Abstract: Provided herein are systems, devices, and methods for performing a medical procedure on a patient. The system comprises an ablation catheter comprising a shaft, at least one therapeutic element positioned on the shaft, and one or more tissue-contact sensing components configured to provide a contact signal related to the level of contact between the at least one therapeutic element and tissue. The system further comprises: an energy delivery unit configured to deliver ablative energy to the at least one therapeutic element to create a lesion in target tissue, and to provide an energy delivery data; a force module configured to receive the contact signal and provide contact data; and a processing unit configured to determine an ablation index based on both the energy delivery data and the contact data. The ablation index can represent the status of the lesion being created.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for passivating lithium nitride (Li3N) for use in a lithium-ion battery as a cathode pre-lithiation reagent. In one example, the cathode pre-lithiation reagent may include a core particle composed of Li3N, and a passivation coating uniformly disposed on at least a portion of a surface of the core particle. In some examples, the passivation coating may cover a majority of the surface of the core particle or may substantially completely cover the surface of the core particle. The cathode pre-lithiation reagent may further be included in the lithium-ion battery, where the passivation coating may mitigate unwanted side reactions during processing and manufacturing. In this way, Li3N may be successfully and reproducibly utilized as a cathode pre-lithiation reagent, such that initial lithium ion consumption may be compensated and capacity of the lithium-ion battery may be concomitantly increased.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for a cathode material for lithium ion batteries. In one example, the cathode material may include a lithium mixed metal oxide core and a surface coating surrounding the core. Optionally, a passivating layer may continuously surround the surface coating. In some examples, the surface coating or surface layer may include a sacrificial lithium source, a lithium-based active cathode catalyst, or a combination thereof. In other examples, methods are provided for manufacturing the cathode material for use in a lithium ion battery.