PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate chondrocyte viability and surface contouring of articular cartilage using confocal laser microscopy (CLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively, during different treatment time intervals with monopolar and bipolar radiofrequency energy (RFE). TYPE OF STUDY In vitro analysis using chondromalacic human cartilage. METHODS Forty-t...

Ex vivo photographic temperature mapping of bipolar radiofrequency (RF) lesions in animal tissue is performed over a wide range of electrode tip spacings, tip lengths, tip diameters, tip temperatures, and lesion times. In vivo temperature measurements collected during clinical treatment of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain corroborate those collected ex vivo. Generation of a "strip lesion" connecting...

This work was undertaken to contribute to the development of an epi-retinal prosthesis which may someday restore vision to patients blinded by outer retinal degenerations like retinitis pigmentosa. By stimulating surviving cells in tens or hundreds of distinct regions across the retinal surface, the prosthesis might convey the visual scene in the same way that images are represented on a comput...

The medical use of radio frequency (RF) is based on an oscillating electrical current forcing collisions between charged molecules and ions, which are then transformed into heat. RF heating occurs irrespective of chromophore or skin type and is not dependent on selective photothermolysis. RF can be delivered using monopolar, bipolar, and unipolar devices, and each method has theoretical limits ...

This study investigated the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on the motor pathway in the transient ischemic rat brain that were transplanted through the carotid artery, measuring motor-evoked potential (MEP) in the four limbs muscle and the atlantooccipital membrane, which was elicited after monopolar and bipolar transcortical stimulation. After monopolar stimulation, the la...

The purpose of the study is to assess the selectivity of intradural peripheral nerve activation in primates using a multiple contact cuff electrode. The cuff electrode consisted of four platinum contacts and was implanted around ventral nerve root L5 in the cauda equina. A constant current stimulator delivered single biphasic stimulation pulses. Four monopolar (using a surface indifferent anode...

Material and methods: The study was done between March 2012 and February 2013. This is a prospective quasi-randomized study evaluating the safety and efficacy of bipolar energy in transurethral resection of bladder tumours (TURBT). Institutional Ethics Committee approval was obtained. Informed consent was taken from all patients. Patients were randomized into two groups of 50 each to undergo ei...

The goal of the clinical use of a bipolar blood-sealing system is to reduce perioperative blood loss in total joint arthroplasty (TJA). This study was performed to determine whether a bipolar sealer is safe and effective in TJA and whether there are any advantages over monopolar sealers. The authors searched electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles; retrieved all published ...