Briefly, the invention relates to a surgical tool and method for forming a pilot bore by inserting a guide wire into bone. The surgical tool is constructed and arranged for use in conjunction with X-ray or ultrasound machines. More particularly, the device includes a cannulated hand grip and driving tool used for the rotation of a bone or pedicle screw into bone. The rear portion of the hand grip includes a slide assembly that is suited to grip a guide wire. The slide assembly includes a user adjustable stop to control the sliding movement of the guide wire. The rear surface of the slide is constructed to be impacted with a hammer or similar device, whereby the stop prevents the guide wire from penetrating the bone further than desired. Should it be desired that the wire be retracted, a jack member is included to allow the wire to be precisely retracted. The hand grip is securable to various surgical driving tools for the purpose of providing the ability to cooperate with various brands of pedicle screws and other surgical implants for spinal procedures.

Systems and method for controlling the bending of a robotic catheter. A control backbone of the robotic catheter is coupled to a linear movement stage by a spring and linear movement of the control backbone causes a controllable bending of the robotic catheter. A sensor monitors a deflection of the spring and the bending of the catheter is controlled based on the spring deflection signal from the sensor. The spring allows passive bending of the robotic catheter without movement of the active linear movement stage and, conversely, allows external forces applied to the robotic catheter to limit a bending movement of the robotic catheter caused by—movement of the active linear movement stage. In some implementations, the robotic catheter includes a selectively deployable tip mechanism for deploying a steerable tip or for selectively exposing side windows on the catheter for increasing traction for clot removal.

A surgical instrument may comprise an elongated shaft extending between a proximal end and a distal end and defining a longitudinal axis. The surgical instrument may also comprise a plurality of cables extending along the longitudinal axis and a first bending section positioned between the proximal end and the distal end of the elongated shaft. The first bending section may comprise links having pairs of articulation holes extending longitudinally through the links to permit the plurality of pull wires to pass therethrough. Each pair of articulation holes may comprise first and second articulation holes that are spaced apart from the longitudinal axis (i) at different radii and (ii) at a same rotation angle.

A tool for surgically removing tissue of a patient includes a body, a flexible rotating shaft that drives a distal cutting tool and is drivingly coupled to a motor supported by bearings in a flexible tubular sheath to allow the shaft to rotate and be shifted longitudinally. Steering cables in the sheath control the flexion of the sheath. A processor controls the operation to ensure that the cutting tool operates within a predetermined resection area, controlling a combination of motor speed, sheath flexion, and shaft retraction to assist surgery in the resection area.

Certain aspects relate to systems and techniques for surgical robotic arm setup. In one aspect, there is provided a system including a first robotic arm configured to manipulate a medical instrument, a processor, and a memory. The processor may be configured to: determine a minimum stroke length of the first robotic arm that allows advancing of the medical instrument by the first robotic arm to reach a target region from an access point via a path, determine a boundary for an initial pose of the first robotic arm based on the minimum stroke length and a mapping stored in the memory, and during an arm setup phase prior to performing a procedure, provide an indication of the boundary during movement of the first robotic arm.

A surgical instrument assembly may include a processor, a surgical instrument configured to operate on an anatomical structure, and a display coupled to the processor and attached to the surgical instrument. The processor can be configured to determine a position of the medical imaging device, from which the medical imaging device can generate an X-ray image that includes holes of an intramedullary nail shown as circles, for instance perfect circles. In an example, the processor identifies the intramedullary nail, so as to determine an intramedullary nail identity, and determines the position of the medical imaging device based on a portion of at least two locking holes of the intramedullary nail and based on the intramedullary nail identity.

A method for performing percutaneous spinal interbody fusion on a spine of a patient can include inserting without direct visualization a neuro-monitoring dilating probe into the patient, performing neuro-monitoring via the neuro-monitoring dilating probe, advancing the neuro-monitoring dilating probe into a disc space, passing a second dilator over the neuro-monitoring dilating probe, and advancing the second dilator into the disc space. A kit for performing percutaneous spinal interbody fusion can include a neuro-monitoring dilating probe, a second dilator, a tissue removal tool, an access portal comprising an adjustable depth stop, and a discectomy verification device.

A handheld surgical instrument includes a motor that transmits rotational movement to a drill bit of the handheld surgical instrument. The drill bit extends through a depth measurement module with a depth measurement extension, and a cannula, which extends forward from the drill to measure bore depth. The depth measurement extension is moveably mounted to the drill so as to extend into the rotor bore of the motor. As the drill advances forward, the depth measurement extension remains static. As a result of the advancement of the drill, the rotor extends over the proximal end of the depth measurement extension. A controller is configured to determine a breakthrough time and a breakthrough displacement of the drill bit based on displacement data and derived signals. The controller is further configured to determine a proper length of a screw to be used in a fixation surgical procedure based on the displacement data.

Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward apparatuses, systems, and methods that include tissue anchors such as for chordae tendineae repair.

A medical apparatus configured for insertion directly or indirectly into a living body is provided with a coloring part having a marking formed on an outer surface. The marking has a coloring layer of an acrylic resin containing a pigment and a protective layer of a polymethacrylic ester covering the coloring layer directly or indirectly, and an upper surface of the coloring part is recessed from a part of the medical apparatus, such as a covering tube of a sheath of an endoscope treatment instrument, adjacent to the coloring part on the outer surface.