The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for aligning directionally operable medical devices with and upon target tissue. In particular, the instant disclosure relates to systems and methods for aligning medical devices such as directional ablation catheters to and upon target tissue by monitoring irrigant backpressure.

A robotic device for performing intracranial procedures, comprising a baseplate for mounting on the subject's skull and a rotatable base element rotating on the baseplate. The rotatable base element has a central opening through which a cannulated needle can protrude such that it can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the baseplate. This cannulated needle is robotically controlled to provide motion into and out of the subject's skull. A flexible needle is disposed coaxially within the cannulated needle, and it is controlled to move into and out of a non-axial aperture in the distal part of the cannulated needle. Coordinated control of the insertion motion of the cannulated and flexible needles, and rotation of the combined cannulated/flexible needle assembly enables access to be obtained to a volume of a region of the brain having lateral dimensions substantially larger than the width of the cannulated needle.

The present disclosure relates to an implantable device that delivers therapeutic energy to a patient. More specifically it relates to implantable ultrasonic devices adapted to affect vascular endothelium to induce at least one substance selected from Nitric Oxide, NO, and/or adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to the treatment of various medical conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and Asthma by enhancing local perfusion to specific target organs.

A surgical method treats infections on a lead positioned at least partially within a patient's body. The surgical method includes uncoupling the lead from a pulse generator. The lead is then coupled to an ultrasound wave generator. Ultrasound waves are propagated from the ultrasound wave generator through the lead. Systems are disclosed.

An interstitial ultrasound thermal ablation applicator for conformal treatment of an inhomogeneous tumor lesion includes: a body having a longitudinal axis; and a plurality of array transducers mounted on the body, arranged side by side and having azimuth directions parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body, and having outer faces disposed in a polygonal arrangement; the plurality of array transducers having predetermined elevation dimensions defined for directing emitted ultrasonic energy to obtain a conformal volume treatment of the tumor lesions. An electronic driving method for driving an applicator having multiple independent transducer elements arranged in rows and columns includes: controlling focal parameters of each row and column of transducer elements; and controlling a contribution of each row and column of transducer elements in a manner to provide a conformal ablated volume.

A robotic device for performing intracranial procedures, comprising a baseplate for mounting on the subject's skull and a rotatable base element rotating on the baseplate. The rotatable base element has a central opening through which a cannulated needle can protrude such that it can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the baseplate. This cannulated needle is robotically controlled to provide motion into and out of the subject's skull. A flexible needle is disposed coaxially within the cannulated needle, and it is controlled to move into and out of a non-axial aperture in the distal part of the cannulated needle. Coordinated control of the insertion motion of the cannulated and flexible needles, and rotation of the combined cannulated/flexible needle assembly enables access to be obtained to a volume of a region of the brain having lateral dimensions substantially larger than the width of the cannulated needle.

Devices, methods, and systems related to ultrasound imaging or modulating of the nervous system are described. The devices may comprise, for example, one or more ultrasound transducers, wherein an ultrasound transducer from the one or more ultrasound transducers can comprise an implantable ultrasound transducer, wherein the implantable ultrasound transducer can comprise a sonolucent window. The methods and systems may also comprise, for example, a method of imaging and/or modulating the nervous system of a subject using the one or more ultrasound transducers. The method of imaging and/or modulating the nervous system of the subject can be based on a closed-loop operation, wherein an iteration of the imaging and/or the modulating of the nervous system is based on a prior iteration. The closed-loop operation can comprise ultrasound imaging and ultrasound-based modulating or electrophysiological modulating. The methods can further comprise methods of analyzing ultrasound data, such as via an artificial neural network.

The present disclosure provides a means for transiently disrupting the neurovascular barrier of a human. More particularly, the disclosure relates to an ultrasound contrast agent for use in treating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in a subject, wherein the ultrasound contrast agent is used in combination with ultrasound beam for transiently disrupting the neurovascular barrier of the subject.

A system for delivering energy into a body tissue. A tissue puncturing device is adapted to puncture a tissue surface and generate micro-channels from the tissue surface into the body tissue. A stimulator is adapted to deliver energy to the body tissue over or adjacent to the micro-channels.

Image-guided therapy of a tissue can utilize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or another medical imaging device to guide an instrument within the tissue. A workstation can actuate movement of the instrument, and can actuate energy emission and/or cooling of the instrument to effect treatment to the tissue. The workstation and/or an operator of the workstation can be located outside a vicinity of an MRI device or other medical imaging device, and drive means for positioning the instrument can be located within the vicinity of the MRI device or the other medical imaging device. The instrument can be an MRI compatible laser or high-intensity focused ultrasound probe that provides thermal therapy to, e.g., a tissue in a brain of a patient.