An access device for accessing an intervertebral disc having an outer shield comprising an access shield with a larger diameter (˜16-30 mm) that reaches from the skin down to the facet line, with an inner shield having a second smaller diameter (˜5-12 mm) extending past the access shield and reaches down to the disc level. This combines the benefits of the direct visual microsurgical/mini open approaches and the percutaneous, “ultra-MIS” techniques.

An ablation system comprises: an ablation catheter and a console. The ablation catheter comprises: a shaft including a proximal end, a distal portion and a distal end; an ablation element configured to deliver energy to tissue; and a force maintenance assembly comprising a force maintenance element and configured to control and/or assess contact force between the ablation element and cardiac tissue. The console is configured to operably attach to the ablation catheter and comprises: an energy delivery assembly configured to provide energy to the ablation element. Methods of ablating tissue are also provided.

Provided is a flex-PCB catheter device that is configured to be inserted into a body lumen. The flex-PCB catheter comprises an elongate shaft, an expandable assembly, a flexible printed circuit board (flex-PCB) substrate, a plurality of electronic components and a plurality of communication paths. The elongate shaft comprises a proximal end and a distal end. The expandable assembly is configured to transition from a radially compact state to a radially expanded state. The plurality of electronic elements are coupled to the flex-PCB substrate and are configured to receive and/or transmit an electric signal. The plurality of communication paths are positioned on and/or within the flex-PCB substrate. The communication paths selectively couple the plurality of electronic elements to a plurality of electrical contacts configured to electrically connect to an electronic module configured to process the electrical signal. The flex-PCB substrate can have multiple layers, including one or more metallic layers. Acoustic matching elements and conductive traces can be includes in the flex-PCB substrate.

An intraluminal microneurography probe has a probe body configured to be introduced into an artery near an organ of a body without preventing the flow of blood through the artery. An expandable sense electrode and an expandable stimulation electrode are fixed to the probe body at one end of each electrode such that movement of the other end toward the fixed end causes the sense electrode to expand from the probe body toward a wall of the artery. A ground electrode is configured to couple to the body, and a plurality of electrical connections are operable to electrically couple the electrodes to electrical circuitry. The sense electrode is operable to measure sympathetic nerve activity in response to excitation of the stimulation electrode. A radio frequency ablation element is located between the expandable sense electrode and expandable stimulation electrode, and is operable to ablate nerves proximate to the artery.

Devices and methods for treating rhinitis are provided. An integrated therapy and imaging device is provided for single handheld use. The device may have a hollow elongated cannula, a therapeutic element coupled to a distal portion of the cannula, an imaging assembly coupled to the cannula to provide visualization of the therapeutic element, and an articulating region operably coupled to the imaging assembly to articulate the imaging assembly. The imaging assembly may be articulated so as to translate vertically, laterally, axially, and/or rotationally.

An end effector assembly includes first and second jaw members movable between an open and closed position to grasp tissue therebetween. First and second proximal flanges extending proximally from the second jaw member and defining a space therebetween, a proximal flange extend proximally from a proximal portion of the first jaw member and define a cam slot. A cam driver operably is coupled to the proximal flange of the first jaw member to define a space between the cam driver and the proximal flange of the first jaw member. A cam bar is disposed within the space defined between the cam driver and the proximal flange of the first jaw member. The cam bar includes a cam pin configured to move within a cam slot of the cam driver to move the first jaw member relative to the second jaw member between the open position and the closed position.

An electrosurgical apparatus for treating fluid-filled biological growths by replacing the fluid within the growth with a substance that assists in delivering treatment energy. The treatment energy may be microwave energy or may be thermal energy derived from microwave energy. The apparatus comprises an instrument having a radiating tip portion, and a fluid delivery mechanism for transporting fluid to and from a treatment zone located around the radiating tip portion. The fluid delivery mechanism comprises a rigid insertion element arranged to extend into the treatment zone, whereby fluid can be aspirated from the treatment zone, and a substance injected into the treatment zone to replace the aspirated fluid. The injected substance has dielectric properties selected to facilitate uniform delivery of treatment energy to biological tissue in the treatment zone.

An end effector assembly for use with a forceps includes a pair of jaw members, a knife assembly, and one or more cam assemblies. One or more of the jaw members are moveable relative to the other about a pivot between open and closed positions. One or more of the jaw members include a knife channel. The pivot includes first and second sections defining a passage therebetween. The knife assembly includes a knife blade and an actuation shaft. The knife blade is disposed distally relative to the pivot. The actuation shaft is configured for slidable translation through the passage to allow selective advancement of the knife blade through the knife channel. The one or more cam assemblies are operably coupled to the one or more moveable jaw members and are actuatable to move the one or more jaw members between the open and closed positions for grasping tissue therebetween.

Transducer-based systems and methods may be configured to display a graphical representation of a transducer-based device, the graphical representation including graphical elements corresponding to transducers of the transducer-based device, and also including between graphical elements respectively associated with a set of the transducers and respectively associated with a region of space between the transducers of the transducer-based device. Selection of graphical elements and/or between graphical elements can cause activation of the set of transducers associated with the selected elements. Transducer activation characteristics, such as initiation time, activation duration, activation sequence, and energy delivery characteristics, can vary based on numerous factors. Visual characteristics of graphical elements and between graphical elements can change based on an activation-status of the corresponding transducers. Activation requests for a set of transducers can be denied if it is determined that a transducer in the set of transducers is unacceptable for activation.

A structure of a surgical instrument configured for thermally cutting tissue. The structure includes a frame and a thermal cutting element. The frame includes a proximal flange portion and a distal body portion. The distal body portion includes a proximal section extending from the proximal flange portion, a distal section, and a center section extending between the proximal and distal sections. The distal body portion includes first and second distal body portion segments. The distal body portion segments are disposed a first distance apart from one another at the proximal section, a second distance apart from one another at the distal section, and a third distance apart from one another at the center section. The third distance is greater than the first and second distances. The thermal cutting element is disposed within the distal body portion of the frame and extends from the proximal section, through the center section, to the distal section.