ELECTROSURGICAL GENERATOR WITH DETECTION OF INSTRUMENT PLUG-IN

Electrosurgical generator for providing a high-frequency alternating voltage to an electrosurgical instrument (16), comprising a control unit (10) and an inverter (3) for high voltage that generates a high-frequency alternating voltage fed to an output socket (14) for the instrument (16). A detection unit is provided that comprises a capacitive detector (4) configured for detecting a capacitance of a plugged-in cable (15) of the instrument (16). Thereby a parasitic capacitance induced by the instrument's cable (15) can be detected. The capacitance is however low picofarad range and difficult to detect, further complicated by the requirement of galvanic separation for patient safety. However, the invention realized that just a qualitative detection is sufficient to determine whether the instrument's cable (15) is being plugged in. The invention provides simple and efficient measurement circuit (7) for such detection. Thereby, a safe and cost-effective plugging-in detection is realized.