An active implantable medical device (AIMD) has an alumina housing supporting at least two electrodes. A printed circuit board (PCB) assembly resides inside the housing. Two sintered platinum-containing pathways extend through the housing thickness from the electrodes supported on the housing body fluid side surface to a housing device side surface. A device side end of each of the two platinum-containing pathways is in electrical continuity with an electrical contact supported on the PCB to energize the electrodes for providing stimulation therapy to a patient or for sensing biological signals from the patient.

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 system and method for compensation of angular distortions in a system utilizing light emitters and light sensors disposed on non-parallel jaws may include determining a first point at a first side of a region of interest and a second point at a second side of the region of interest, determining a linear curve including the first and second points, and utilizing the linear curve to remove the angular distortion from the region of interest between the first and second points. A system and method for compensation of angular distortions may alternatively include modeling a non-pulsatile illumination pattern according to the intensities of individual emitters, comparing the pattern according to the model against a non-pulsatile illumination pattern detected using the light sensors, and varying the intensities of the individual emitters based on the comparison until angular distortion has been removed.

The application describes embodiments including, e.g., a measurement device comprising: a casing, a first magnet arranged within the casing such that it is rotatable out of an equilibrium orientation responsive to an external magnetic torque acting on the first magnet, a second magnet to provide a restoring torque to force the first magnet back into the equilibrium orientation responsive to an external magnetic torque rotating the first magnet out of the equilibrium orientation, allowing for a rotational oscillation of the first magnet, which is excited by the external magnetic torque, with a resonant frequency, and a temperature sensitive magnetic material to modify the resonant frequency.

The present technology relates to intracardiac sensors and associated systems and methods. In some embodiments, the present technology includes a device for monitoring pressure within a patient's heart. The device can include an implantable capacitor having a capacitance value that is variable based on the pressure within the patient's heart and a sensing circuit configured to measure the capacitance value. The device can also include an implantable inductor and a power circuit configured to wirelessly receive power from an external source via the inductor. When the device is in a first configuration, the capacitor can be electrically coupled to the sensing circuit and the inductor can be electrically coupled to the power circuit. When the device is in a second configuration, the capacitor can be electrically coupled to the inductor to form a resonant circuit.

A device comprises a cannula having a first end, a second end, and a channel between the first end and the second end; an imaging probe couplable to the first end of the cannula, where the imaging probe includes: a transducer, and a reflective surface; and a biopsy device coupled to the cannula, where the biopsy device is configured to collect a tissue sample from an organ of a patient.

An intracortical-detection device including: at least one electrode that contacts a group of neurons; a first body, forming a surface that contacts a portion of a cerebral region; a first motor that moves the electrode with respect to the first body; a second motor; and a second body, operatively connected to the second motor, the first and second bodies being able to slide with respect to one another in a first direction, under the action of the second motor. The detection device moreover includes a sensor generating an electrical signal indicating a pressure exerted by the portion of cerebral region on the surface.

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to pressure sensing. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, an external energy field is applied to a resonant circuit having inductive conductors separated by a compressible dielectric, for wirelessly detecting pressure. Specifically, the resonant circuit is responsive to the energy field and applied pressures by operating in respective states exhibiting different resonant frequencies that are based upon pressure-related compression of the compressible dielectric. These resonant frequencies, or a change in the resonant frequencies, can be used as an indication of the pressure.

A motion capture system includes a motion sensor having a flexible body and a fiber bragg gratings (FBG) sensor inserted into the body, a fixture configured to fix the motion sensor to a human body of a user, a light source configured to irradiate light to the motion sensor, and a measurer configured to analyze a reflected light output from the motion sensor, wherein the FBG sensor includes an optical fiber extending along a longitudinal direction of the body and a sensing unit formed in a partial region of the optical fiber and having a plurality of gratings, and wherein a change of a wavelength spectrum of the reflected light, caused by the change of an interval of the gratings due to a motion of the user, is detected to measure a motion state of the user.

The invention provides improved devices and apparatuses and related methods for sensing differences in pressure or other parameters in the environment of the body of a patient during passage of the device through one or more tissues. In one aspect, the devices and apparatuses of the invention are configured to sense differences in the environment of the body of the patient as the device passes through tissue adjacent to the epidural space to tissue of the epidural space. In one aspect, a dual cannula device comprising one or more sensors connected to a signaling component is provided for sensing passage into of the device into the epidural space and positioning therein. Methods of using same are also provided.