Scientific Aspects and Fundamentals of Energy (S.A.F.E.)

Thanks to the continuous evolution in medical technology, today you can choose between a wide range of advanced electrosurgical energy devices for a large spectrum of procedures.

However, have you ever wondered how these energy devices exactly work and interact with tissue in order to achieve optimal patient outcomes?

The S.A.F.E. mission of Olympus is to enable a deeper, scientific understanding of the interaction between living tissue and energy devices improving patient care and enhancing clinical outcomes.

The three key factors of S.A.F.E. Tissue Management are:

When using electrosurgical energy devices to seal and close blood vessels, four aspects are essential to achieve optimal hemostatic results: Time, Temperature, Compression and Tissue Properties.

In order to accomplish secure sealing of vessels, the user of an energy device should understand how to balance these aspects most effectively during device handling. 

When using Energy Devices in surgery, the goal is to avoid unintended tissue damage of crucial structures such as colon, ureter or nerves. However, all Energy devices work with heat to achieve different tissue effects:

Energy and high temperatures are crucial to be able to work. The difference between cutting and coagulation is the rate at which the tissue heats up.

Be aware that all devices need certain temperatures to change tissue and do not cool down by themselves within few seconds. Therefore, the recommendation must be not to touch vital structures after activation but to cool it down on fat or in saline.