A robotic system is configured to evaluate an identified phase of a medical procedure. The robotic system includes a video capture device; a robotic manipulator; one or more sensors; an input device; a data store; and control circuitry. The control circuitry is configured to: determine a first status of the robotic manipulator based on sensor data from the one or more sensors; identify a first input from the input device for initiating a first action of the robotic manipulator; perform a first analysis of a video of a patient site captured by the video capture device; identify a first phase of the medical procedure based at least in part on the first status of the robotic manipulator, the first input, and the first analysis of the video; and generate an evaluation of the first phase of the medical procedure based on one or more metrics associated with the first phase.

A suction or other component of an endoscope system may be cycled on and off or otherwise controlled without requiring direct user input, such as automatically or semi-automatically using a current or historical state of a laser generator, a blurriness or other information from an image of the working area, a count of fragments of a calculi stone, an intraoperative pressure, an intraoperative temperature, or one or more other characteristics of the laser generator or the targeted calculi stone.

A laser can be controlled based on different tissue compositions, such as in real time. After a first time period, a first composition of a in vivo target site can be identified. Based on the first composition, a plurality of lasers can be controlled to emit light at a first wavelength where controlling includes activating a first combination of the plurality of lasers. After a second time period, a second composition of the in vivo target site different from the first composition can be identified. Based on the second composition, a plurality of lasers can be controlled to emit light at a second wavelength, such as can include activating a second combination of the plurality of lasers. The first combination of the plurality of lasers can be different from the second combination of the plurality of lasers.

A method for determining a characteristic of material at a target is provided. A target is illuminated with a pulsed light source. A fluorescence signal from the target when the pulsed light source is an “off” state is then sensed. Based on analysis of the fluorescence signal, a characteristic of material at the target is identified. A device can then be controlled based on the identified characteristic of the material at the target.

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 treating a tissue region (e.g., a tumor) through application of energy.

Disclosed herein is a system for ablating and characterizing tissue. The system comprises an ablation element configured to emit ablative energy toward a tissue of interest, an imaging apparatus configured to emit energy and collect imaging data including reflected signals from the tissue of interest, and a characterization application. The characterization application comprises a signal analyzer for analyzing the imaging data and determining one or more signal properties from the reflected signals, and a correlation processor configured to associate the one or more signal properties to pre-determined tissue signal properties of different tissue components through a pattern recognition technique. The pre-determined tissue signal properties are embodied in a database, and the correlation processor is configured to identify a tissue component and an ablation level of the tissue of interest based on the pattern recognition technique.

Systems and methods for performing and assessing neuromodulation therapy are disclosed herein. One method for assessing the efficacy of neuromodulation therapy includes positioning a neuromodulation catheter at a target site within a renal blood vessel of a human patient and delivering neuromodulation energy at the target site with the neuromodulation catheter. The method can further include obtaining a measurement related to a blood flow rate through the renal blood vessel via the neuromodulation catheter. The measurement can be compared to a baseline measurement related to the blood flow rate through the renal blood vessel to assess the efficacy of the neuromodulation therapy. In some embodiments, the baseline and post-neuromodulation measurements are obtained by injecting an indicator fluid into the renal blood vessel upstream of the target site and detecting a transient change in vessel impedance caused by the indicator fluid.

A catheter adapted for deflection in a narrow tubular region and/or sharp turn, has an elongated body, a deflection section having a support member adapted for heat activation to assume a trained configuration, and a lead wire configured to deliver a current to the support member for heat activation. The support member is constructed of a shaped memory alloy, for example, nitinol, and the lead wire is adapted to directly heat the support member. Moreover, the catheter may include a thermally insulating layer covering at least a portion of the support member. The trained configuration of the support member extends in a single dimension, in two dimensions or in three dimensions.

An effortless means for deflating a balloon of a catheter. A catheter system includes a catheter, a circuit for making fluid flow through the catheter, and a drive device having a bidirectionally drivable pump and a controller. The catheter includes an inflatable balloon, and a first lumen and a second lumen that allow the fluid to flow through the balloon. The controller drives the pump in a first direction to make the fluid flow from a buffer tank via a first flow path into the first lumen and to make the fluid flow out from the second lumen via a second flow path to the buffer tank, and drives the pump in a second direction opposite to the first direction to make the fluid flow from the first lumen via the first flow path into the buffer tank.

An electrosurgical system can include an electrosurgical generator, a feedback circuit or controller, and an electrosurgical tool. The feedback circuit can provide an electrosurgery endpoint by determining the phase end point of a tissue to be treated. The electrosurgical system can include more than one electrosurgical tool for different electrosurgical operations and can include a variety of user interface features and audio/visual performance indicators. The electrosurgical system can also power conventional bipolar electrosurgical tools and direct current surgical appliances.