embodiments of the presently disclosed multiple rf return pad current detection system and method of using the same are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing figures wherein like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements . in the following description , well - known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the disclosure in unnecessary detail . referring initially to fig1 , a schematic illustration of a monopolar electrosurgical system 100 is shown . the electrosurgical system 100 generally includes a surgical instrument ( e . g ., electrosurgical pencil , electrical scalpel , or other active electrode ) 110 , a return electrode 200 , a connection device 300 for connecting the return electrode 200 to a generator 120 , and a current detection system 400 disposed on or operatively associated with the return electrode 200 ( fig4 ). in fig1 , the return electrode 200 is illustrated placed under a patient “ p .” electrosurgical energy is supplied to the surgical instrument 110 by the generator 120 via a cable 130 to cut , coagulate , blend , etc . tissue . the return electrode 200 returns energy delivered by the surgical instrument 110 to the patient “ p ” back to the generator 120 via return path 140 . the current detection system 400 is in operative engagement with the return electrode 200 and operatively connected to the connection device 300 via a cable 250 . the connection device 300 may be operatively connected to the generator 120 ( fig1 ), may be operatively connected to the return electrode 200 ( fig2 and 3 ), may be disposed between the return electrode 200 and a generator 120 ( fig4 ) or housed within generator 120 . fig2 and 4 illustrate various embodiments of the return electrode 200 for use in monopolar electrosurgery . generally , the return electrode 200 is a conductive pad 210 having a top surface 212 ( fig4 ) and a bottom surface 214 ( fig4 ). the return electrode 200 is designed and configured to receive current during monopolar electrosurgery . while the figures depict the return electrode 200 in a general rectangular shape , it is within the scope of the disclosure for the return electrode 200 to have any regular or irregular shape , such as circular , polygonal , etc . as illustrated in fig2 and 4 , the conductive pad 210 is comprised of a plurality of conductive elements ( only conductive elements 220 a - 220 f are labeled for clarity ) arranged in a regular or irregular array . each of the plurality of conductive elements 220 may be equally - sized or differently - sized and may form a grid / array ( or be disposed in any other grid - like arrangement ) on the conductive pad 210 . it is also envisioned and within the scope of the present disclosure for the plurality of conductive elements 220 a - 220 f to be arranged in a spiral or radial orientation ( not shown ) on the conductive pad 210 . as illustrated in fig4 , current detection system 400 includes an array of individual current sensors ( illustrated as 402 a - 402 f , corresponding to conductive elements 220 a - 220 f , respectively ), which are able to measure the amount of current returning to each pad , e . g ., 210 a . the current detection system 400 may be operatively connected to the plurality of conductive elements 220 a - f on the top surface 212 or bottom surface 214 ( or anywhere therebetween ) of conductive pad 210 . for example , individual current sensors 402 a may be operatively connected to conductive element 220 a . moreover , each current sensor , e . g . 402 a may be connected via a common cable 250 to a comparator 404 ( see fig5 ), which may be housed in a multitude of different configurations , including within connection device 300 or generator 120 . alternatively , a series of current detection systems , e . g . 400 a , may be connected to a connection device 300 via a respective cable 250 a ( fig5 ). in the interest of clarity , each of the possible cable arrangements for cables 250 a - d connected to each current detection system 400 a - d are not illustrated . generally , the area of the return electrode 200 that is in contact with the patient “ p ” affects the current density of a signal that heats the patient “ p .” the smaller the contact area the return electrode pad 210 has with the patient “ p ,” the greater the current density which directly affects tissue heating at the contact site . conversely , the greater the contact area of the return electrode 200 , the smaller the current density and the less heating of tissue at the patient site . as can be appreciated , higher current densities lead to greater heating of tissue and greater probability of patient burn . it is therefore important to either ensure a relatively high amount of contact area between the return electrode pad 210 and the patient “ p ,” or otherwise maintain a relatively low current density on the return electrode pad 210 . while there are various methods of maintaining a relatively low current density ( including , inter alia , the use of electrosurgical return electrode monitors ( rems ), such as the one described in commonly - owned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 565 , 559 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein ), the present disclosure ensures low current density at the patient site by sensing the amount of current returning to each of the plurality of conductive elements 220 a - f of the return electrode 200 and adjusting the energy accordingly to reduce current densities at the patient site . more particularly , the current detection system 400 of the present disclosure