A method of fluid delivery into a person's skin includes receiving a fluid delivery time indicating the amount of time required for a delivery of the fluid through a microneedle array of the intradermal fluid delivery device into the person's skin. The processor repeatedly turns the air pump on or off, for the fluid to gradually be injected into the person's skin. The method controls the total fluid delivery time and/or the granularity of the fluid delivery. The total fluid delivery time may be set to T, and the time period T may be divided into smaller periods t.sub.1 to t.sub.n, where the fluid may be administered in a period t1, the fluid delivery may then be stopped for a period t2, followed by another fluid delivery period, etc. The periods t1 to tn may be the same or of different lengths.

Described herein is a method and system for gap detection in ablation lines. Microelectrodes are implemented at a distal tip of a catheter to provide localized gap detection along an ablation line. A pacing protocol is used to sequence through each of the microelectrode pairs for a tissue location. If living tissue is present, the pacing signal travels through the living tissue to pulse the heart. An operator will see a capture signal and know that there is a gap in the ablation line. The ablation electrode is then used to ablate the tissue in the gap. Pacing and ablation are therefore performed at the same place without the need to switch between instruments and/or catheters. In an implementation, a force sensor can automate the pacing protocol by determining which microelectrode pair is contacting the tissue. Moreover, signaling between microelectrode pairs can determine contact between the catheter and the tissue.

A system for detecting pressure sores includes an artificial skin configured to be coupled to a patient's skin. The artificial skin includes a substrate and a strain sensor configured to detect deformation of the substrate. A transmitter is configured to transmit signals indicative of the deformation of the substrate. A control system is configured to receive the signals from the transmitter. The control system includes a timer to track a period of time that the substrate is deformed.

A device may include a first portion coupled to a shaft of an insertable medical device. The first portion may extend along a first portion longitudinal axis between a proximal end and a distal end. The first portion may include a protrusion extending radially outwardly of the first portion longitudinal axis. At least a portion of the first portion may be received within a lumen of a second portion. The second portion may be axially moveable along the first portion longitudinal axis relative to the first portion. The second portion may include a longitudinally extending channel. A spring may be located radially between the first portion and the second portion.

An in vivo potential measurement device includes an insulating member and an amplifier. The insulating member has an electrode. The insulating member is inserted into an organ of a living body such that an outer peripheral face of the insulating member contacts with an inner wall face of the organ at a contact site. The electrode senses electric potential at the contact site. The amplifier amplifies the electric potential to obtain output voltage. The amplifier has input capacitance Cin and input resistance Rin that satisfy Cin/Ce>0.1 and 1/(2πfCeRin)>0.1, where Ce represents capacitance of the insulating member at the contact site, and f represents frequency of the electric potential at the contact site on the inner wall face. A contact state between the outer peripheral face and the inner wall face is evaluated using the output voltage.

A medical puncture device system includes a puncture device, a sensor, and an indicator system. The puncture device is configured to create a puncture through patient tissue and into an internal patient cavity to enable a medical tool to be inserted through the puncture into the cavity. The sensor is configured to generate a signal indicative of motion of the puncture device through the tissue into the cavity. The indicator system is operable by a controller to produce human-perceptible feedback in response to the signal generated by the sensor.

The present invention relates to the use of an aza-BODIPY fluorophore compound as a contrast agent in the optical window ranging from 1000 to 1700 nm. The invention also relates to the use, as a contrast agent, of a composition comprising said fluorophore compound and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient and/or a solvent, in a kit comprising an injection system and said fluorophore or said composition, and also to a method for identifying a biological target (such as a healthy or tumour cell, a protein, DNA, RNA, for example).

A system for evaluating a posture of a user operating a computing device can include one or more processors, a sensor suite configured to generate sensor data corresponding to a three-dimensional (3D) orientation of a user's body, and one or more machine-readable, non-transitory storage mediums that include instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: estimating the user's posture based on the sensor data from the sensor suite; receiving application data corresponding to an application that the user is interfacing with on the computing device; and generating a classification of the user's posture based on a comparison of the estimated posture with a plurality of posture types. The performed operations may further include determining a recommendation to modify and improve the user's posture based on the classification and the application data and generating a user-accessible output that corresponds to the recommendation.

In some examples, a medical system includes one or more trialing leads implanted within a patient, one or more sensors configured to determine a value for a sensed parameter indicative of an activity level of the patient, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may be configured to receive the value from the one or more sensors, determine whether the value is outside a threshold range, and—in response to determining that the value is outside the threshold range—generate information indicating a status of the one or more trialing leads. In some examples, processing circuitry may be configured to output an alert warning that patient movement could dislodge, or has already dislodged, the one or more trialing leads.

Coupler assemblies and methods are disclosed as the coupler assemblies may be used with a catheter. An exemplary coupler assembly includes a spherical linkage coupler for a catheter. The coupler comprises a first cylinder portion for connecting to a structure, and a second cylinder portion for connecting to a distal end of a body of the catheter. The coupler also comprises a spherical linkage including at least two link arms. Each of the two link arms are connected on one end to the first cylinder portion and on the other end to the second cylinder portion. The two link arms connect a portion of the structure to the distal end of the catheter and enable the structure to move relative to the distal end of the catheter in response to an external force exerted on the structure.