A cannula and a method of using a cannula are disclosed. The cannula include a first portion having an interior lumen, a narrow portion coupled to the first portion and having an interior lumen, an expandable portion having an interior lumen and being coupled to the narrow portion, and a tip being disposed at a distal end of the expandable portion. The expandable portion is being capable of having an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration. The interior lumens of the first portion, the narrow portion, and the expandable portion are communicatively coupled to allow passage of at least one of a fluid, a powder, a gas, an object, and a device.

A trocar sleeve comprises a flexible hollow shaft comprising a distal end and a proximal end, and a handling head that is formed at the proximal end of the hollow shaft. The trocar sleeve is manufactured from an elastomer material. The hollow shaft comprises an inner contour that is adapted to an outer contour of a trocar mandrel in such a way that the trocar sleeve and the trocar mandrel are arranged to be coupled to one another while generating a defined preload to stabilize the trocar sleeve. A trocar system comprises a trocar sleeve and a trocar mandrel that is arranged to be inserted in the trocar sleeve, while generating a defined preloading in the trocar sleeve. A method of manufacturing a trocar sleeve involves integrally forming a hollow shaft and a handling head in a common mold by molding.

The invention relates to a system comprising a catheter device with a radially compressible part, a sleeve, and a device for compressing said radially compressible part and introducing the radially compressible part into the sleeve, as well as a method for using such a system.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques are used to obtain access to vertebrae while protecting soft tissues in the surrounding area. The dilators may be used to provide a working channel through which the operation is performed. Standard dilators may be used with a robotic surgical system to provide precise guidance of surgical tools. A dilator may be held by the robot and automatically repositioned when the surgeon adjusts a trajectory for performing the surgery. The dilator itself may be used as a surgical instrument guide along with dilator adaptors that adjust the diameter of a portion of the dilator to allow for different sized tools to be guided by the dilator. Alternatively, surgical instrument guides may also be held by the robotic arm such that tools are guided by a surgical instrument guide through the dilator to perform a medical procedure.

A surgical access system includes a cannula assembly and an obturator assembly. The obturator assembly provides an insufflation channel or fluid passage for delivery of insufflation fluids directly to an underlying cavity, e.g., the abdominal cavity. The fluid passage is completely confined within the obturator assembly isolated from the cannula assembly and terminates at a location distal of the cannula assembly such that the insufflation fluids released from the fluid passage are directed toward the abdominal cavity and not within the cannula assembly.

The use of stepped cannulas, wherein a step structure creates a backstop to reduce backflow along the cannula body, is known for convection enhanced delivery of agents to the brain and other structures within an animal. Described herein are novel and improved stepped cannula designs wherein the length of the cannula segment between the step and the dispensing outlet is variable and can be controllably adjusted inside the patient during delivery. This advantageously allows the operator to place the cannula step at the optimal position and deliver agents at one or more positions within the target structure.

Disclosed is a dilator system that includes a first tube having an eccentrically located guidewire opening radially spaced from a central longitudinal axis of the first tube, and having a first length, and a second tube being nestable inside the first tube and having a second length longer than the first length. Also disclosed is a method of dilating tissue with the system that includes guiding the first tube toward a surgical area of interest while dilating the tissue.

An access sheath is provided. The access sheath comprises: an outer sheath extending to be long in one direction, and having an insertion space formed in a lengthwise direction; and an inner sheath drawn into the insertion space of the outer sheath, and having a plurality of balloons, wherein the outer sheath comprises: an outer body having a cutting gap formed along the lengthwise direction of the outer sheath; and an elastic connection part filled in the cutting gap so as to connect a cutting area of the outer body, and provided as an elastic material more flexible than that of the outer body, wherein the elastic connection part expands and the diameter of the outer body increases according to an expansion of the balloons.

The use of stepped cannulas, wherein a step structure creates a backstop to reduce backflow along the cannula body, is known for convection enhanced delivery of agents to the brain and other structures within an animal. Described herein are novel and improved stepped cannula designs wherein the length of the cannula segment between the step and the dispensing outlet is variable and can be controllably adjusted inside the patient during delivery. This advantageously allows the operator to place the cannula step at the optimal position and deliver agents at one or more positions within the target structure.

A workspace device comprising: (a) a workspace body having a workspace inner wall defining an internal volume, including one or more expandable segments, said workspace body is: collapsible to a collapsed state where said body fits through a laparoscopic passageway in an abdominal wall, which passageway extends to an abdominal cavity; and expandable, to increase said internal volume, to an expanded state within said cavity, where, in said expanded state said workspace body: has an opening to said internal volume; and extends axially from a proximal to a distal direction defining a workspace axis; (b) one or more channels sized and shaped to supply inflation fluid to said workspace body; (c) said workspace body including: a plurality of circumferentially extending inflatable segments; a fluid pathway connecting at least one of said one or more channels to at least one of said segments.