Apparatus for the treatment of a target tissue with a laser beam in which the target tissue is immersed in a liquid medium within a body lumen. The laser device is configured to provide one or more laser pulses which are configured by a controller to have an energy sufficient to form one or more vapor bubbles in the liquid medium at the distal delivery end of the fiber. The one or more pulses are configured by the controller to: first, cause a vapor bubble to be formed distally of the distal end portion of the endoscope and around the distal delivery end of the optical fiber; second, cause a second bubble to be formed distally of the first bubble; and, third, inflate the second bubble as the first bubble has begun to collapse to expand an amount sufficient to displace a substantial portion of the liquid medium from the space between the distal delivery end of the fiber and the target tissue.

Surgical instruments are disclosed that are couplable to or have an end effector or a disposable loading unit with an end effector, and at least one micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device operatively connected to the surgical instrument for at least one of sensing a condition, measuring a parameter and controlling the condition and/or parameter.

A medical device may include an ablation device configured to deliver ablation energy to a treatment site. The medical device may further include a probe device configured to deliver excitation radiation to the treatment site. Further the medical device may include a radiation-receiving device configured to receive photoluminescence radiation emitted from the treatment site in response to the treatment site being illuminated by the excitation radiation and to generate a detection signal in response to the received photoluminescence radiation. Additionally, the excitation radiation may be different from the ablation energy.

An end effector for use with a surgical stapling instrument is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw, a second jaw movable relative to the first jaw to grasp tissue therebetween, and a staple cartridge. The staple cartridge comprises staples deployable into the tissue. The end effector further comprises a magnetic sensor configured to measure a parameter indicative of an identifying characteristic of the staple cartridge, an impedance sensor configured to measure a parameter indicative of an impedance of the tissue, and a processing unit in communication with the impedance sensor. The processing unit is configured to determine a property of the tissue based on an output of the impedance sensor.

Described herein are systems, devices and methods that enable dynamic modification of the physicochemical properties of a hydrogel during its in vivo formation and delivery by a catheter. In some example embodiments, an extended endoluminal hydrogel delivery device is employed for delivering a hydrogel within a given body cavity, such as within the lumen of a blood vessel. In some example embodiments, a hydrogel precursor, as a non-viscous liquid, is injected through an intravascular catheter and crosslinking of the hydrogel precursor is initiated within a distal region of the catheter. The crosslinking process is controlled, by a control means associated with a distal region of the catheter, to control or modify one or more properties of the hydrogel. The properties may be controlled such that a hydrogel is suitable to embolize the specific target or deliver drugs or other materials beneficial to the site.

A staple cartridge assembly for use with a surgical stapler and surgical stapling systems are disclosed. The staple cartridge comprises a cartridge body comprising a proximal end. A plurality of staples. A plurality of electrical contacts positioned at the proximal end of the cartridge body and electrically coupleable to the electrical connector upon the installation of the replaceable staple cartridge assembly in the end effector along a distal-to-proximal installation motion and electrically decoupleable from the electrical connector upon removal of the replaceable staple cartridge assembly from the end effector along a proximal-to-distal removal motion.

An apparatus includes an intracardiac tissue engagement sensor configured to sense engagement with a valve leaflet of a heart valve. The intracardiac tissue engagement sensor includes a first jaw and a second jaw configured for movement relative to one another, where the first jaw and the second jaw are configured to receive a valve leaflet in a space between the first jaw and the second jaw. The intracardiac tissue engagement sensor also includes an emitter coupled to the first jaw, where the emitter is configured to emit energy in an unmodified state, and a receiver coupled to the second jaw. The receiver is configured to receive the energy in a modified state, or not receive the energy, based on interaction with the valve leaflet that is positioned between the emitter and the receiver.

A staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapler and surgical stapling systems are disclosed. The staple cartridge comprises a cartridge body having a tissue-contacting surface. One or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) are positioned at the edges of the tissue-contacting surface. A plurality of staple drivers is located within the cartridge body each supporting a staple.

Described herein are systems and methods for performing optical signal analysis for tissue ablation using a catheter having viewports. A method includes transmitting illumination toward a target tissue via the viewport. The method also includes receiving, at a first viewport, a first scattered illumination from the target tissue and generating a first measurement signal based on the first scattered illumination. The method also includes receiving, at the first viewport, a second scattered illumination from the target tissue after the receiving of the first scattered illumination and generating a second measurement signal based on the second scattered illumination. The method also includes determining whether the viewport is in contact with the target tissue based on a first difference among the plurality of optical measurements meeting or crossing a first threshold value, wherein the first difference comprises a difference between the first and second measurement signals.

The present disclosure provides a method and system for estimating the temperature of a working environment. Treatments that use laser and optical fiber technology may cause an undesirable increase in the temperature of a working environment. To that end, a laser source to generate light beams sensitive to a change in temperature can be generated and the temperature determined based on a distance between a distal end of the optical fiber and a target and the generated temperature of the sensitive light beam.