Abstract: A device may operate a guide wire and be operable by a single operator digit. The device may include an insertion control device for advancing the guide wire in a forward and in a reverse direction and along a longitudinal axis of the guide wire; and a rotary device for rolling a guide wire about the longitudinal axis. A robotic instrument driver may be operatively coupled to the device and configured to control axial movement of the guide wire along the longitudinal axis according to input received from the insertion control device and to control rotational movement of the guide wire according to input received from the rotary device.

Abstract: In a total hip replacement, a stem of a femoral component is disposed in a patient's thigh bone with a ball extending in such femoral component above the stem. The ball is disposed in a hemispherical cup positioned in the patient's pelvis and enveloping the ball for frontal movement of the ball relative to the cup. A low-friction liner (e.g., plastic or ceramic) is disposed at the bottom of the cup. To determine whether the ball is properly positioned in the cup, a first member (e.g., a coil) is disposed on the bottom of the liner. A second member (e.g., a patch defining a loop) is disposed on the patient's thigh in operatively coupled (e.g. magnetic) relationship to the first member. The operative coupling between the members is variable in accordance with variations in the disposition of the ball in the cup. When the first and second members are respectively a coil and a patch, the coil and a capacitance may be fixed in the patient's body in a circuit resonant at a particular frequency.