A tissue treatment catheter and system include a catheter shaft sized and shaped for delivery through a radial artery to a blood vessel of a patient. The catheter shaft has several lumens, including a guidewire lumen, a cable lumen, and one or more fluid lumens. A stiffening web extends from the guidewire lumen and is thicker than an outer wall of the catheter shaft. The tissue treatment catheter and system include an ultrasound transducer, a balloon surrounding the ultrasound transducer, and a single electrical cable electrically connected to the ultrasound transducer to deliver sufficient electrical energy during sonication to the transducer such that the transducer thermally induces modulation of neural fibers surrounding the blood vessel sufficient to improve a measurable physiological parameter corresponding to a diagnosed condition of the patient. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

A method of spectrometric analysis comprises obtaining one or more sample spectra for an aerosol, smoke or vapour sample. The one or more sample spectra are subjected to pre-processing and then multivariate and/or library based analysis so as to classify the aerosol, smoke or vapour sample. The results of the analysis are used for various surgical or non-surgical applications.

An ablation device includes a first jaw, a second jaw including an ablation unit including a protrusion for ablating a tissue and being rotatable with respect to the first jaw under the first jaw, and a signal unit configured to provide a signal to the tissue and receive a reflected signal and disposed on the second jaw, in which the signal unit moves in a longitudinal direction of the ablation unit, the first jaw does not overlap the signal unit in a vertical direction, and the second jaw overlaps the signal unit in the vertical direction.

A system includes, first and second circuitries and one or more devices. The first circuitry is configured to generate a stress signal for reducing an impedance of tissue of an organ. The second circuitry is configured to generate an irreversible electroporation (IRE) signal for producing a lesion in the tissue. The one or more devices are configured to apply to the tissue, the stress signal at a first time interval, and the IRE signal at a second time interval, subsequent to the first time interval.

A surgical apparatus comprises a body assembly, an ultrasonic transducer, a shaft assembly, a motor, and a locking feature. The ultrasonic transducer is operable to convert electrical power into ultrasonic vibrations. The shaft assembly comprises a waveguide operable to transmit ultrasonic vibrations. The motor is operable to rotate the ultrasonic transducer to thereby selectively couple the ultrasonic transducer with the waveguide. The locking feature is configured to selectively prevent rotation of at least a portion of the shaft assembly relative to the body assembly. The locking feature and the motor may be activated automatically in response to an operator positioning a proximal portion of the shaft assembly in a distal portion of the body assembly. The surgical apparatus may include a feature configured to alert a user when the waveguide has been adequately secured to the ultrasonic transducer.

Ultrasonic surgical instruments including a handle housing, a switch frame, and a switch assembly are disclosed. The switch assembly may include a first switch arrangement movably supported on a distal portion of the handle housing and selectively movable relative to a first switch contact supported by the switch frame. The switch assembly may further include a second switch arrangement including a right switch button movably supported on a right side of the handle housing and selectively movable relative to a right switch contact supported by the switch frame, and a left switch button movably supported on a left side of the handle housing and selectively movable relative to a left switch contact supported by the switch frame. The first and second switch arrangements may be configured to be selectively actuatable by a single hand supporting the handle housing.

The present invention relates to comprehensive systems, devices and methods for delivering energy to tissue for a wide variety of applications, including medical procedures (e.g., tissue ablation, resection, cautery, vascular thrombosis, treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and dysrhythmias, electrosurgery, tissue harvest, etc.). In certain embodiments, systems, devices, and methods are provided for delivering energy to difficult to access tissue regions (e.g. peripheral lung tissues), and/or reducing the amount of undesired heat given off during energy delivery.

Disclosed are methods of obtaining zero vergence ultrasound waves for providing sonodynamic therapy with ultrasound waves. The method includes coupling a sonodynamic therapy device with an array of flat piezoelectric transducers to a skin surface. A controller is configured to generate an electrical drive signal at a frequency, modulate the drive signal, and drive the transducer with the modulated drive signal at the frequency to produce a zero vergence ultrasound wave to produce an average acoustic intensity sufficient to activate a sonosensitizer in a treatment region without damaging healthy cells in the treatment region.

A method of analysis using mass spectrometry and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed. The method comprises: using a first device to generate smoke, aerosol or vapour from a target comprising or consisting of a microbial population; mass analysing and/or ion mobility analysing said smoke, aerosol or vapour, or ions derived therefrom, in order to obtain spectrometric data; and analysing said spectrometric data in order to analyse said microbial population.

An ultrasonic surgical system includes an ultrasonic generator configured to provide an electrical drive signal, an ultrasonic transducer configured to receive the electrical drive signal and to produce ultrasonic mechanical motion in response thereto, and a blade coupled to the ultrasonic transducer and configured to receive the ultrasonic mechanical motion from the ultrasonic transducer for treating tissue in contact therewith. The ultrasonic transducer defines a saturation point and the ultrasonic generator is configured to drive the ultrasonic transducer substantially at the saturation point such that the ultrasonic mechanical motion produced by the ultrasonic transducer is substantially equal to a maximum ultrasonic mechanical motion of the ultrasonic transducer.