A device and method for cutting or ablating tissue in a human or veterinary patient includes an elongate probe having a distal end, a tissue cutting or ablating apparatus located adjacent within the distal end, and a tissue protector extending from the distal end. The protector generally has a first side and a second side and the tissue cutting or ablating apparatus is located adjacent to the first side thereof. The distal end is structured to be advanceable into tissue or otherwise placed and positioned within the patient's body such that tissue adjacent to the first side of the protector is cut away or ablated by the tissue cutting or ablation apparatus while tissue that is adjacent to the second side of the protector is not substantially damaged by the tissue cutting or ablating apparatus.

A lumen extension member is provided for a catheter having a catheter body and an elongate electrode coupled to the catheter body. The elongate electrode defines an electrode lumen extending therethrough. The lumen extension member is positioned within the electrode lumen and is coupled to the catheter body. The lumen extension member includes a tubular member including a sidewall and at least one opening that extends through the sidewall.

A probe is configured with a flushing port and an evacuation port to establish a flow path to remove blood from a resected tissue. The probe comprises a balloon configured to expand and contact the resected tissue to compress filaments and improve access to the underlying blood vessels for coagulation with an energy source. An endoscope can be used to view the tissue, and the balloon may comprise a transparent material or a viewing port to allow imaging of the bleeding tissue through the balloon. The probe may have a light source to illuminate the tissue with a beam oriented at an oblique angle to the tissue surface, which can decrease interference from blood and may allow more localized coagulation of the blood vessel.

Ablation visualization and monitoring systems and methods are provided. In some embodiments, such methods comprise applying ablation energy to a tissue to form a lesion in the tissue, illuminating the tissue with a light to excite NADH in the tissue, wherein the tissue is illuminated in a radial direction, an axial direction, or both, monitoring a level of NADH fluorescence in the illuminated tissue to determine when the level of NADH fluorescence decreases from a base level in the beginning of the ablating to a predetermined lower level, and stopping ablation of the tissue when the level of NADH fluorescence reaches the predetermined lower level.

A vapor delivery system and method is provided that is adapted for treating prostate tissue. The vapor delivery system includes a vapor delivery needle configured to deliver condensable vapor energy to tissue. In one method, the vapor delivery system is advanced transurethrally into the patient to access the prostate tissue. The vapor delivery system includes a generator unit and an inductive heating system to produce a high quality vapor for delivery to tissue. Methods of use are also provided.

Described embodiments include apparatus that includes a catheter and a tip electrode, at a distal end of the catheter, shaped to define a plurality of microelectrode apertures. The apparatus further includes at least one printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within a lumen of the catheter, and a plurality of microelectrodes coupled to the PCB and at least partly situated within the microelectrode apertures, the PCB being configured to carry signals from the microelectrodes. Other embodiments are also described.

The disclosed technology includes a medical probe including a tubular shaft having an expandable basket assembly coupled to a distal end of the tubular shaft. The basket assembly can have at least one spine extending along a longitudinal axis and configured to bow radially outward from the longitudinal axis when the basket assembly is transitioned from a collapsed form to an expanded form. The basket assembly can include electrode assemblies each attached to the spine. Each electrode assembly includes an electrode and a first and second electrically insulating portion that electrically isolate the electrode from the spine. The electrode, the first electrically insulating portion, and the second electrically insulating portion are interlocked onto the spine such that the plurality of electrode assemblies are prevented from sliding proximally or distally along a length of the spine.

The disclosed technology includes a medical probe comprising a tubular shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, the tubular shaft extending along a longitudinal axis. The medical probe further comprises an expandable basket assembly coupled to the distal end of the tubular shaft. The basket assembly includes a plurality of electrodes with each electrode of the plurality of electrodes having a lumen therethrough. The basket assembly further includes a plurality of spines extending along the longitudinal axis and configured to bow radially outward from the longitudinal axis when the expandable basket assembly is transitioned from a collapsed form to an expanded form. Each spine includes a proximal and a distal end and a strut passing through the lumen of an electrode. The strut includes a mechanical retainer disposed on the strut to prevent the electrode from sliding proximally or distally along a length of the spine.

The disclosed technology includes a medical probe comprising a tubular shaft extending along a longitudinal axis and including a proximal end and a distal end. The medical probe further comprises an expandable basket assembly proximate the distal end of the tubular shaft. The basket assembly comprises a plurality of C-shaped spines and one or more electrodes coupled to each of the spines, each electrode defining a lumen through the electrode so that a spine extends through the lumen of each of the one or more electrodes. The spines converge at a central spine intersection at a distal end of the basket assembly. Each spine comprises a respective end connected to the distal end of the tubular shaft.

The disclosed technology includes a medical probe including a tubular shaft having a proximal end and a distal end. The tubular shaft can extend along a longitudinal axis. The medical probe can include an expandable basket assembly proximate the distal end of the tubular shaft. The expandable basket assembly can include a single spine comprising a resilient material extending generally linearly along the longitudinal axis in a collapsed form and forming a spiral member defining a generally spherical outer periphery in an expanded form. One or more electrodes can be coupled to the single spine. Each electrode can include a lumen offset with respect to a centroid of the electrode so that the single spine extends through the lumen of each of the one or more electrodes.