has the ability to cut in a wet or dry surgical field, an advancement over most electrosurgical tools in use today.”

"With the introduction of the PlasmaBlade, general surgeons now have access to a single surgical tool that cuts tissue as precisely as a scalpel and controls bleeding as effectively as traditional electrosurgery without causing extensive collateral thermal damage to tissues,” said John Tighe, CEO of Peak Surgical.

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