In one aspect, recording instruments, probes, probe sheaths, and probe sleeves may include one or more recording elements, such as one or more ECG wires, EEG wires, and/or SEEG wires. A recording element may be used for lesion localization and assessment at the time of cryotherapy, thermal therapy, or temperature modulation therapy. A recording element may be used to provide positioning and monitoring during functional neurosurgery; to apply local tissue stimulation responsive to detection of an abnormal event to regulate cellular behaviors during treatment; to effect deep brain stimulation during a neurosurgical operation; to monitor internal electrical signals and identify abnormalities. Recording instruments may be deployed in vivo for hours or days while monitoring and analyzing signals. For signal analysis, leads disposed between recording element contact surfaces and along a shaft of the recording instrument may deliver recorded signals to a controller external to the patient for analysis.

A system to treat a patient comprises a user interface that allows a physician to view an image of tissue to be treated in order to develop a treatment plan to resect tissue with a predefined removal profile. The image may comprise a plurality of images, and the planned treatment is shown on the images. The treatment probe may comprise an anchor, and the image shown on the screen may have a reference image marker shown on the screen corresponding to the anchor. The planned tissue removal profile can be displayed and scaled to the image of the target tissue of an organ such as the prostate, and the physician can adjust the treatment profile based on the scaled images to provide a treatment profile in three dimensions. The images shown on the display may comprise segmented images of the patient with treatment plan overlaid on the images.

A photoacoustic catheter can include an elongate shaft and a first photoacoustic transducer. The elongate shaft can extend from a proximal region to a distal region and can include a first light guide that is in optical communication with a light source. The first photoacoustic transducer can be disposed within the distal region of the elongate shaft and can be in optical communication with the first light guide. The first photoacoustic transducer can impart acoustic pressure waves upon a calcified lesion to induce fractures. The first photoacoustic transducer can include a light-absorbing material and a thermal expansion material that can be in contact with one another.

A tool has a handle and an elongate shaft that extends distally from the handle. A distal portion of the shaft is inserted into a subject during a surgical procedure. An optical fiber delivers laser energy to a tip at the distal portion of the shaft. The tip includes a mechanical cutting mechanism including a moving part that absorbs the laser energy, thermally conducts the absorbed energy to tissue that is disposed between the moving part and another part, and moves with respect to the other part in order to cut tissue that is disposed between the parts using a mechanical force that is lower than a mechanical force that would be required to cut the tissue in the absence of the laser energy. Other embodiments are also described.

A catheter system (100) includes a light guide (122A) and a light source (124). The light guide (122A) is configured to selectively receive light energy. The light source (124) generates the light energy. The light source (124) is in optical communication with the light guide (122A). The light source can include (i) a seed source (260) that outputs the light energy, (ii) a pre-amplifier (262) that receives the light energy from the seed source (260), the pre-amplifier (262) being in optical communication with the seed source (260), and (iii) an amplifier (264) that receives the light energy from the pre-amplifier (262), the amplifier (264) being in optical communication with the pre-amplifier (262) and the light guide (122A).

A catheter system (100) for treating a vascular lesion (106A) within or adjacent to a vessel wall (108A) within a body (107) of a patient (109). The catheter system (100) includes a light source (124), a receptacle assembly (274), a first light guide (122A) and a second light guide (122A), a multiplexer (128), and an alignment assembly (256). The light source (124) generates a source beam (124A) of light energy. The first light guide (122A) and the second light guide (122A) are coupled to the receptacle assembly (274), each light guide (122A) having a guide proximal end (122P). The multiplexer (128) receives the source beam (124A) from the light source (124), the multiplexer (128) directing individual guide beams (124B) from the source beam (124A) to each of the guide proximal end (122P) of the first light guide (122A) and the guide proximal end (122P) of the second light guide (122A). The alignment assembly (256) adjusts the position of the receptacle assembly (274) relative to the individual guide beams (124B).

A fluid stream is directed toward tissue to generate a plurality of shedding clouds. The fluid stream can be scanned such that the plurality of shedding clouds arrive a different overlapping locations. Each of the plurality of shedding clouds can remove a portion of the tissue. In many embodiments, an apparatus to ablate tissue comprises a source of pressurized fluid, and a nozzle coupled to the source of pressurized fluid to release a fluid stream, in which the fluid stream generates a plurality of shedding clouds.

There is provided herein a catheter for resecting an undesired tissue from a body of a subject, the catheter comprising a tip section in a shape of a cylinder or a cylinder's sector having a central longitudinal axis, the tip section comprising: a central longitudinal lumen; a first set of optical fibers configured to transmit laser radiation outside a distal extremity of the tip section, in a direction parallel to the central longitudinal axis; a second set of optical fibers configured to transmit laser radiation, transversely to the central longitudinal axis; wherein the first set of optical fibers and the second set of optical fibers are selectively operable to resect and/or ablate the undesired tissue.

An implantable device for optically stimulating a brain of a human being or animal, including: a multi-channel biocompatible catheter including a plurality of channels extending substantially parallel to each other relative to a longitudinal axis of the multi-channel catheter; a light guide, extending into one channel, for optically stimulating the brain, the multi-channel catheter acting as a sheath totally enveloping the light guide; a functional element, extending into another channel, to measure light injected into a surrounding medium at a distal end of the light guide and/or an element acting on the shape of the multi-channel catheter.

A catheter system (100) for treating a treatment site (106) within or adjacent to a vessel wall (108A) of a blood vessel (108) within a body (107) of a patient (109) includes an energy source (124), a catheter fluid (132), and an emitter assembly (129). The energy source (124) generates energy. The emitter assembly (129) includes (i) at least a portion of an energy guide (122A) having a guide distal end (122D) that is selectively positioned near the treatment site (106), (ii) a plasma generator (133), and (iii) an emitter housing (260) that is secured to each of the energy guide (122A) and the plasma generator (133) to maintain a relative position between the guide distal end (122D) of the energy guide (122A) and the plasma generator (133). The energy guide (122A) is configured to receive energy from the energy source (124) and direct the energy toward the plasma generator (133) to generate a plasma bubble (134) in the catheter fluid (132). The plasma generator (133) directs energy from the plasma bubble (134) toward the treatment site (106).