Methods, devices, and systems employ cryolysis of oropharyngeal adipose tissues to selectively remove fat cells from the tissues causing obstructive sleep apnea. In various embodiments, a chilled liquid—e.g., a liquid or air—is applied to the target tissue at a temperature and for a duration sufficient to cause cryolysis.

A method of therapy for a tumor or other pathology by administering thermotherapy or a combination of thermotherapy and immunotherapy optionally combined with gene delivery. The combination therapy beneficially treats the tumor and prevents tumor recurrence, either locally or at a different site, by boosting the patient's immune response both at the time of original therapy and/or for later therapy. The therapy may further include the administration of a vaccine.

Systems and methods can be employed for trans-tympanic membrane access to the middle ear for delivery of a therapeutic agent, for example, to the round window niche adjacent to the cochlea under direct visualization. The systems and methods can also be used to improve accessibility and visualization for various otological surgical procedures, such as, but not limited to, cholesteatoma removal, tympanic membrane repair and ossicular chain repair.

A system to treat a patient comprises a user interface that allows a physician to view an image of tissue to be treated in order to develop a treatment plan to resect tissue with a predefined removal profile. The image may comprise a plurality of images, and the planned treatment is shown on the images. The treatment probe may comprise an anchor, and the image shown on the screen may have a reference image marker shown on the screen corresponding to the anchor. The planned tissue removal profile can be displayed and scaled to the image of the target tissue of an organ such as the prostate, and the physician can adjust the treatment profile based on the scaled images to provide a treatment profile in three dimensions. The images shown on the display may comprise segmented images of the patient with treatment plan overlaid on the images.

An esophageal ablation system including a positioner, an elongated, flexible shaft extending from the positioner, and a microwave emitter, assembly disposed near the distal end of the shaft. The emitter assembly includes one or more microwave antennas and a balloon for spacing the antennas relative to target tissue. The device may have an inner balloon for deploying the antenna. The systems, devices and methods disclosed are useful for treating Barrett's Esophagus, Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

A surgical instrument includes a shaft and a probe that extends distally from a distal end of the shaft. The probe includes a distal tip configured to puncture a tissue surface to enter a nerve canal of a patient, and an ablation element operable to ablate a nerve located within the nerve canal. The surgical instrument further includes a stop element arranged proximally of the distal tip. The stop element is configured to abut the tissue surface punctured by the distal tip. In some examples, the ablation element may be in the form of an RF electrode operable to ablate the nerve with RF energy. The surgical instrument may further include a navigation sensor operable to generate a signal corresponding to a location of the probe within the patient.

The disclosed invention relates to an improved system and method for treatment of soft tissue, e.g., for treatment of a snoring condition. The system can include a laser source; a hand piece; and a device for directing radiation emitted by the laser source to a treatment area (e.g., an oral treatment area). In some cases, the handpiece can include an optical element (e.g., a lens) mounted within a replaceable cartridge and adapted to modulate a laser beam such that it is non-ablative, prior to its delivery to a treatment region. In various embodiments, the system includes a CO2 laser capable of performing treatment in a more efficient manner than conventional techniques.

An articulating, steerable surgical probe includes an elongated, flexible transfer tube adapted for insertion into a surgical region for endoscopic laryngeal laser surgery. A lumen is defined by an interior of the transfer tube, and a laser fiber extends through the lumen for delivering a therapeutic laser signal to a distal end of the laser fiber. An articulating tip at the distal end of the transfer tube is responsive to articulating forces from a retractable tether for directing the treatment probe in a direction of the articulation, and a linkage to the tether from a control module effects controlled retraction of the tether for articulating the tip towards a surgical target, such that the articulating tip imposing a bend radius based on a signal loss through the laser fiber.

There is provided a process for treatment of rhinitis by diode laser ablation of the posterior nasal nerves. The laser diode delivery device with elongated optic tip is inserted through a patient's nostril and has the length, flexibility and a curvature to reach both above and under the patient's middle turbinate for treatment to both posterior nasal nerves. Skin and tissue temperature is raised to approximately 60-65° C. with the process. Optimal treatment wavelength was found to be approximately 380-450 nanometers with blue lasers.

In an example, a cryotherapy device includes an elongated shaft, and a cryotherapy delivery member coupled to a distal end of the elongated shaft. The cryotherapy delivery member is configured to apply, from a fixed position in a nasal cavity, thermal energy to at least one of a plurality of nerves in the nasal cavity or a plurality of branches of a nerve in the nasal cavity.