Treating patients with therapeutically effective electroporation requires the use of voltage potentials which when applied to the patient can be painful due to the noxious overstimulation of the afferent pain-receptive nerve fibres. An electrode assembly which includes electrodes for applying effective electroporation voltages, also comprises at least one electrode configured to apply a non-noxious, non-painful electrical stimulation which may be referred to as a “nerve block adjacent to the electroporation site.

A powered handle for a surgical stapler can have a drive system including an electric motor. The powered handle can include a manual articulation mechanism to articulate a jaw assembly coupled to a reload shaft connected to the handle. The manual articulation mechanism can include a ball screw mechanism that translates an articulation member responsive to rotation of an articulation knob when an instrument shaft is engaged with the handle. The articulation mechanism includes a release function that allows the jaw assembly to return to a longitudinally centered orientation. The powered handle includes a battery pack serving as a power supply for the drive system. A control system can control actuation of the motor based on user inputs and operating parameters of the stapler and can provide certain motor drive profiles for predetermined positions of the stapler. The powered handle can include a manual return mechanism.

A laser device for skin treatment includes: a laser generating unit including a diode laser for generating a pulse capable of being varied to a pulse width of 100 picoseconds (ps) to 2000 ps by a dedicated driver having a rising time of 100 ps or less and a pulse width adjustment unit for adjusting a width of the pulse generated by the diode laser, the laser generating unit configured to generate a single or a plurality of pulses; and a laser amplifying unit including a pumping lamp and a single or a plurality of amplification mediums having a rod structure for absorbing light energy from the pumping lamp, wherein, in the laser amplifying unit, a pulse supplied from the laser generating unit passes through at least one of the single or a plurality of amplification mediums a plurality of times inward from the outside and is gradually amplified.

A catheter system for treating a vascular lesion within or adjacent to a vessel wall includes an energy source, a plurality of energy guides and a system controller. The energy source generates energy. The plurality of energy guides receive energy from the energy source. The system controller controls the energy source so that the energy is sequentially directed to each of the plurality of energy guides in an advancing wavefront. The system controller controls a firing rate of the energy source to each of the plurality of energy guides. The system controller can control a firing sequence to the plurality of energy guides so that the advancing wavefront is generated toward the vascular lesion from near the balloon proximal end and from near the balloon distal end. The system controller can control the energy source so that light energy from the energy source is alternatively directed to at least two of the plurality of energy guides at a different firing energy level from one another. The energy level can be based on pulse width, wavelength and/or amplitude of the energy pulse(s).

The present invention is directed toward a method for treating a vascular lesion within or adjacent to a vessel wall. The method includes the steps of generating energy with an energy source; receiving the energy with a plurality of energy guides; and controlling the energy source with a system controller of a catheter system so that the energy from the energy source is sequentially directed to each of the plurality of energy guides in a first firing sequence. The method can include the system controller controlling a firing rate of the energy source to each of the plurality of energy guides. The method can include the system controller controlling a firing sequence to the plurality of energy guides so that an advancing wavefront is generated toward the vascular lesion from near a balloon proximal end and/or from near a balloon distal end. The system controller can control a firing energy level, which can be dependent at least partially upon the pulse width, the wavelength and/or the amplitude of the energy pulses.

The disclosure provides an example electrosurgical system and methods for use thereof. The electrosurgical system includes a high-frequency inverter (“HFI”) having a full bridge and a control system electrically coupled to the HFI. The control system controls output parameters including one or more of an output power P.sub.out(t) and an output voltage or current by varying power reference P.sub.ref(t) or switch states of the HFI. The control system causes a power adaptation ΔP(t) to a preset power set P.sub.set based on receiving at least one of impedance feedback and thermal feedback according to the following relationship: P.sub.ref(t)=P.sub.set+ΔP(t).

A medical device is described having a handle, a shaft coupled to the handle, an end effector coupled to the shaft and an ultrasonic transducer coupled to the end effector for delivering ultrasonic energy to tissue or a vessel to be treated. A drive circuit is provided for generating a drive signal that is applied to the ultrasonic transducer. In one embodiment, the drive circuit includes a resonant circuit and a controller that varies the period of the drive signal passed through the resonant circuit in order to control the power supplied to the ultrasonic transducer.

A sine wave generator includes a resonator circuit, a control circuit and a pulse generator. The resonator circuit is configured to receive energy pulses and to generate a resonator sinusoidal signal responsively to the energy pulses. The control circuit is configured to estimate a signal measure of the resonator sinusoidal signal, or of a signal derived from the resonator sinusoidal signal. The pulse generator is configured to generate the energy pulses responsive to the signal measure estimated by the control circuit, and to drive the resonator circuit with the energy pulses.

An apparatus for tissue ablation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an ultrasound output unit to output focused ultrasound, and a control unit to control an intensity of the focused ultrasound, wherein the control unit may be configured to control the intensity of the focused ultrasound below a setting value, when a first condition in which a vapor bubble is formed in a tissue or a second condition in which a temperature of the tissue reaches a threshold is accomplished during the output of the focused ultrasound to the tissue. According to this embodiment, it is possible to precisely control vapor bubble dynamics without generating the shockwave scattering effect by instantaneously controlling the acoustic pressure and the intensity of the focused ultrasound, and prevent damage to a tissue other than a lesion to be removed.

Dermatological systems and methods for providing a therapeutic laser treatment using a handpiece delivering one or more therapeutic laser pulses to a target skin area along a first optical path, and sensing the temperature of the target skin area based on infrared energy radiating from the target skin area along a second optical path generally counterdirectional to the first office action, and sharing a common optical axis with the first optical path for at least a portion of the first and second optical paths. The handpiece may also provide contact cooling for a first skin area comprising the target skin area.