A medical device including a handle portion connected to an operative portion at a proximal end thereof, the handle portion having a hollow cross-section and an open distal end, an illumination assembly comprising at least one light source, a switch assembly for energizing the light source, and at least one battery for powering the light source, an end cap assembly configured to attach to the open distal end of the handle portion, the end cap assembly accommodating the switch assembly and being configured to hold the at least one battery within the handle and to partially enclose the at least one battery, and a smoke evacuation channel in communication with the hollow cross-section of the handle, wherein a portion of the switch assembly extends through an opening in the end cap assembly and the at least one battery is held by the end cap assembly to overlap with the switch assembly and to overlap with the opening in the end cap assembly, and wherein the end cap assembly includes a vacuum port configured to couple to a vacuum source and to provide suction to the smoke evacuation channel through the handle.

A vaso-occlusive device is constructed out of dissimilar metallic materials that are in contact or otherwise in close proximity with one another, thereby causing the device to undergo galvanic corrosion when exposed to an electrolytic medium, such as blood or other body fluid, wherein one of the dissimilar metallic materials is zirconium or zirconium alloy to create a corrosive product including zirconia having a relatively high hardness, a relatively high fracture toughness, and a relatively high stability when the device is implanted in a vasculature site, such as an aneurysm.

Mechanical thrombectomy apparatuses including an inverting, rolling conveyor region (“tractor”) at the distal end that are configured to grab and remove thrombus material. In particular, described herein are mechanical thrombectomy apparatuses that are adapted to prevent premature deployment of the tractor, e.g., by including a tractor hold (e.g., a housing, a lock, a clamp, etc.) or the like to secure the outer end of the tractor against and/or relative to the elongate inversion support.

A joint tensioning device and methods of use thereof are disclosed. The joint tensioning device includes a flexing arm and a loading arm having a tensioning tip and a loading tip, respectively, configured for insertion into a joint. The flexing arm is coupled to the loading arm such that, during use, the loading arm may be adjusted to separate the tensioning tip and the loading tip to apply a distraction force to the joint. A strain gauge measures strain applied to the flexing arm based on the applied distraction force. The measured strain is used to determine the amount of force applied to the joint. The force data is employed in surgical planning to determine the amount of joint laxity when a particular load is applied to the joint.

The present disclosure provides a tissue-removing catheter that includes an elongate body with proximal and distal end portions, a tissue-removing element, an inner liner, and a coupling assembly. The tissue-removing element removes tissue by rotation from the elongate body. The inner liner defines a guidewire lumen received within the elongate body and is coupled to the tissue-removing element at its distal end portion. The coupling assembly includes a bushing attached to the distal end portion of the inner liner and a bearing disposed around the bushing with an exterior surface of the bushing contacting an interior surface of the bearing along less than 50% of an internal surface area of the interior surface of the bearing. At least one of the exterior surface of the bushing and the interior surface of the bearing may define a non-uniform dimension extending along a length of one of the bushing and bearing.

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.

An access device for accessing an intervertebral disc having an outer shield comprising an access shield with a larger diameter (˜16-30 mm) that reaches from the skin down to the facet line, with an inner shield having a second smaller diameter (˜5-12 mm) extending past the access shield and reaches down to the disc level. This combines the benefits of the direct visual microsurgical/mini open approaches and the percutaneous, “ultra-MIS” techniques.

Tissue repair devices include an advancement assembly comprising a rod portion configured to advance through a needle to expel first and second implants from the needle, a ratchet coupled to a proximal section of the rod portion and configured to advance the rod through the needle by axial and rotational movement, and an advancement member having a linear travel axis including a first bore connected to a second bore. A diameter of the first bore is smaller than a diameter of the second bore such that the first bore and the second bore comprise a stop. The rod portion has mechanical properties optimized to both conform to a needle curvature and provide sufficient compressive strength to expel implants from the devices.

A novel method of blackening surgical needles is disclosed. Surgical needles having outer surfaces are first placed into a first pretreatment bath having a novel composition. The needles are then placed into a second blackening bath having a novel composition for a sufficient period of time to effectively blacken the surfaces of the needles. The novel methods for blackening the surfaces of a stainless steel alloy surgical needle provide a chromium (VI)-free alternative to current needle manufacturing processes. Another unique feature of this novel method is its short processing time. The blackening processes of the present invention can be utilized for in-line treatment processes which can be easily incorporated into high speed needle manufacturing processes, such as strip mounted processes. In addition, the processes of the present invention are readily adaptable to batch processes. Also disclosed are novel systems for blackening surgical needles and novel blackening baths for surgical needles.

An embodiment is directed to an embolic device comprised of a coil made of a first material and disposed on the inside of a tube structure made of a second material. The tube structure has micro-fabricated fenestrations formed in the tube to provide fluid communication between the lumen of the tube and the surrounding environment, thereby exposing the inner coil. The fenestrations also trip flow around the embolic device. In one embodiment, the embolic device is comprised of a tantalum coil on the inside of a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) tube. The PEEK tube has the advantage of providing a micro-machined delivery implant frame and radiopacity, while the internal tantalum coil provides radiopacity and thrombogenicity. A material other than PEEK may be used for embodiments of embolic devices without departing from the spirit of the disclosure.