NuOrtho Surgical | Ceruleau Probe | Which Medical Device

Description

From Which Medical Device

The Ceruleau probe from NuOrtho surgical is a 3.5mm bipolar electrosurgical probe which delivers non-ablative doses of radiofrequency energy to treatment sites, particularly during arthroscopic chondroplasty treatment of major joints. The probe can be used with Valleylab and ConMed electrosurgical generators.

The concept is that avoiding direct contact of the electrode with articular cartilage and using low energy settings reduces the risk of damage to healthy cartilage. This effect has been demonstrated on human articular cartilage retrieved from knee replacement patients (Ganguly et al 2010), but we are not aware of clinical results. This approach may be most effective on fibrillated partial thickness articular cartilage lesions (Ganguly et al 2010). Kosy et al have published a helpful review of the literature on the use of radiofrequency energy for arthroscopic chondroplasty in the knee (Kosy et al, 2011).

The Ceruleau probe received FDA approval in 2010.

NuOrtho Surgical filed for bankruptcy in early 2015 and as such this product is no longer obviously available.

Which Medical Device of the Year 2011

Special Commendation: Orthopaedics

"The only available probe (that we know of!) that allows the debridement of damaged cartilage without injuring healthy tissue and which can be connected to pre-existing electrosurgery machines. Although the long term clinical benefit remains unproven, we liked the principle that normal tissue should not be damaged during surgery, and the preclinical studies that showed this device is different to others on the market.” - Mr Craig Gerrand, Editor-in-Chief. Read more