An ultrasonic catheter assembly includes a sheath having a sheath lumen. A core wire is at least partially disposed within the sheath lumen. The core wire has a proximal portion and a distal portion. The proximal portion of the core wire is configured to be coupled to an ultrasound-producing mechanism. A working length of the distal portion of the core wire extends distally from the sheath. The working length is configured for longitudinal displacement, transverse displacement, or a combination of longitudinal and transverse displacement, in accordance with a plurality of output modes for vibrational energy supplied to the core wire proximal portion by the ultrasound-producing mechanism.

Methods and systems for tuning lithotripsy frequency to target size are disclosed. In one embodiment, a lithotripsy system for comminuting a stone in a body includes: a burst wave lithotripsy (BWL) therapy transducer configured to transmit smooth ultrasound waves within a burst of ultrasound waves toward the stone; and a controller configured to determine operating frequency of the ultrasound waves of the therapy transducer. The operating frequency of the ultrasound waves is determined as:

[00001]$f=\mathrm{Const}.\frac{c}{d}$ where: d is a diameter of the stone, f is the frequency of the ultrasound waves, c is a wave speed in the stone, and Const. is a predetermined constant.

A system and method for selectively treating aberrant cells such as cancer cells through administration of a train of electrical pulses is described. The pulse length and delay between successive pulses is optimized to produce effects on intracellular membrane potentials. Therapies based on the system and method produce two treatment zones: an ablation zone surrounding the electrodes within which aberrant cells are non-selectively killed and a selective treatment zone surrounding the ablation zone within which target cells are selectively killed through effects on intracellular membrane potentials. As a result, infiltrating tumor cells within a tumor margin can be effectively treated while sparing healthy tissue. The system and method are useful for treating various cancers in which solid tumors form and have a chance of recurrence from microscopic disease surrounding the tumor.

Retrieval of material from vessel lumens can be improved by electrically enhancing attachment of the material to the thrombectomy system. The system can include a catheter having a distal portion configured to be positioned adjacent to a thrombus in a blood vessel, an electrode disposed at the distal portion of the catheter, and an interventional element configured to be delivered through a lumen of the catheter. The electrode and the interventional element are each configured to be electrically coupled to an extracorporeal power supply.

Described here are devices and methods for forming shock waves. The devices may comprise an axially extending elongate member. A first electrode pair may comprise a first electrode and a second electrode. The first electrode pair may be provided on the elongate member and positioned within a conductive fluid. A controller may be coupled to the first electrode pair. The controller may be configured to deliver a series of individual pulses to the first electrode pair, where each pulse creates a shock wave. The controller may cause current to flow through the electrode pair in a first direction for some of the pulses in the series and in a second direction opposite the first direction for the remaining pulses in the series.

Deep Tissue Low Intensity Laser Therapy or Treatment (DT-LILT) as described here is a novel methodology through which selective destruction of nociceptive (pain) nerves can be brought upon by a medical laser delivery system using the phenomenon of absorption and cell resonance. Using this method nerve cells that transmit pain can be selectively destroyed leaving the surrounding tissues intact as no heat is generated. The delivery system incorporates a fine needle through which a 703 nm (range 690 to 710) pulsed wave low intensity laser is delivered deep into the body, directly to the area of pain causing selective destruction of pain nerves. Laser devices based on this methodology should be used only by the physician or equivalent professional community since diagnosing and defining the area of pain is critical to providing successful pain relief.

A medical device includes a heating element and at least one multifunctional wire coupled to the heating element. The multifunctional wire provides current for both heating the heating element and for determining the temperature of the medical device as a thermocouple. The heating element is further coupled to one or more additional wires for completing both a heating circuit and a thermocouple circuit in combination with the multifunctional wire. In one form, the multifunctional wire and a thermocouple return wire is coupled to a first end of the heating element and heating return wire is coupled to a second end of the heating element. In another form, a first multifunctional wire is coupled to the first end of the heating element, and a second multifunctional wire is coupled to the second end of the heating element.

An apparatus for microdisruption of cataracts in lens tissue by impulsive heat deposition comprising: a source of pulsed laser radiation, a user input device, a control circuit, and an optical waveguide configured to transmit the pulsed laser radiation. The light intensity which exits the optical waveguide has a wavelength selected to match an absorption peak of at least one component of the lens tissue, a pulse duration time shorter than a time required for thermal diffusion out of the laser irradiation volume and shorter than a time required for a thermally driven expansion of the laser irradiated volume, and a pulse energy resulting in a peak intensity of each laser pulse below a threshold for ionization-driven ablation to occur.

An apparatus is configured to provide hemostasis with tissue removal in order to inhibit one or more of blood loss or tissue drainage. In many embodiments, a nozzle releases a liquid jet in a liquid medium in order to provide cavitation and a plurality of shedding pulses. The liquid jet, its cavitation and the plurality of shedding pulses can affect vascular tissue in order to promote clotting in order to inhibit bleeding. In many embodiments, vessels of the vascular tissue are affected at a distance from a region where cavitation of the water jet contacts the tissue. In many embodiments, the cavitation and plurality of shedding pules are related to a pulsatile shear wave propagating along the blood vessel that is related to clot promoting changes of the blood vessel.

A fluid injection device includes a fluid supply unit that accommodates and supplies fluid, a fluid injection unit that injects fluid supplied from the fluid supply unit, and a driving waveform generating device which is equipped with at least one adjusting device, a one-input multiple-control parameter changing unit that simultaneously changes plural control parameters for determining a fluid injection condition of the fluid injection unit on the basis of a signal from the at least one adjusting device, and a driving waveform generator that generates and outputs a driving waveform of the fluid injection unit on the basis of the control parameters set by the one-input multiple-control parameter changing unit.