Abstract: A patient support apparatus comprises a support structure comprising a base and a patient support surface to support a patient. An actuator system facilitates movement of the patient support surface relative to a floor surface. One or more sensors are responsive to changes in position of the patient support surface caused by the actuator system. A controller is operably coupled to the one or more sensors and the actuator system. The controller is configured to operate the actuator system to move the patient support surface and to monitor the movement of the patient support surface by sensing positions of the patient support surface over time. The controller is further configured to identify a frictional load event on the actuator system during movement in a present cycle and associate the frictional load event with a sensed position of the patient support surface in the present cycle.

Abstract: A surgical instrument comprises a hand-held portion configured to be manipulated by a user and a pivoting portion operatively coupled to the hand-held portion. The pivoting portion is configured to pivot with respect to the hand-held portion according to first and second degrees of freedom. The pivoting portion includes an accessory drive motor, an accessory drive member configured to be driven by the accessory drive motor, a plurality of lead screws, a carriage including a central aperture axially extending through the carriage and configured to interface with and linearly translate along the plurality of lead screws, and a linear drive motor configured to rotate the plurality of lead screws to linearly translate the carriage relative to the hand-held portion with respect to a third degree of freedom. The accessory drive member extends through and is configured to move within the central aperture of the carriage.

Abstract: A surgical system comprises a handpiece and a battery. The handpiece includes a body and a handpiece connector operatively coupled to the body, the handpiece connector including a first coupler. The battery includes a housing, a rechargeable cell for storing an electric charge, and a battery connector operatively coupled to the housing, the battery connector including a second coupler configured to rotatably engage the first coupler. The second coupler receives the first coupler along an axis at an initial radial position where relative axial movement between the battery and the handpiece is permitted and permits rotation of the battery relative to the handpiece from the initial radial position to a first secured radial position and a second secured radial position. Relative axial movement between the battery and the handpiece is constrained in the first secured radial position and in the second secured radial position.

Abstract: A system for charging a battery is provided. The system includes a first and a second container, each including receptacles shaped to receive a battery and protrusions each being aligned with a receptacle, wherein a number of receptacles and protrusions in the first container is greater than a number of receptacles and protrusions in the second container. The system also includes a charging device including charging bays each being shaped to receive a protrusion. The charging bays are arranged in rows and columns with a number of columns corresponding to a number of receptacles in the first container and a number of rows corresponding to a number of receptacles in the second container. Each of the charging bays comprises an antenna configured to provide charging power to a battery disposed in a receptacle. The charging device includes a charging controller to provide charging power to the battery via the antenna.

Abstract: Apparatus and method of locating and/or counting one or more surgical articles, wherein the surgical article may comprise a surgical sponge comprising a counting element and/or detecting element. The counting element and/or detecting element may comprise an RFID tag encapsulated in a housing or pouch that is coupled to the surgical sponge. The RFID tag may further comprise unique identification and/or location information relative to the surgical sponge. The RFID tag may be coupled to the sponge at an attachment position and/or oriented on the surgical sponge relative to a defined set of reference lines. The attachment position and/or orientation of the RFID tag on the surgical sponge may be configured to improve the accuracy of scanning the RFID tag. A plurality of surgical articles (i.e. surgical sponges) comprising RFID tags may be packaged or bundled via a strap or within a container.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates generally to medical imaging, and more specifically to machine-learning techniques to generate intraoperative fluorescence images of a subject (e.g., to aid a surgery, to aid diagnosis and treatment of diseases). The system can receive an intraoperative white light image of the subject, input the intraoperative white light image of the subject into a generator of a trained generative adversarial network (GAN) model trained. In some examples, the GAN model is trained using a plurality of training image pairs, and each training image pair comprises an intraoperative white light training image and an intraoperative fluorescence training image of a same tissue. The system can obtain, from the generator, the generated intraoperative fluorescence image of the subject and display, on a display, the generated intraoperative fluorescence image of the subject.

Abstract: Packaging systems and surgical kits for a tool that has a cutting bur and a shaft. A casing includes a distal section defining a cavity to receive the cutting bur of the tool. A proximal section is coupled to the distal section and receives the shaft of the tool. The proximal section is detachable from the distal section. At least a portion of the distal section comprises a colored indicator to provide a visual indication of a location of the cutting bur of the tool. Instructions are provided on the proximal section and the instructions illustrate one or more steps for installing the tool to a surgical device.

Abstract: A surgical arm is presented. The surgical arm comprises a first interface configured to receive a device for performing or assisting a surgical procedure and multiple adjustment members configured to adjust the surgical arm relative to a respective adjustment axis. The surgical arm further comprises at least two operating members configured to operate different ones of the adjustment members wherein the operating members are marked with different visual codings. Further a method for providing visual guidance for operating the surgical arm according to a pre-determined surgical approach is presented.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a housing assembly for accommodating printed circuit boards (PCBs). The housing assembly comprises a first housing portion configured to accommodate a first PCB, a second housing portion configured to accommodate a second PCB, and a separating portion for separating the first housing portion from the second housing portion. The separating portion comprises a first separating region in which the first housing portion and the second housing portion overlap and a second separating region that extends beyond the second housing portion and covers the first housing portion. The second separating region comprises one or more convection openings.