has the ability to measure the amount of current returning to each conductive element 220 a - 220 f . each conductive element 220 a - f is connected to the connection device 300 and may be activated and / or deactivated ( or adjusted ) as needed . for example , if a conductive element ( e . g ., 220 a ) along the perimeter of the conductive pad 210 becomes relatively hot , that conductive element 220 a may be disconnected from the connection device 300 , deactivated or adjusted to receive a lower amount of energy . in this example , the conductive element 220 a would not receive any more energy or receive a reduced amount of energy and the current level in the area of the pad contacting the conductive element 220 a would dissipate . it is envisioned and within the scope of the present disclosure for the disconnection / re - connection , deactivation / reactivation of the conductive elements 220 a - f to occur automatically as a result of an algorithm ( or the like ) provided in the electrosurgical generator 120 . it is also envisioned and within the scope of the present disclosure for a disconnected conductive element , e . g ., 220 a , to be reconnected to the connection device 300 when the current level of a particular conductive element or particular area of the pad 210 in contact with the corresponding current detection system 400 decreases . utilizing these features , the current levels of the return electrode 200 can be relatively consistent throughout the entire surface thereof , thus reducing the possibility of “ hot spots ” and patient burns . for example , the grid - like arrangement of the pad 210 makes it easier for the generator 120 to identify and adjust current levels at different pad 210 locations depending upon the current build - up possibly reducing the likelihood of patient burns . referring now to fig5 , the current detection systems 400 may be operatively associated with a plurality of pads 210 a - d which operatively connect to generator 140 . one or more algorithms controls the electrical energy associated with each pad to reduce patient burn . current detection system 400 includes a sensing device 402 a for sensing the current to each conductive pad 210 a - 210 d as well as at least one a comparator 404 a - 404 f which senses the difference in current between the plurality of conductive pads 210 a - 210 d . current detection system 400 is connected to a plurality of conductive elements 220 a - 220 f ( see fig2 and 3 ) on each pad 210 a - 210 d and may be located in a variety of different areas including , on conductive pads 210 a - 210 d , inside connection device 300 , or within generator 120 . other locations for current detection system 400 are envisioned and are within the scope of the present disclosure . the current sensor ( s ), e . g ., 402 a may take a number of different forms including , but not limited to , open loop sensors , closed loop sensors , digital current sensors , hall - effect devices or a current sense transformer ( not shown ), the operation of which will be described hereinbelow . in use , the return current for each conductive pad e . g ., 210 a , is passed through a toroidal magnetic , which forms a 1 : n current sense transformer comprised of 1 turn from the return wire and n turns of the toroidal core . the waveform representing the current can be converted to a voltage waveform by placing a resistor between the terminations of the toroidal core turns . this voltage waveform is substantially sinusoidal in nature and may require further modification . an ac / dc converter circuit , e . g . 408 a , may be utilized to substantially convert the alternating current signal of the return current into a direct current signal . this eliminates any phase or frequency modulation that could lead to inaccuracies in measurement . this dc response is representative of the amount of rf current flowing through each conductive pad 210 . ac / dc converter circuit may be operatively associated with each respective sensor 402 a - 402 d . once the dc response of each conductive pad 210 a is obtained , the signal may then be fed into a comparator e . g ., 404 a . each comparator 404 a receives two distinct dc inputs , each from a separate conductive pad , e . g ., 210 a , 210 b . it is envisioned that one possible type of comparator 404 a is an instrumentation amplifier . instrumentation amplifier receives a dc input from two different conductive pads 210 a , 210 b and calculates the current differential between the two . this difference is then multiplied by the gain of comparator or instrumentation amplifier 404 a in order to obtain a scaled representation of imbalances between any two of the pads e . g . 210 a , 210 b . ideally , the current differential would be negligible with each pad receiving the same amount of return current . however , if a substantial imbalance is present , a warning is provided via a warning device ( audible or visual ) or safety control algorithms which are utilized to mitigate pad site burns which will be described hereinbelow . generator 120 may contain , inter alia , embedded software . it is envisioned that this embedded software may be utilized to develop safety control algorithms or similar warning mechanisms . using the information provided by comparator ( s ) 404 a - 404 d , generator 120 may be able to modulate the amount of power delivered to each conductive pad 210 a - 210 d therefore minimizing the chances of pad site burns . moreover , this information may also be processed using a variety of different techniques , including but not limited to , neural