In order to seal and divide soft tissue, protein bonds must be denatured with heat. Heating and cooling protein-based structures causes the molecules to unravel and then form a coagulum. By employing a proprietary temperature and pressure profile to modify proteins, Starion's instruments create a high-integrity seal and a clean division. No electrical current is required to pass through the body during this process.

The resistive heating element is powered by low voltage direct current. By thermally insulated backing on the tips of the Starion’s instruments heat is isolated to a narrow profile. This creates a graded thermal profile with a narrow higher temperature zone for cutting and a lower temperature-coagulating zone on each side, allowing the device to simultaneously seal and divide.

With this temperature gradient, Starion's instruments are able to both seal and divide tissue in a way that minimizes damage to surrounding tissue as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

Treat, Michael, R, MD, A New Thermal Device For Sealing And Dividing Blood Vessels. Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, Department of Surgery, Columbia University, New York, New York.

Each seal and division only takes a few seconds to complete. As a result, Starion’s instruments are easy to operate, able to work near delicate and critical tissue and have a wide range of surgical applications.