Abstract: A braided vaso-occlusive member formed out of first plurality of filaments interwoven with a second plurality of filaments, wherein filaments of the first plurality are helically wound in a first rotational direction along an elongate axis of the braided member, and filaments of the second plurality are wound in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction, such that filaments of the first plurality cross over and/or under filaments of the second plurality at each of a plurality cross-over locations axially spaced along the elongate axis of the braided member, wherein at each cross-over location, the filaments of the first plurality cross over at least two consecutive filaments of the second plurality, then cross under only a single filament of the second plurality, and then cross over at least two additional consecutive filaments of the second plurality.

Abstract: A vaso-occlusive device is constructed out of dissimilar metallic materials that are in contact or otherwise in close proximity with one another, thereby causing the device to undergo galvanic corrosion when exposed to an electrolytic medium, such as blood or other body fluid, wherein one of the dissimilar metallic materials is zirconium or zirconium alloy to create a corrosive product including zirconia having a relatively high hardness, a relatively high fracture toughness, and a relatively high stability when the device is implanted in a vasculature site, such as an aneurysm.

Abstract: Mechanical thrombectomy apparatuses including an inverting, rolling conveyor region (“tractor”) at the distal end that are configured to grab and remove thrombus material. In particular, described herein are mechanical thrombectomy apparatuses that are adapted to prevent premature deployment of the tractor, e.g., by including a tractor hold (e.g., a housing, a lock, a clamp, etc.) or the like to secure the outer end of the tractor against and/or relative to the elongate inversion support.

Abstract: A user control device for a surgical system. The surgical system includes a robotic manipulator to support and move a surgical instrument that has an energy applicator. One or more controllers operate the robotic manipulator in a semi-autonomous mode and calculate an instrument feed rate, which is the velocity at which the energy applicator advances along a tool path in the semi-autonomous mode. The user control device includes a housing configured as a pendant configured to be held in one hand of a user. A first control member is mounted to the housing and can be depressed to initiate operation of the robotic manipulator in the semi-autonomous mode. A second control member is mounted to the housing and can be depressed to modify the instrument feed rate in the semi-autonomous mode.

Abstract: A surgical system and a method of operating a surgical system are disclosed herein. The surgical system includes a foot-operable control device and a dongle. The foot-operable control device includes a first communication device and a radio frequency (RF) reader and communicates with a surgical console to remotely control a surgical device. The dongle includes a second communication device and an RF device and physically couples to a connection port of the surgical console to be powered through the connection port. The RF reader is configured to receive pairing information from the RF device in response to the RF device being within a threshold proximity of the RF reader. The first and second communication devices are configured to wirelessly connect based on the pairing information to thereby enable the foot-operable control device to wirelessly communicate with the surgical console to remotely control the surgical device.

Abstract: A mechanical thrombectomy apparatus for removing a clot from a vessel includes an elongate inversion support catheter having a distal end opening, an elongate puller extending within the support catheter, and a knitted tractor tube extending over an outer surface of the support catheter, inverting into the distal end opening of the support catheter, and attached to the elongate puller at a first end within the support catheter, wherein the portion of the knitted tractor tube extending over the support catheter comprises a wire forming a helical spiral of alternating teardrop shaped-links each having a rounded apex, wherein each link is connected to two adjacent links so that the apex of each link is on an outward-facing surface of the tractor tube, wherein the links flare outward from an outer wall of the support catheter when the puller is pulled proximally within the support catheter.

Abstract: A technique is presented for computer-assisted planning of fastener placement in vertebrae that are to be stabilized by a pre-formed spinal rod, wherein two or more fasteners are to couple the rod to the vertebrae. At least one of a target shape of the spine and a shape of the pre-formed rod is defined in patient-specific shape data, a bone density of at least one of the vertebrae is defined in patient-specific bone density data, and patient-specific anatomical data are provided. A force distribution along a length of the rod may be calculated based on the shape data and the anatomical data. A planning result for fastener placement may be generated based on the bone density data of a given vertebra and the calculated force distribution.

Abstract: Anatomic points within the body are projected outside the body through the use of extenders. The projected points may then be used for measurement, or to facilitate the selection or configuration of an implant that is to be positioned proximate the anatomic points. Such an implant may be a rod for a posterior spinal fusion system. Pedicle screws may be implanted into pedicles of the spine, and may then serve as anchors for the extenders. The extenders may have rod interfaces that receive the rod in a manner that mimics the geometry of the pedicle screws so that the selected or configured contoured rod will properly fit into engagement with the pedicle screws.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an implant for bone fixation comprising an elongated member configured to be wound around bone parts that are to be fixed, an engagement member coupled to the elongated member and configured to engage a portion of the elongated member so as to secure the implant in a loop around the bone parts, and a fastening member arranged between and coupled to the elongated member and the engagement member. The fastening member comprises at least two separate pieces each comprising one opening for receiving a bone fastener, wherein the separate pieces are coupled to each other by a material having a lower material strength than a material from which the separate pieces are made.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a surgical rigid arm (100, 150, 200, 900) includes a first portion (102, 152, 202, 902), a second portion (103, 153, 203, 903) and a central portion (105, 154, 205, 906), where the central portion is extends between the first and second portions. A first end of the first portion and a second end of the second portion are each attached to a peripheral side (14) of a surgical bed (10, 30) such that the first portion and the second portion extend from the surgical bed in a first direction. The central portion extends substantially horizontally and is positioned over the surgical bed, the central portion being connected to the surgical instrument such that a load from the surgical instrument is distributed across the central portion to the first portion and second portion to provide rigid support for the surgical instrument.