This document relates to devices and methods for the treatment of heart conditions. For example, this document provides devices and methods for treating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, including diastolic heart failure, by performing a pericardial modification procedure. The methods for treating diastolic heart failure of a patient include: creating an opening in a parietal layer, and only in the parietal layer, of a pericardial tissue of the patient. The creation of this opening reduces pressure exerted by the pericardial tissue on a heart of the patient.

A surgical apparatus comprises a body, an ultrasonic transducer, a shaft, an acoustic waveguide, an articulation section, an end effector, and an articulation drive assembly. The ultrasonic transducer is operable to convert electrical power into ultrasonic vibrations. The shaft couples the end effector and the body together. The acoustic waveguide is coupled with the transducer. The articulation section includes a collar that is located distal to a nodal portion of the waveguide and is operable to deflect the end effector away from the longitudinal axis. The end effector comprises an ultrasonic blade in acoustic communication with the ultrasonic transducer. The articulation drive assembly is operable to drive articulation of the articulation section. The articulation drive assembly comprises at least one translating articulation driver coupled with the collar. The ultrasonic blade is operable to deliver ultrasonic vibrations to tissue even when the articulation section is in an articulated state.

Medical devices for creating or expanding a cavity within bone of a patient are disclosed. In some circumstances, a medical device, such as an osteotome is designed to facilitate simultaneous advancement and articulation of a distal portion of the osteotome. Simultaneous advancement and articulation of the distal portion may reduce one or more forces on the distal portion of the osteotome relative to other methods in which advancement and articulation are separated in time, thereby decreasing the risk of breakage or other damage to the osteotome.

The present disclosure relates to a device configured to move within a body cavity, such as the gastrointestinal tract, in particular, the small intestine, and methods of using the device. The presently disclosed device may be self-driving, e.g., through the use of one or more traction-motion element, and the articulation of a tip of the device may be controlled and fine tuned. The presently disclosed device may be used in a variety of body cavities such as a vascular body lumen, a digestive body lumen, a respiratory body lumen, or a urinary body lumen, for example, for endoscopic purposes, for delivering a substance into the body cavity, for removing a substance or tissue from the body cavity, for capturing an image of the body cavity, and/or for performing an operation of a tissue or organ using the device.

Endoscope apparatus includes: a tube unit coupled to a rotary shaft to which a rotational force is transmitted so as to be rotatable, the tube unit being formed to extend in one direction; steering unit having one end installed at one end of the tube unit to rotate with respect to the tube unit so that a direction thereof facing forward is adjusted, the steering unit rotating together with the tube unit by the rotational force transmitted from the tube unit; an end effector installed inside the steering unit to rotate together with the steering unit due to the rotation of the steering unit, the end effector being disposed to face forward; and shaft-fixing tube body installed at the end effector, wherein the direction of the steering unit facing forward and relative rotation of the steering unit with respect to the end effector are adjustable.

A deployable tube apparatus may include a spool and a flexible sheet coiled about the spool in a laterally unfurled condition. The flexible sheet may have a first lateral margin and a second lateral margin, and may be deployable from the laterally unfurled condition with the first and the second lateral margins spaced from each other to a deployed tubular condition where the first and the second lateral margins are coupled to each other to form an enclosed lumen. The deployable tube apparatus may provide lateral support to an elongated flexible instrument, such as a catheter. Methods of creating and using the deployable tube apparatus are described.

A surgical instrument may comprise an elongated shaft extending between a proximal end and a distal end and defining a longitudinal axis. The surgical instrument may also comprise a plurality of cables extending along the longitudinal axis and a first bending section positioned between the proximal end and the distal end of the elongated shaft. The first bending section may comprise links having pairs of articulation holes extending longitudinally through the links to permit the plurality of pull wires to pass therethrough. Each pair of articulation holes may comprise first and second articulation holes that are spaced apart from the longitudinal axis (i) at different radii and (ii) at a same rotation angle.

A tool for surgically removing tissue of a patient includes a body, a flexible rotating shaft that drives a distal cutting tool and is drivingly coupled to a motor supported by bearings in a flexible tubular sheath to allow the shaft to rotate and be shifted longitudinally. Steering cables in the sheath control the flexion of the sheath. A processor controls the operation to ensure that the cutting tool operates within a predetermined resection area, controlling a combination of motor speed, sheath flexion, and shaft retraction to assist surgery in the resection area.

An end-effector for an endoscopic surgical instrument, the end-effector comprising: a tool configured to interact with tissue; a main body comprising a bearing stud, the tool being connected to the bearing stud; a base comprising a surface facing the bearing stud, the bearing stud and the surface forming a ball joint; and a plurality of tendons connected to the main body so as to control movement of the tool in two degrees of freedom.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide robotic systems, apparatuses, and methods. One such robotic system comprises a robotic surgical tool; and a steering system configured to steer the robotic surgical tool based on motion angle commands along X and Y axes as the robotic surgical tool moves in an Z axis direction within a tubular passageway. The system further comprises a computing device that executes an artificial intelligence program configured to control the steering system by computing the motion angle commands based on a current position of the robotic surgical tool along planar axes of the tubular passageway and center positions of the passageway along the planar axes. Other systems and methods are disclosed.