networks or fuzzy logic algorithms . it should be noted that a current sense transformer may be replaced with any current measuring device such as a non - inductive sense resistor . similarly , comparator or instrumentation amplifier could be replaced with a number of different devices including , but not limited to , differential amplifiers . moreover , ac / dc converter circuit ( s ) 408 a - 408 d may take on a number of different forms such as a full - wave rectifier circuit . during electrosurgical use of the return electrode pad 210 , portions of the perimeter of the return electrode pad 210 may become hot at a faster rate than the center of the return electrode pad 210 . in such a situation , as seen in fig3 , it may be desirable to have the conductive elements 220 a - 220 f near the perimeter of the return electrode pad 210 be smaller than the remaining conductive elements 220 g - 220 i . monitoring the returning current levels of each conductive pad ( s ) 210 a - 210 d and each conductive element 220 a - 220 i of each pad 210 a - 210 d would allow greater control of the overall temperature of the portions of the patient “ p ” in contact with the entire return electrode pad or pads . thus , the return electrode pad 210 , as a whole , would be able to receive a greater amount of current , as some new procedures necessitate . moreover , and as illustrated in fig5 , a plurality of pads 210 a - 210 d may be utilized each with a plurality of conductive elements 220 a - 220 i which all may be individually regulated or controlled to reduce patient burns . to further limit the possibility of patient burns , it is envisioned that an adhesive layer 500 may be disposed on the return electrode 200 about the periphery of pad 210 , as illustrated in fig2 and 3 . the adhesive layer 500 may be conductive and may be made from materials that include , but are not limited to , a polyhesive adhesive ; a z axis adhesive ; or a water - insoluble , hydrophilic , pressure - sensitive adhesive and is desirably made of a polyhesive adhesive . such materials are described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 699 , 146 and 4 , 750 , 482 , the entire contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference . a function of the adhesive layer 500 is to ensure an optimal surface contact area between the return electrode 200 and the patient “ p ” thus limiting the possibility of a patient burn . it is envisioned that the return electrode ( s ) 200 may be entirely disposable , entirely re - usable , or a combination thereof . in one embodiment , the conductive elements 220 are re - usable , while the adhesive layer 500 is disposable . other combinations of disposable / re - usable portions of the return electrode 200 are envisioned and within the scope of the present disclosure . it is envisioned that a multiplexer 260 may be employed to control switching of the plurality of conductive elements 220 a - 220 f , as illustrated in fig4 . for example , it is envisioned that the multiplexer 260 may be configured to regulate the current in any fashion by switching “ on ” and “ off ” various amounts of the plurality of conductive elements 220 a - 220 f . while the multiplexer 260 is illustrated between the generator 120 and the connection device 300 , other locations for the multiplexer 260 are envisioned and within the scope of the present disclosure . the present disclosure also includes a method for performing monopolar surgery . the method utilizes one or more return pads operatively associated to one another which form a current detection system 400 as described above . the method also includes placing one or more return pads of the current detection system 400 in contact with a patient ; generating electrosurgical energy via an electrosurgical generator 120 ; supplying the electrosurgical energy to the patient via a surgical instrument 110 ; measuring the current returning to each conductive pad 210 a - 210 d ; detecting imbalances in current by comparing the current returning to one conductive pad 210 a with the current returning to each of the remaining pads 210 b - 210 d ; warning the user of possible hazardous conditions ; and providing a means for substantially correcting the imbalances . while several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the drawings , it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto , as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise . therefore , the above description should not be construed as limiting , but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments . for example , it is envisioned for the return electrode 200 to be at least partially coated with a positive temperature coefficient ( ptc ) material to help distribute the heat across the return electrode 200 , as described in commonly - owned u . s . provisional patent application ser . no . 60 / 666 , 798 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein .
the present disclosure provides an electrosurgical return pad current detection system for use in monopolar surgery as well as a method of using the same . the detection system comprises a plurality of conductive pads which include a plurality of conductive elements . the detection system further includes a sensor which senses the current returning to each conductive pad as well as a comparator which determines the difference in current among a plurality of conductive pads . if the current differential is above or below a prescribed limit , the system will alert the user of potential hazards and / or alter the amount of energy delivered to a surgical device .