An apparatus includes a shaft assembly and an end effector. The shaft assembly includes an outer sheath, at least one irrigation conduit, and at least one suction conduit. The end effector includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a web. The electrodes extend distally relative to a distal end of the outer sheath. The electrodes are operable to apply bipolar RF energy to tissue. The web extends laterally between the first and second electrodes. The web is positioned distal to the distal end of the outer sheath.

A forceps having a first jaw and a second jaw, where at least one of the first and second jaws is capable of moving between an open position and a closed positions. The forceps including an inner shaft located within an outer shaft and extending along the longitudinal axis, and a drive bar coupled to and extending distally from the inner shaft. The drive bar including a pair of drive bar struts extending from a distal portion of the inner shaft and positioned laterally inward of at least one of first and second set of flanges of the first and second jaws. A drive pin is securable to the pair of drive bar struts and the drive bar is translatable within the outer shaft to translate the drive pin to move the first jaw and/or the second jaw between open and closed positions.

A method of assessing optical properties of surgical tissue by observing the tissue thermal response to laser irradiation includes exposing the tissue in a surgical region to a short laser pulse for triggering a localized temperature increase, and observing the triggered temperature increase by a thermal sensor. Optical properties of the tissue are then estimated, for determining laser surgery parameters for an eminent procedure, based on the observed temperature increase. In an example configuration, the thermal sensor is a thermal infrared camera, and estimation includes using an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) for comparing the temperature sensor data with the output of a computational laser-tissue interaction model.

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.

Systems and methods for neuromodulation therapy are disclosed herein. A method in accordance with embodiments of the present technology can include, for example, positioning a plurality of reference electrodes at the skin of a human patient and intravascularly positioning a plurality of ablation electrodes within a blood vessel lumen at a treatment site. The method can include obtaining impedance measurements between different combinations of the reference electrodes and the ablation electrodes and, based on the impedance measurements, identifying two or more electrode groups for treatment, where at least two of the electrode groups include a different one of the reference electrodes and a different one of the ablation electrodes.

A method includes generating a plurality of primary beams from a laser beam, and generating, from a primary beam one or more secondary beams. The method also includes focusing the first secondary beam to a first focal region in the target tissue and the second secondary beam to a second focal region in the target tissue. The first focal region and the second focal region can be located at different depths in the target tissue.

A heart treatment device includes a delivery device allowing for simultaneous ablation of the left atrial appendage and delivery of an occluder into the left atrial appendage. The device includes a steerable catheter, an occluder releasably disposed within the catheter, an inflatable balloon coupled to a distal end of the catheter, and an array of electrodes coupled to the balloon. The balloon may be inflated to bring the electrodes into contact with the interior wall of the left atrial appendage. Energy supplied to the electrodes through the catheter ablates the tissue of the left atrial appendage to electrically isolate the left atrial appendage from the heart, and the delivery device deploys the occluder in the left atrial appendage.

Introducers for detachably coupling with an ablation probe are described herein. The ablation probe can be a cryoablation probe or other type of ablation probe such as microwave or RF ablation probe. An example introducer includes a hollow member; and a locking mechanism configured to secure the introducer and the ablation probe. An example system includes an ablation probe; and an introducer that is configured to detachably couple with the ablation probe. The introducer includes a hollow member, one or more energy elements arranged along an axial direction of the hollow member, and one or more sensor elements arranged along the axial direction of the hollow member.

A flexible circuit of a surgical instrument includes a rigid section and a flexible section. The rigid section is configured to mechanically interlock with a component of the surgical instrument and has at least one of the following mounted thereon: (1) a processing device and (2) a logic element. The flexible section is aligned with one of the following: (1) an active bending portion of a shaft assembly of the surgical instrument and (2) an articulation joint of the shaft assembly.

A tissue analysis device is described having a light receiving device and a spectrometer device for determination of tissue characteristics which includes an evaluation device connected with an assignment device. The evaluation device serves for determination of at least one tissue characteristic of a biological tissue, e.g. of its type or an infection with a disease. The assignment device serves for assignment of a suitable transmission curve model that models the contamination of the light receiving device. For different degrees of contamination different transmission curve models are provided that comprise reliability values for each tissue characteristic that can be determined respectively. Not only the tissue analysis can be achieved, but also the indication of the reliability with which the analysis has been carried out, i.e. how reliable the indication of the tissue characteristic is.