An apparatus includes a cylindraceous sleeve body, a navigation sensor, and an interface feature. The cylindraceous sleeve body includes an open proximal end, an open distal end, and a lumen extending from the open proximal end to the open distal end. The lumen is sized and configured to receive a shaft of a medical instrument. The navigation sensor is positioned at the open distal end of the cylindraceous sleeve body. The interface feature is configured to couple the navigation sensor with an image guidance system. The navigation sensor is configured to cooperate with an image guidance system to provide feedback indicating a position of the navigation sensor in three-dimensional space.

A catheter assembly includes an outer shaft having an outer shaft body forming an outer shaft bore that receives an inner shaft. The outer shaft has a wire transition section. The catheter assembly includes an exit path connector coupled to the outer shaft body at the wire transition section. The exit path connector has a rigid body section separate and discrete from the outer shaft body and coupled to the outer shaft body. The body section defines an exit path connector bore that receives the inner shaft. The body section has a side exit port at a side of the body section being open to the exit path connector bore. The catheter assembly includes a catheter wire passing through the side exit port from an interior to an exterior of the cable exit port.

Apparatuses and methods are disclosed for the perforation of a communication between the aorta and left atrium. The method includes introducing the apparatus, positioning the apparatus at a location along the aorta, and energizing the apparatus to create a perforation. For example, one method may include: introducing a flexible wire into the left atrium, advancing a dilator along the flexible wire to position the flexible wire adjacent a selected location along the aorta and energizing the flexible wire to create a perforation from the left atrium into the aorta.

A catheter assembly including a multi-luminal catheter, a primary stylet, and a secondary stylet. The primary stylet and the secondary stylet are each inserted into separate lumens extending along the catheter tube. The primary stylet includes a magnetic region to enable magnetic tracking. The secondary stylet is configured to prevent buckling of the magnetic region during insertion. The secondary stylet includes a proximal section having a proximal column strength and a distal section having a distal column strength greater than the proximal column strength. During use, an insertion force exceeding an insertion force limit causes the proximal section to buckle to prevent buckling of the distal section. The primary stylet may also include electrical sensors and/or an optical fiber configured for shape sensing.

An ablation catheter system configured with a compact force sensor at a distal end for detection of contact forces exerted on an end effector. The force sensor includes fiber optics operatively coupled with reflecting members on a structural member. In one embodiment, the optical fibers and reflecting members cooperate with the deformable structure to provide a variable gap interferometer for sensing deformation of the structural member due to contact force. In another embodiment, a change in the intensity of the reflected light is detected to measure the deformation. The measured deformations are then used to compute a contact force vector. In some embodiments, the force sensor is configured to passively compensate for temperature changes that otherwise lead to erroneous force indications. In other embodiments, the system actively compensates for errant force indications caused by temperature changes by measuring certain local temperatures of the structural member.

A method and system for determining a target location for a medical device having complex geometry relative to an anatomical feature, and for navigating and positioning the medical device at the target location. The system may include a medical device including a treatment element having a centroid, one or more navigation electrodes, and a longitudinal axis and a navigation system in communication with the one or more navigation electrodes, the navigation system including a processing unit. The processing unit may be programmed to define a plane that approximates a surface of the anatomical feature, define a centroid of the anatomical feature, define a vector that is normal to the plane and extends away from the centroid of the anatomical feature, and determine a target location for the treatment element of the medical device based on the vector to assist the user in placing the device for treatment.

An elongate medical device having an axis comprises an inner liner, a jacket radially outward of the liner, a braid comprising metal embedded in the jacket, a sensor, and at least one wire electrically connected to said sensor. The at least one wire is one of: embedded in the jacket and optionally disposed helically around the braid; extending longitudinally within a tube which extends generally parallel to the device axis and wherein the tube is embedded in the jacket; and disposed within a lumen, wherein the lumen extends longitudinally within the jacket.

The present disclosure provides a guide wire system comprising (a) a guide wire having a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the guide wire comprises a superelastic material, (b) a first connector coupled to the proximal end of the guide wire, (c) a second connector coupled to the guide wire between the distal end and the proximal end, (d) an electromagnetic sensor coupled to the distal end of the guide wire, and (e) a polymeric tube surrounding the guide wire and at least a portion of the electromagnetic sensor.

A method and system of correcting alignment of catheter relative to a target including receiving signals from an inertial measurement unit located at a distal end of a catheter, determining movement of the distal end of the catheter caused by physiological forces, receiving images depicting the distal end of the catheter and the target, identifying the distal end of the catheter and the target in the images, determining an orientation of the distal end of the catheter relative to the target and articulating the distal tip of the catheter in response to the detected movement to achieve and maintain an orientation towards the target such that a tool extended from an opening at the distal end of the catheter would intersect the target.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM) storing computer program code executed by a computer processor that executes a process of acquiring a medical image generated based on a signal detected by a catheter inserted to a lumen organ, estimating a position of an object at least included in the acquired medical image by inputting the medical image to a first learning model for estimating a position of an object included in the medical image, extracting from the medical image an image portion by using the estimated position of the object as a reference, and recognizing the object included in the extracted image portion by inputting the image portion to a second learning model for recognizing an object included in the image portion.