The present disclosure describes a device and methods for safely and accurately placing screws into bones with a powered driving device. By employing multiple layers of fail-safe features and image-guidance systems, the powered driving device provides safe, accurate, and efficient screw placement. That is, the powered driving device may continuously monitor a screw advancement and placement and may automatically shutdown when improper placement is detected. Monitoring placement may be conducted by a microcurrent-monitoring system, by an image-guidance system, or by any other appropriate sensory system. Additionally, upon detecting that screw insertion is complete, the powered driving device may be automatically shutdown. As screw placement is continuously simulated by image-guidance in real time, multiple redundant verification steps are eliminated, providing highly accurate screw placement while decreasing clinician error, device contamination, and surgical time, the decreased surgical time associated with decreased patient-recovery time and associated medical costs.

A biopsy needle has a central axis and includes one or more sensing regions, each sensing region formed by a plurality of sensing optical fibers located over a particular extent of said central axis and inside the outer shell of the needle. The sensing optical fibers are coupled to a wavelength interrogator. A steerable catheter has a central axis and outer shell, the outer shell coupled to a plurality of optical fibers in sensing regions and actuation regions, the sensing regions formed over particular extents of the central axis by bonding gratings to the inner surface of the outer shell, and the actuation regions formed by coupling optical energy into shape memory alloys bonded to the outer shell.

A system for dynamic localization of medical instruments includes an ultrasound imaging system (110) configured to image a volume where one or more medical instruments are deployed. A registration module (136) registers two images of the one or more medical instruments to compute a transform between the two images, the two images being separated in time. A planning module (142) is configured to have positions of the volume and the one or more medical instruments updated based on the transform and, in turn, update a treatment plan in accordance with the updated positions such that changes in the volume and positions of the one or more medical instruments are accounted for in the updated plan.

An apparatus includes a shaft including a distal shaft end. At least a portion of the shaft defines a first axis. The apparatus also includes a sleeve slidably coupled to the shaft. The sleeve includes a distal sleeve end. The apparatus further includes a colpotomy cup fixedly secured to the distal sleeve end, and a movable member extending distally from the distal shaft end. The movable member is configured to move relative to the shaft between a first state in which the movable member extends substantially along the first axis and a second state in which the movable member extends at least partially along a second axis transverse to the first axis for manipulating an anatomical structure.

An apparatus includes a base portion configured to selectively couple with a robotic arm. A shaft extends distally form the base portion and terminates into a distal end. A sleeve is slidably coupled to the shaft. A colpotomy cup is fixedly secured to a portion of the sleeve. One or more sensors are configured to detect a force applied to the sleeve, the shaft, or both the sleeve and the shaft.

An endoscope system includes an endoscope, at least one monitor, a first measuring instrument configured to measure a first direction, at least one second measuring instrument configured to measure a second direction, a reception circuit configured to receive the image from the endoscope, and a processor. The first direction corresponds to a horizontal component of an imaging direction of the endoscope. The second direction corresponds to a horizontal component of a reference direction. The reference direction is a direction in which the at least one monitor faces or is a direction toward or away from an image display surface of the at least one monitor. The processor is configured to calculate an angle between the first direction and the second direction, process the image based on the angle, and display the processed image on the at least one monitor. The processing includes a rotation processing or a horizontal flip processing.

A vertebral end plate processing device includes a handle, a vertical opening mechanism, a horizontal expansion mechanism and a processing mechanism. When the processing device is in a non-working state, the vertical opening mechanism and the horizontal expansion mechanism maintain a contracted state, and a processing portion is located within a vertical space between opening members. When the processing device is in a working state, the opening members of the vertical opening mechanism are in contact with a bone surface of a vertebral body and vertically open same. An arc-shaped expansion block of the horizontal expansion mechanism drives a conveying member for horizontal expansion so that the processing portion is horizontally removed from the vertical space of the opening members and is in contact with the bone surface of the vertebral body. A control portion controls the conveying member to move.

An orthopedic distraction device is provided. The orthopedic distraction device includes a first upper paddle for engaging a first bone of a joint, a lower paddle for engaging a second bone of the joint and a displacement mechanism. The displacement mechanism includes a drive assembly operable to move the upper paddle relative to the lower paddle. The lower paddle is releasably connected to the displacement mechanism.

There is provided is a robot arm apparatus including an arm unit made up of a plurality of links joined to each other by one or a plurality of a joint unit, the arm unit being connectable to an imaging unit; and a drive control unit that controls driving of the arm unit by causing each joint unit to be driven cooperatively. The drive control unit uses relative position information of a reference position with respect to the arm unit, the relative position information being based on a state of the arm unit and distance information about a distance between the imaging unit and the reference position, to control the driving of the arm unit in a manner that the reference position is positioned on an optical axis of the imaging unit.

Systems and methods for minimally invasive tele-surgery are described. For example, the disclosure describes methods for independently controlling motions of the robotic manipulator, cannula, and surgical instrument in various surgical contexts.