Extra-urethral implants and methods of use are disclosed. Implants can treat disorders or diseases of the prostate by, for example, enlarging the lumen of the prostatic urethra.

An access device for accessing an intervertebral disc having an outer shield comprising an access shield with a larger diameter (˜16-30 mm) that reaches from the skin down to the facet line, with an inner shield having a second smaller diameter (˜5-12 mm) extending past the access shield and reaches down to the disc level. This combines the benefits of the direct visual microsurgical/mini open approaches and the percutaneous, “ultra-MIS” techniques.

A method of forming a microwave applicator comprising forming a body comprising dielectric material so that there is a void in the dielectric material, and depositing conductive material in the void to form a feed for coupling energy into the dielectric material.

A system for performing a microwave ablation procedure includes an ablation probe, a tracking system for tracking a position and orientation of the ablation probe, and a computing device. The computing device is configured to receive the position and orientation data of the ablation probe from the tracking system, display a graphical representation of the ablation probe on a display based on the received position and orientation data of the ablation probe, filter axial shift data from the position and orientation data of the ablation probe corresponding to axial movement of the ablation probe along a trajectory axis, and generate an alert based on the filtered axial shift data.

Apparatus, systems, and methods provide access to the renal pelvis of a kidney to treat renal nerves embedded in tissue surrounding the renal pelvis. Access to the renal pelvis may be via the urinary tract or via minimally invasive incisions through the abdomen and kidney tissue. Treatment is effected by exchanging energy, typically delivering heat or extracting heat through a wall of the renal pelvis, or by delivering active substances.

Provided is a flex-PCB catheter device that is configured to be inserted into a body lumen. The flex-PCB catheter comprises an elongate shaft, an expandable assembly, a flexible printed circuit board (flex-PCB) substrate, a plurality of electronic components and a plurality of communication paths. The elongate shaft comprises a proximal end and a distal end. The expandable assembly is configured to transition from a radially compact state to a radially expanded state. The plurality of electronic elements are coupled to the flex-PCB substrate and are configured to receive and/or transmit an electric signal. The plurality of communication paths are positioned on and/or within the flex-PCB substrate. The communication paths selectively couple the plurality of electronic elements to a plurality of electrical contacts configured to electrically connect to an electronic module configured to process the electrical signal. The flex-PCB substrate can have multiple layers, including one or more metallic layers. Acoustic matching elements and conductive traces can be includes in the flex-PCB substrate.

An intraluminal microneurography probe has a probe body configured to be introduced into an artery near an organ of a body without preventing the flow of blood through the artery. An expandable sense electrode and an expandable stimulation electrode are fixed to the probe body at one end of each electrode such that movement of the other end toward the fixed end causes the sense electrode to expand from the probe body toward a wall of the artery. A ground electrode is configured to couple to the body, and a plurality of electrical connections are operable to electrically couple the electrodes to electrical circuitry. The sense electrode is operable to measure sympathetic nerve activity in response to excitation of the stimulation electrode. A radio frequency ablation element is located between the expandable sense electrode and expandable stimulation electrode, and is operable to ablate nerves proximate to the artery.

Embodiments of the invention provide a hollow cable for conveying radiofrequency and/or microwave frequency energy to an electrosurgical instrument that can fit within, e.g. slide relative to, the hollow cable. The hollow cable provides a bipolar electrical connection to the electrosurgical instrument that is maintained when the electrosurgical instrument is rotated relative to the hollow cable. The cable may comprise a hollow coaxial transmission line having a rotatable component mounted at its distal end. The rotatable component comprises a longitudinal passageway continuous with the hollow coaxial transmission line. The rotatable component is rotatable relative to the transmission line and comprises a first and second conductive portions that are respectively electrically connected to first and second terminals on the coaxial transmission line and which are configured to maintain an electrical connection with their respective terminal when rotated relative to the coaxial transmission line.

An electrosurgical apparatus is provided having a rechargeable power source which may be charged wirelessly. The apparatus comprises an oscillator for generating electromagnetic (EM) energy (e.g. radiofrequency energy or microwave frequency energy); a controller operable to select an energy delivery profile for the oscillator; a feed structure for conveying the electromagnetic energy to an output; a rechargeable power source arranged to supply power to the oscillator; and a receiver circuit comprising an inductive coupler configured to wirelessly receive power from a transmitter and supply received power to the rechargeable power source. The selection of an energy delivery profile may involve switching the oscillator on or off in one example, or may comprise more complex operation such as the selection of a pulse profile in some embodiments.

An electrosurgical apparatus for treating fluid-filled biological growths by replacing the fluid within the growth with a substance that assists in delivering treatment energy. The treatment energy may be microwave energy or may be thermal energy derived from microwave energy. The apparatus comprises an instrument having a radiating tip portion, and a fluid delivery mechanism for transporting fluid to and from a treatment zone located around the radiating tip portion. The fluid delivery mechanism comprises a rigid insertion element arranged to extend into the treatment zone, whereby fluid can be aspirated from the treatment zone, and a substance injected into the treatment zone to replace the aspirated fluid. The injected substance has dielectric properties selected to facilitate uniform delivery of treatment energy to biological tissue in the treatment zone.