Please confirm that an ethics committee approval has been applied for or granted: Not relevant

Background and Aims Non-perfused chicken breast models have been utilized to determine the relative lesion size across the various radiofrequency (RF) electrode types (1). To date, no research has been conducted on comparison of lesion sizes of three commercially available probes (standard, three-tined and cooled) utilizing the same RF generator manufacturer.

Methods Each probe underwent RF at the time and temperature settings they are commercially suggested for (i.e. standard probes for 90s at 80°C, three-tined probes for 120s at 80C, and cooled probes for 150s at 60°C. Lesioning was performed with Avanos Pain Management and Cooled Radiofrequency Generators. The lesions were created and measured using internally approved standard test method that underwent test method validation (TMV). Each lesion was measured for width and height with calibrated calipers under a 0.5X lens microscope, following previously published methodology (1). The minimum lesion data set was n≥30, where the sample mean is normally distributed and statistical significance can be recognized (2).

Results Mean lesion sizes and standard deviations are reported in table 1. Lesions created by standard RF probes were elliptical in shape, whereas cooled and three-tined probes had a more spherical shape with more distal projection from the probe tip.

Conclusions Mean lesion volume for cooled probes increased as probe active tip (AT) size increased. The standard RF probe created a larger lesion than the smallest cooled probe, but a smaller lesion when compared to the other cooled probes. The three-tined probe created lesions significantly larger than the standard RF probe, despite having a smaller active tip size.