A shipping wedge (10) for a staple cartridge includes a body (12), an elongate fin (22), at least one tooth (32), and a knife stop (20). The elongate fin (22) is supported on a bottom surface (16) of the body (12). The tooth (32) extends from the bottom surface (16) on the proximal portion of the body (12) and is positioned to be received within a recess formed in the staple cartridge (102). The knife stop (20) extends from a top surface (14) of the proximal end of the body and is positioned to obstruct movement of a knife bar (122) of the staple cartridge (102) when the shipping wedge (10) is attached to the staple cartridge (102). A sled stop member (26) extends from the bottom surface (16) on the proximal portion of the body (12) of the shipping wedge (10) and is positioned to obstruct movement of an actuation sled of the staple cartridge (102).

A surgical stapler includes a loading unit having a staple cartridge having a cartridge distance and a plurality of staples and an anvil to form the plurality of staples upon firing. The surgical stapler also includes a shaft assembly coupled to the load unit. The shaft assembly includes a drive shaft longitudinally movable within the shaft assembly and configured to actuate the loading unit. The surgical stapler further includes a handle assembly having a power source and a motor coupled to the power source and configured to move the drive shaft longitudinally. The handle assembly also includes a distance setting interface including a plurality of switches each of which corresponds to a travel distance that the motor moves the drive shaft, the travel distance corresponding to the cartridge distance.

Release mechanism for medical device includes a bushing having a proximal end, a distal end and a channel extending therethrough. Plurality of extend proximally from the distal end are biased toward a release configuration in which engagement surfaces at distal ends thereof retract radially into the channel. A core pin insertable through the channel applies a radially expansive pressure to move the arms radially outward to a locking configuration. Engagement surfaces of the first and second arms connect to a retaining surface of a tissue treatment device containing capsule, which extends at an angle relative to the engagement surfaces selected so that a first portion of a force transmitted along an axis of the bushing moves the arms radially inward toward the release configuration before a second portion of the force exceeds a threshold level associated with the removal of a tissue treatment device from gripped tissue.

A mammography apparatus is provided for detecting malignant cells in a breast, comprising an x-ray source and an x-ray detector that cooperates with the x-ray source for providing an x-ray image of said breast, and further comprising a paddle for flattening the breast by pressing it against said x-ray detector, and comprising a contact area measuring device for measuring a contact area between the breast and the paddle, wherein the contact area measuring device is embodied with at least a first laminate of an electrically insulating material and an electrically low resistance material, which first laminate is provided on a side of the paddle facing the breast, and wherein the electrically low resistance material is sandwiched between the paddle and the insulating material.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for sealing a puncture or incision formed percutaneously in tissue separating two internal portions of the body of a living being with an anchor, a sealing plug and a filament connecting the anchor and sealing plug. The methods and apparatus provide for a compaction device or a tamping device that improves control of the amount of force exerted upon the sealing plug. Further, the compaction tube or tamping device can deform upon application of excessive compaction force, thereby reducing the possibility of damage to the sealing plug, anchor, or artery.

An end effector of a surgical instrument may generally comprise a blade, and a clamp arm assembly comprising a clamp arm movable between an open position and a closed position relative to the blade, and at least one camming member rotationally attached to the clamp arm, wherein the at least one camming member is configured to rotate relative to the blade as the clamp arm moves from the open position to the closed position.

A method for performing a medical procedure, includes coupling a tip of a probe to tissue in an organ of a patient in order to apply the medical procedure using the probe. A force exerted by the tip on the tissue and a displacement of the tip created by the force are measured. A dependence of the force on the displacement is calculated. Based on the calculated dependence, a risk level of perforation of the tissue is estimated.

An extender is removed from a spinal implant without using a separate device, and the loss of materials to be discarded is reduced. A head part of a spinal implant includes a base part, which is provided as a portion on a screw part side, and a pair of tab parts, which extend from the base part to an opposite side to the screw part side. The pair of tab parts have a tab part-side engagement part to be engaged by an extender-side engagement part that is formed on the extender. A weak part is formed between the base part and the pair of tab parts, the weak part being configured to be broken by an external force from the extender engaged with the pair of tab parts and separate the pair of tab parts from the base part.

The invention relates to a medical system for use in interventional radiology, adapted to be coupled to a navigation system, comprising: a needle (1) to be inserted into a patient's body toward a target, said needle comprising a distal tip (10) and a proximal stop (110); a needle guide (2), the needle (1) being able to slide within said guide (2) along a longitudinal axis thereof, said needle guide (2) comprising a tracker for navigating the needle guide (2) with respect to a 3D medical image of a patient ; a processor configured to detect a contact between the needle guide (2) and the proximal stop (110) and to determine, from navigation data of the needle guide when said needle guide (2) is in contact with the proximal stop (110) of the needle and from the length of said needle, a position of the distal needle tip (10) with respect to the 3D medical image; and a user interface coupled to said processor and configured to display, on at least one image (I) of the patient, a representation of the needle and a point on said representation of the needle to represent the needle tip (10) in said determined position.

An isolated force/torque sensor assembly for a force controlled robot includes an end effector for operatively attaching to an arm of the force controlled robot, the end effector having a gripping portion adapted to be gripped by a hand of a user, and a force/torque sensor adapted to be disposed between the gripping portion and the arm of the robot, the force/torque sensor having a high force end effector interface adapted to be attached to the arm of the robot, a low force end effector interface operatively attached to the gripping portion, and a transducer disposed between the high force end effector interface and the low force end effector interface for reacting to loads applied to the low force end effector interface for user controlled positioning of a surgical tool and for generating corresponding output signals, and wherein the transducer is bypassed for high loads.