PEAK Technology
PEAK Surgical is revolutionizing the way surgery is performed today with its proprietary pulsed plasma technology. Based on the thermally confined pulsed dielectric breakdown - mechanism of interaction used in short-pulse laser treatments for ophthalmic surgery, our technology represents an evolutionary leap in the advancement of radiofrequency surgical technologies.
Electrosurgery was invented in the beginning of the 20th century and became one of the most-often used surgical tools after William Bovie introduced his radiofrequency generator in 1926. Since then, electrosurgical cutting has been performed using continuous radiofrequency waveforms, which thermally vaporize soft tissue through Joule heating and an electrical arc. This results in a cutting and coagulation action that leaves a wide zone of collateral thermal damage.
By contrast, PEAK Surgical’s PULSAR Generator supplies pulsed waveforms that produce short plasma-mediated highly controlled electrical discharges through extensively insulated electrodes on a handpiece -- the PEAK PlasmaBlade. Because the radiofrequency is delivered in short on-and-off pulses with low duty cycle (fraction of time the voltage is ON), and the PEAK PlasmaBlade is so highly insulated, heat diffusion and associated thermal damage to surrounding tissues is limited, resulting in greatly reduced collateral damage and extreme cutting precision.
PEAK Surgical's technology including the pulsed plasma-mediated discharges and electrode insulation techniques were originally developed by Professor Daniel 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, and in preclinical studies.
PEAK Surgical's proprietary technology is the subject of a variety of patents and pending patent applications in the U.S. and abroad, including issued U.S. Patents No. 6,135,998, 6,913,605, 6,730,075, 6,780,178, 7,238,185 and 7,357,802.
Info on PEAK Surgical's preclinical studies and technology development is now available. Click here.
