A tissue specimen removal device comprises a specimen bag; a flexible ring, the flexible ring configured to form a top opening of the specimen bag; a cannula assembly comprising: an inner tube portion and an outer tube portion. The device may further comprise a connector carrier, the connector carrier configured to retain at least one connector housing, the at least one connector housing comprising one or more connector portions and reside within an interior of the connector carrier, and wherein the connector carrier can be moved from a position within the cannula assembly to outside the cannula assembly.

A method for performing an electrosurgical procedure at a surgical site on a patient includes continually sensing electrical and physical properties proximate the surgical site that includes acquiring readings of tissue electrical impedance with respect to time at the surgical site; identifying the minima and maxima of the impedance readings with respect to time; and correlating the minima and/or the maxima of the impedance readings with hydration level and/or hydraulic conductivity in the tissue at the surgical site. The method also includes controlling the application of electrosurgical energy to the surgical site to vary energy delivery based on the step of correlating the minima and/or the maxima of the impedance readings with the hydration level/or and the hydraulic conductivity in the tissue at the surgical site. The process may be an ablation process.

Periodontal disorders such as disorders associated with a dental implant are treated. An average power for a laser is selected via a user interface on a tablet, along with a set of permissible laser parameters provided in response to the selected average power. A gingival trough or flap is created around the implant with the laser. Infected tissue is selectively ablated or denatured via photothermolysis, and a pocket is lased around the affected implant. Marginal tissues are compressed against the implant.

A tissue ablation system may be configured to receive location information indicating locations of at least part of a transducer-based device in a bodily cavity; cause delivery of first tissue-ablative energy during a duration of a first particular time period in accordance with a first energy waveform parameter set at least in response to a first state in which at least part of the location information indicates at least a first rate of movement of the part of the transducer-based device in the bodily cavity; and cause delivery of second tissue-ablative energy during a duration of a second particular time period in accordance with a second energy waveform parameter set at least in response to a second state in which the at least part of the location information indicates at least a second rate of movement of the part of the transducer-based device in the bodily cavity.

Devices and methods for monitoring the temperature of tissue at various locations in a treatment volume during fluid enhanced ablation therapy are provided. In one embodiment, an ablation device is provided having an elongate body, at least one ablation element, and at least one temperature sensor. The elongate body includes a proximal and distal end, an inner lumen, and at least one outlet port to allow fluid to be delivered to tissue surrounding the elongate body. The at least one ablation element is configured to heat tissue surrounding the at least one ablation element. The at least one temperature sensor can be positioned a distance away from the at least one ablation element and can be effective to output a measured temperature of tissue spaced a distance apart from the at least one ablation element such that the measured temperature indicates whether tissue is being heating to a therapeutic level.

Tissue may be cut and extracted from an interior location in a patient's body using a probe or tool which both effects cutting and causes vaporization of a liquid or other fluid to propel the cut tissue through an extraction lumen of the cutting device. The cutting may be achieved using an electrosurgical electrode assembly, including a first electrode on a cutting member and a second electrode within a cutting probe or tool.

In some embodiments, a plurality of transducers of a transducer-based device may be selected for activation. A first pair of subsets of the selected transducers may be identified for initial activation, each subset of the first pair being activated with a different phase angle range than the other. No transducer in one subset is sufficiently close to a transducer in the other subset to cause a confluence of ablated tissue regions therebetween. The first pair of subsets may be activated simultaneously or concurrently. Upon activation or a conclusion thereof of the pair of subsets of the selected transducers, one or more subsequent pairs of subsets of the selected transducers may be activated iteratively on a pair-by-pair basis, until all of the selected transducers have achieved desired activation results, according to some embodiments. Each subsequent pair may include the same or similar characteristics as the first pair.

A measuring method for optically determining a distance (z) of a surface located in a medium from an end of an optical waveguide is described and has the following steps: emitting electromagnetic measuring radiation of a first wavelength (λ1) and of a second wavelength (λ2) from the end of the waveguide towards the surface, wherein the medium more strongly absorbs the electromagnetic measuring radiation of the second wavelength (λ2) than the electromagnetic measuring radiation of the first wavelength (λ1); measuring a first reflection signal (I.sub.1) of the electromagnetic measuring radiation of the first wavelength (λ1) reflected from the surface, and measuring a second reflection signal (I.sub.2) of the electromagnetic measuring radiation of the second wavelength (λ2) reflected from the surface, and determining the distance (z) from a ratio (I.sub.2:I.sub.1) of the second and the first reflection signal. Furthermore, a measuring device and a laser lithotripsy device are described.

An ablation probe tip 100 having a shaft 102 with an insertion end 104 and an annular aperture 120 near the insertion end 104. A center of ablation 124 is located within the shaft 102 and surrounded by the annular aperture shaft 102. The ablation probe tip 100 may be part of an ablation probe system 50 that includes an ablation source 60 that provides ablation means 62 to the ablation probe tip 100. The center of ablation 124 is a focal region from which the ablation means 62 radiates through the annular aperture 120 to form an ablation zone 150, 160, 170. The system 50 has at least one intra-operative control selected from the group of: ablation zone positioning control, ablation zone shaping control, ablation center control, ablation zone temperature control, guided ablation volume/diameter control, and power loading control.

Various embodiments are described herein for a bipolar catheter that generally comprises: a catheter body having a distal end portion and a proximal end portion; a first electrode at the distal end portion, the first electrode being on a spiral structure for rotational insertion into a physiological target region; a second electrode at the proximal end portion and spaced apart from the first electrode; and first and second electrode terminals spaced apart from one another at the proximal end portion and electrically coupled to the first and second electrodes respectively. The first and second electrodes are configured to function as active and dispersive electrodes respectively, or vice-versa. Also described are various embodiments of methods which generally include coupling the bipolar catheter to a signal generator; inserting the bipolar catheter at a physiological target region; and performing the procedure.