The Peak Surgery System strikes a unique balance between precision cutting and bleeding control. The novel Pulsed Plasma Technology has completely revolutionized the way surgery is performed today. Based on the thermally confined pulsed dielectric breakdown (ionization)-mechanism of interaction used in short pulse laser treatments for ophthalmic surgery, Peak’s technology represents an evolutionary advancement of radio frequency surgical technologies.
Electrosurgery was first developed in the beginning of the 20th century, and has become one of most predominately used tools after William Bovie introduced his electrosurgery generator in 1926. Since then, electrosurgery has been performed using continuos radio frequency waveforms, which thermally vaporize soft tissue via an electrical arc through air and Joule heating. This results in a cutting and coagulation action that leaves a wide zone of collateral tissue damage.
In contrast, PEAK Surgical’s PULSAR Generator supplies pulsed waveforms that produce short plasma-mediated, highly controlled electrical discharges through insulated electrodes on a handheld device: the PlasmaBlade. Because the radio frequency is provided in short pulses with a low duty cycle (the fraction of time the voltage is on), and the PEAK PlasmaBlade is so highly insulated, heat diffusion (and thermal damage) to surrounding tissue is limited, resulting in an extreme reduction of collateral damage and increase in cutting precision.
PEAK Surgical’s technology, including the pulsed plasma-mediated discharges and electrode insulation techniques were originally developed by Professor Danel Palanker’s group at the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. They have been evaluated in ophthalmic applications, including human studies in retinal and cataract surgery--one of the most delicate, precise, and difficult types of surgery.
The Pulsar Generator (as shown to the right) has a intuitive interface which is based on the direct feedback fom the surgeons and the operating room staff. In addition to being simple and easy to use, the Peak Surgery system follows a plug and play paradigm, making it an easy tool to integrate in the operating room. Each disposable PlasmaBlade facilitates continuos communication with the Pulsar generator in order to program recommended settings, monitor patients return electrode connectivity, and provide for power adjustments based on variations of the target tissue impedance.
