A knot tying device including a sheath configured for placement over a surgical instrument. The sheath includes a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion is elastically reconfigurable between a straightened configuration and a hook shaped configuration. Position of the sheath on the surgical instrument is adjustable between an extended position in which the sheath extends beyond a distal tip of the surgical instrument and a retracted position in which the sheath is pulled back from the distal tip of the surgical instrument. The distal end portion is in the hook shaped configuration when the sheath is in the extended position and the distal end portion is in the straightened configuration when the sheath is in the retracted position. In exemplary embodiments, the knot tying device may include one or more magnets or one or more magnets as an integral part of a surgical instrument.

A device for retarding birth including an upper ring for surrounding a cervix, an anchoring component for anchoring the device, and an elastic component for attaching the upper ring to the anchoring component, wherein the elastic component pushes the upper ring and the anchoring component apart. A device for retarding birth including a sleeve for surrounding a cervix along a greater portion of a length of the cervix, a support strip on the sleeve directed along an axis of the sleeve, and a ring at least partially around the sleeve, in which when a top of the sleeve is pushed to expand radially, the support strip pivots on the ring, such that an end of the support strip near the top of the sleeve moves radially outward, and an end of the support strip near the bottom of the sleeve moves radially inward. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

An expandable, intervertebral spacer includes a top component and a base component in engagement with the top component, the base component defining at least one channel for receiving a hardening material, and placement of the hardening material within the channel causes the top component to move between a first position in which the top component is a first distance from the base component and a second position in which the top component is a second distance from the base component, the second distance being greater than the first distance. The hardening material can be removed from the channel by a flexible coring tool, and the top component forced toward the base component to collapse the spacer.

A robotic surgical system includes a fluid drive system and a surgical instrument removably positioned in operative engagement with the drive system. A sterile barrier covers non-sterile portions of the surgical system. Features of the sterile barrier are used to transfer motion output from the fluid drive system to the instrument for actuation of the instrument.

Diffusion and infusion resistant implantable devices and methods for reducing pulsatile pressure are provided. The implantable device includes a balloon implantable within a blood vessel of a patient, e.g., the pulmonary artery. The balloon is injected with a fluid mixture comprising a constituent fluid(s) and a diffusion-resistant gas to provide optimal balloon volume and limit fluid diffusion throughout multiple cardiac cycles. The fluid mixture may be pressurized such that the balloon is transitionable between an expanded state and a collapsed state responsive to pressure fluctuations in the blood vessel.

A surgical retractor includes a plurality of cameras integrated therein. One such retractor includes a tubular retractor and an insert supporting said plurality of cameras can be disposed within a tubular retractor.

A medical device that includes a shaft having a distal end and a cap at the distal end that defines a reservoir for storing a material. The medical device includes a deployment mechanism configured to eject the material from the reservoir, and the deployment mechanism is configured to apply a force to the reservoir. The cap includes a seal or a perforation that is configured to contain the material in the reservoir in the absence of the force applied by the deployment mechanism to the material.

A bending mechanism includes: a shaft part; a bendable part linked to the shaft part; a forward end part linked to the bendable part; an operating rod or an operating wire inserted through grooves or holes of the shaft part and the bendable part and having a distal end thereof fixed to the bendable part; and a pressing portion configured to be able to press the operating rod or the operating wire against a fixed portion of the shaft part. The bendable part is configured to be bendable as a result of the operating rod or the operating wire being operated in an extending direction thereof. The operating rod or the operating wire is configured such that, when pressed against the fixed portion of the shaft part by the pressing portion, the operating rod or the operating wire is fixed by friction force.

A surgical port assembly for use with surgical instruments includes a body including an exterior surface and an interior space defined by an interior surface of the body. The surgical port assembly includes a control interface including a plurality of drive members coupled to the body and controllable to apply a force to a different portion of a shaft of an surgical instrument, when the shaft is disposed within the interior space, to move a distal portion of the surgical instrument to a desired position within a body cavity.

An endoscopic stapler is disclosed. The stapler includes a staple member and an anvil member. The staple member may include a staple housing and the staple holder may include one or more staples. The anvil member may be spaced apart from the staple member and may configured to relatively move towards one another. A controller may be fluidly coupled to the staple member through a plurality of conduits. The controller may be configured to (a) direct a pressurized fluid to the staple member through a first conduit of the plurality of conduits to relatively move the staple member and the anvil member towards one another, and (b) direct the pressurize fluid through a second conduit of the plurality of conduits to eject one or more staples from the staple holder.