Various systems and methods for selectively controlling the activation of an ultrasonic surgical instrument according to the presence of tissue within an end effector are disclosed. A control circuit can be configured to determine whether tissue is present within the end effector and permit activation of the ultrasonic transducer at a power level according to whether tissue is present within the end effector. In some aspects, the control circuit can be configured to automatically activate the ultrasonic transducer in response to tissue being detected within the end effector.

A vibrating tissue separator suitable for use in separating a lenticule established by a femtosecond laser during a smile procedure may include a surgical implement such as a blunt spatula mounted on a handle that carries a haptic actuator for applying vibratory motion to the surgical implement. A damping arrangement may be provided to isolate the surgeons hand from the vibrations which would otherwise be transmitted through the handle. The actuator may apply a linear vibration along the axis of the handle which applies a lifting and chopping motion to the tip of a surgical implement having a bend. The tip may be suitable to the tissue being separated. For example, for SMILE lenticule separation, a blunt or semi-sharp spatula, blunted wire or loop may be used. The direction of vibration at the tip may be changed by rotating the implement in a plane other than the plane of the bend or by rotating an actuator such as an LRA with respect to the handle.

In a surgical method, an elongate probe is inserted into a spinal disc exemplarily into a nucleus pulposus thereof in a direction generally parallel to vertebral end faces adjacent to the spinal disc. During the inserting of the elongate probe, the probe is ultrasonically vibrated. Thereafter, while ultrasonically vibrating the elongate probe, one moves the elongate probe to sever a prismatic portion of the spinal disc including a prismatic section of the nucleus pulposus. The prismatic portion of the spinal disc is removed from a remaining portion of the spinal disc.

An ultrasound probe includes a treatment portion that is formed at a distal end of a probe body that can transmit input vibration energy. The treatment portion can vibrate with a predetermined amplitude to cut a treatment target object. The treatment portion includes: a first striking face that faces in a distal direction along an axial direction of the ultrasound probe; a second striking face that faces in the distal direction at a position on a proximal end side of the first striking face in the axial direction; and a first side surface that connects the first striking face and the second striking face in the axial direction and that has a predetermined length in the axial direction. The first side surface has a length that is equal to or less than an amplitude of vibration of the treatment portion caused by the input vibration energy.

A surgical instrument includes an end effector, a shaft assembly, and an axial location feature. The end effector includes an ultrasonic blade and a clamp arm that can move between an open and closed position. The shaft assembly includes a proximal shaft portion, an acoustic waveguide extending proximally from the ultrasonic blade, a distal shaft portion extending along a distal axis, and an articulation section interposed between the proximal shaft portion and the distal shaft portion. The articulation section can deflect the distal shaft portion and the end effector relative to the longitudinal axis between a non-deflected position and a deflected position. The axial location feature can inhibit the ultrasonic blade from shifting relative to the clamp arm along the distal axis as the end effector is driven between the non-deflected position and the deflected position.

A vibration transmission member includes a main body, a treatment portion that is provided at the distal end of the main body, a first covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property and has a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the main body, which covers a part of a surface of the treatment portion, and a second covering formed of a material that has an electrical insulating property and has a thermal conductivity lower than the thermal conductivity of the main body. The second covering is integrally formed with at least a part of the first covering and varies in thickness in a circumferential direction of the main body. The second covering includes a first area and a second area in the circumferential direction, such that a thickness dimension of the first area is smaller than a thickness dimension of the second area.

A platform device for material excision or removal from vascular structures for either handheld or stereotactic table use may comprise a work element or elements configured to selectively open and close at least one articulable beak or scoopula configured to penetrate and remove intra-vascular materials or obstructions, or follow a central lumen of another device or over a wire in a longitudinal direction. Flush and vacuum tissue transport mechanisms may be incorporated. A single tube or an inner sheath and an outer sheath which may be co-axially disposed relative to a work element may be configured to actuate a beak or beaks or scoopulas and provisions for simultaneous beak or scoopula closing under rotation may be incorporated.

An ultrasonic surgical blade, wherein the blade has a curved shape, and both sides of the blade are provided with cutting surfaces, one surface is a concave surface and the other surface is a convex surface. The thickness of the blade is gradually thinned along a cutting direction from a proximal end to a distal end. The concave surface length is set as L1, the radius of curvature R1; the length of the convex surface L2, the radius of curvature R2; the angle of the bending of the center line of the blade is α; the diameter of the proximal end of the blade is D; the thickness of the most distal end surface of the blade is T. The relationship among them is: L1=L2+L2/1.5*(D−T)*SIN(α) (1), R1=R2+2T (2). The range of each size is adjustable within 10%. An ultrasonic wave guide and an ultrasonic scalpel using this blade have fewer potential resonant frequencies, so the thermal damage to the tissue is small, and the performance is more stable.

Systems, instruments, and methods are described in which an apparatus comprises a housing including a scalpet device. The scalpet device includes a scalpet array that includes scalpets arranged in a pattern. The scalpets are deployable from the housing to generate incised skin pixels at a target site. The housing is positioned and the scalpet array is deployed into tissue at the target site. Incised skin pixels are generated when the target site is a donor site, and skin defects are generated when the target site is a recipient site. The incised skin pixels are harvested.

The present invention relates to an ophthalmic knife and methods of its use for treatment of various conditions including eye diseases, such as glaucoma, using minimally invasive surgical techniques. The device is configured for cutting the tissues within the eye, for example, a trabecular meshwork (TM).