A method of locating a nerve within an intracorporeal treatment area of a subject includes providing a first electrical stimulus at a first location within the intracorporeal treatment area, providing a second electrical stimulus at a second location within the intracorporeal treatment area, and providing one or more additional electrical stimuli at the second location. The first electrical stimulus does not induce a threshold response of a muscle innervated by the nerve, whereas the second electrical stimulus does induce a response of the muscle. The one or more additional stimuli each have a current magnitude less than the first stimulus and are used to determine a minimum current magnitude that is required to induce the threshold response of the muscle at the second location. This minimum current magnitude is then used to determine a distance from the second location to the nerve.

An electrosurgical probe includes an elongated shaft forming a lumen extending along a longitudinal axis from a proximal end portion to a distal end portion. An insulating layer is disposed on the distal end portion of the elongated shaft. A supply electrode is disposed on the insulating layer over a distal extent of the elongated shaft. A return electrode includes an exposed portion of the elongated shaft proximal of the insulating layer.

An electrosurgical probe includes an elongated tubular shaft including a lumen extending along a body from a proximal shaft portion to a distal shaft portion. The distal shaft portion forms an active electrode as a first exposed conductive portion at a distal extent of the elongated shaft. A first insulating layer extends over the body from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion. A conductive layer extends over the first insulating layer and terminates proximal of the first insulating layer. A second insulating layer extends over the first insulating layer and the conductive layer and terminates proximal of a distal conducting portion of the conducting layer forming a return electrode.

A robotic surgical arm includes a puck containing motors to drive an end effector. A tool assembly attached to the puck generates ultrasonic and/or radio frequency energy to apply to tissue disposed between the jaws of the end effector. The tool assembly can include modular components such as a modular shaft that can include an ultrasonic transducer, nonvolatile memory, wireless interface, and/or a power source. The power source allows the modular shaft to communicate wirelessly with the robotic arm. The tool assembly can be moved from one robotic arm to another while remaining powered by the power source. The tool assembly can include sensors to determine a location or movement of the tool assembly after being detached from the robotic surgical arm. The modular shaft can be moved from a robotic arm to a handle manually controlled by a surgeon and back again to the robotic arm.

An energy delivery system and methods for an ablation procedure may include a generator configured to generate an electrical signal having an operating frequency for an ablation operation and an ablation probe coupled to the generator and configured to receive the electrical signal from the generator. The ablation probe may include a flexible body portion including an inner conductor, an outer conductor, and a dielectric between the inner and outer conductors. The ablation probe may further include a radiating portion electrically coupled to the inner conductor, where the radiating portion is configured to radiate energy received from the electrical signal. A length of the radiating portion may be between 0.35 and 0.65 times an operating wavelength, where the operating wavelength is dependent on the operating frequency of the electrical signal.

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.

A basket catheter having an end effector with multiple spines can be constructed with a combination of manufacturing techniques including at least two of the following techniques: individual spines, a loop with two spines, a cut sheet, and a cut tube. A cut sheet or a cut tube can be formed to include a distal hub that has openings through which spines of one or more additional structure can pass through so that the distal hub joins distinct structures of the end effector. This provides several alternative manufacturing techniques compared to those presently used in basket catheters which rely on only one of the aforementioned manufacturing techniques.

The disclosed technology includes a medical probe includes a substantially cylindrical structure having a proximal circular base, a distal circular base substantially parallel to the proximal circular base, a plurality of spines extending along a longitudinal axis between the proximal circular base and the distal circular base, and one or more strips of flexible circuit substrate coupled to one or more of the plurality of spines defining an internal volume about the longitudinal axis. The plurality of spines include a trifurcation point positioned along at least a portion of the spine and a spine branch extending from the trifurcation point further comprising a bifurcation point. The one or more strips of flexible circuit substrate further include one or more conductive traces disposed on a surface of the substrate.

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.

The present disclosure relates to prevent treatment areas from overlapping on the basis of temperature changes in parts of tissue at the time of treating the skin. Whether the current treatment area overlaps with the previous treatment area is determined before transmitting RF energy (the shot) or during the transmission of RF energy.