Described here are devices, systems, and methods for applying pulsed or modulated electric fields to tissue. In some variations, a device may comprise a first elongate body comprising a lumen, a second elongate body at least partially positioned within the lumen, and an expandable member rolled about the second elongate body. The expandable member may comprise an inner end coupled to the second elongate body, an outer end coupled to the first elongate body, and an electrode array.

An energy-transmitting therapeutic device having a hollow elongated assembly with a flexible tip at its distal end in which the hollow elongated assembly includes energy-transmitting elements and directional control elements. The directional control elements control the flexible tip such that it can pass through a lumen having a curve with a minimum radius of 1 cm and the energy-transmitting elements can deliver energy at an electromagnetic frequency of 300 KHz to 300 GHz.

A hemostatic surgical blade is formed of five symmetrically layers. A martensitic stainless steel core with oppositely disposed faces is bonded to layers exhibiting a high thermal conductivity which, in turn, are supported by buttressing layers of austenitic stainless steel. A thin aluminum layer is deposited on one side of blade blanks to enable chemical reaction bonding to electrically insulative dielectric inks formulated for use with aluminum substrates. The blade is heated by a blade heating circuit that is manufactured by thick-film printing and firing an electrically resistive heating element layer and an electrically conductive leads on an electrically insulative dielectric layer with all layers subsequently covered by a thick-film printed electrically insulative dielectric overcoat. Tissue contacting portions of blade are coated with a very thin non-stick coating. The surgical blade operates at a temperature below the threshold for pyrolysis and/or thermal decomposition of human tissue and body fluids.

Techniques for High-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation (HFIRE) using a single-pole tine-style internal device communicating with an external surface electrode are described. In an embodiment, a system for ablating tissue cells in a treatment region of a patient's body by irreversible electroporation without thermally damaging the tissue cells is described. The system includes at least one single-pole electrode probe for insertion into the treatment region, the single-pole electrode probe including one or more tines. The system further includes at least one external surface electrode for placement outside the patient's body and configured to complete a circuit with the single-pole electrode probe. The system also includes a control device for controlling HFIRE pulses to the single-pole tine-style electrode and the skin-surface electrode for the delivery of electric energy to the treatment region. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

A probe device designed to view, illuminate, and operate on the internal surface of an organ, configured to provide stabilization of the device with respect to the patient through a plug portion, manipulation of the probe through a skirt control system, which can be modified for the ergonomic preferences of the user, and permits discrete control over probe segments and segment cells through manipulation of the pleats which form the skirt.

A catheter has a distal assembly with at least one loop with ring electrodes. A single continuous puller wire for bidirectional deflection is pre-bent into two long portions and a U-shape bend therebetween. The U-shape bend is anchored at a distal end of a deflectable section which is reinforced by at least one washer having at least two holes, each hole axially aligned with a respective lumen in the deflectable section. Each hole is centered with a lumen so that each puller wire portion therethrough is straight and subjected to tensile force only. A proximal end of the support member is flattened and serrated to provide a better bonding to the distal end of the deflectable section.

A method of treating tissue includes extending a distal tip of an electrode of a surgical instrument from a body of the surgical instrument to expose the distal tip by sliding the electrode along a longitudinal axis defined by the body, delivering energy from the distal tip to tissue, and applying suction adjacent the distal end of the body with a suction pipe of the surgical instrument. The distal tip of the electrode may include a collapsible portion. Extending the distal tip of the electrode may include moving the collapsible portion to extend beyond an outer radial dimension of a nose of the surgical instrument.

An ophthalmic surgical apparatus includes: a support provided with an electrical path, and a probe including a conductive material, the probe including a first section coupled to the support and a second section formed integrally with and connected to the first section, the entire surface of the second section being exposed to the outside of the support.

A device and method for cutting or ablating tissue in a human or veterinary patient includes an elongate probe having a distal end, a tissue cutting or ablating apparatus located adjacent within the distal end, and a tissue protector extending from the distal end. The protector generally has a first side and a second side and the tissue cutting or ablating apparatus is located adjacent to the first side thereof. The distal end is structured to be advanceable into tissue or otherwise placed and positioned within the patient's body such that tissue adjacent to the first side of the protector is cut away or ablated by the tissue cutting or ablation apparatus while tissue that is adjacent to the second side of the protector is not substantially damaged by the tissue cutting or ablating apparatus.

A microsurgical probe employs an optional probe support structure; an optical fiber for providing a feed path for an emission wavelength; a chemical feed path for delivering a chemical; a resonator motor; and a probe accessory tool. A microsurgical system additionally employs a sensor and an artificial intelligence (AI) system to assess conditions based on data provided by the sensor. The system can be employed to remove tumor tissue that is interwoven with healthy tissue. This system can also be employed to fertilize old, inflexible ova.