Abstract: A surgical saw assembly that is adapted for cutting an anatomy. The surgical saw assembly includes a blade guard that supports a saw blade prevent deflection or skiving of the saw blade. The blade guard is rotatably moveable and has a front edge profile that interacts with a surface of the anatomy. The front edge profile has a geometry that is at least partially curved and/or follows a non-linear path of movement to provide a smooth interaction between the blade guard and the surface of the anatomy during rotational cuts that are not directly normal to the anatomical surface.

Abstract: An X-ray source (100) for generating X-ray radiation of first and second energy spectra is proposed, wherein the X-ray intensity imbalance between the first and second energy spectra is reduced as compared to conventional X-ray sources. The reduction of the X-ray intensity imbalance is achieved by configuring a smaller electron impact angle (141) onto the anode (102) when the higher tube voltage is applied as compared to when the lower tube voltage is applied.

Abstract: Surgical systems and methods for use with a hand-guided tool. The surgical system includes a robotic manipulator that holds a tool guide. The tool guide receives and guides the surgical tool to enable the tool to manipulate a bone. The robotic manipulator autonomously aligns the tool guide to a target orientation relative to the bone. The tool guide is moved to an initial location adjacent to the bone while remaining aligned with the target orientation. The initial location is suitable for the tool to perform an initial manipulation of the bone. The robotic manipulator facilitates withdrawal of the tool guide away from the initial location to a spaced location after the initial manipulation of the bone while maintaining alignment of the tool guide with the target orientation at the spaced guide location. The spaced guide location is suitable for the tool to perform a further manipulation of the bone.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure may involve a method of generating resection plane data for use in planning an arthroplasty procedure on a patient bone. The method may include: obtaining patient data associated with at least a portion of the patient bone, the patient data captured using a medical imaging machine; generating a three-dimensional patient bone model from the patient data, the patient bone model including a polygonal surface mesh; identifying a location of a posterior point on the polygonal surface mesh; creating a three-dimensional shape centered at or near the location; identifying a most posterior vertex of all vertices of the polygonal surface mesh that may be enclosed by the three-dimensional shape; using the most posterior vertex as a factor for determining a posterior resection depth; and generating resection data using the posterior resection depth, the resection data configured to be utilized by a navigation system during the arthroplasty procedure.

Abstract: An electrochemical cell component including a bulk portion and a surface portion comprising a chromium getter multi-elemental oxide material having a formula (I): AxByOz (I), where A is Ba, Ca, Cr, Mg, or Sr, B is Al, Bi, C, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Ti, Y, or Zn, x is a number selected from 1 to 8, y is a number selected from 1 to 64, and z is a number selected from 1 to 103, the multi-elemental oxide being configured to prevent chromium poisoning of the component.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure may involve a method of generating resection plane data for use in planning an arthroplasty procedure on a patient bone. The method may include: obtaining patient data associated with at least a portion of the patient bone, the patient data captured using a medical imaging machine; generating a three-dimensional patient bone model from the patient data, the patient bone model including a polygonal surface mesh; identifying a location of a posterior point on the polygonal surface mesh; creating a three-dimensional shape centered at or near the location; identifying a most posterior vertex of all vertices of the polygonal surface mesh that may be enclosed by the three-dimensional shape; using the most posterior vertex as a factor for determining a posterior resection depth; and generating resection data using the posterior resection depth, the resection data configured to be utilized by a navigation system during the arthroplasty procedure.

Abstract: Surgical systems and methods for use with a hand-guided tool. The surgical system includes a robotic manipulator that holds a tool guide. The tool guide receives and guides the surgical tool to enable the tool to manipulate a bone. The robotic manipulator autonomously aligns the tool guide to a target orientation relative to the bone. The tool guide is moved to an initial location adjacent to the bone while remaining aligned with the target orientation. The initial location is suitable for the tool to perform an initial manipulation of the bone. The robotic manipulator facilitates withdrawal of the tool guide away from the initial location to a spaced location after the initial manipulation of the bone while maintaining alignment of the tool guide with the target orientation at the spaced guide location. The spaced guide location is suitable for the tool to perform a further manipulation of the bone.

Abstract: Methods are provided for permitting manipulation of an achievable dose distribution estimate deliverable by a radiation delivery apparatus for proposed treatment of a subject. One such method comprises: determining a dose modification voxel for which it is desired to modify the dose value and a corresponding magnitude of desired dose modification; for each of a plurality of beams: (i) characterizing the beam as a two-dimensional array of beamlets, wherein each beamlet is associated with a corresponding intensity value and a ray line representing the projection of the beamlet into space; and (ii) identifying one or more dose-change beamlets which have associated ray lines that intersect the dose modification voxel; modifying the intensity values of at least one of the dose-change beamlets; and updating the achievable dose distribution estimate to account for the modified intensity values of the at least one of the dose-change beamlets.

Abstract: Systems, methods and computer-program products are provided for aiding in positioning between a surgical object and a machine vision camera in a surgical environment. The machine vision camera senses a position and orientation of a surgical object in its field of view. Controller(s) virtually define a zone within the field of view that indicates a range of acceptable positions for the surgical object relative to a position of the machine vision camera. The controller(s) obtain an acceptable orientation range for the surgical object relative to an orientation of the machine vision camera. The controller(s) execute a GUI to simultaneously present, on the display device, representations of: the field of view; the zone within the field of view; the position of the surgical object relative to the zone; and a current angle difference between the surgical object and the machine vision camera.

Abstract: A surgical system includes a tracking system configured to intraoperatively track relative positions of bones of a joint, a user interface configured to obtain a user input indicating a post-operative value for the joint, and a computer programmed to generate, based on the relative positions of the bones and the post-operative value, a planned orientation for an implant to be implanted in the joint, and to generate a surgical plan based on the planned orientation for the implant.

Abstract: A femoral prosthetic component includes a patellar guide portion, a pair of condyles projecting from the guide portion and forming an intercondylar notch therebetween, a bearing surface, and an interface surface configured to face a resected surface of a femur. The interface surface comprises an anterior face and a posterior face, and is substantially contoured between the anterior and posterior face to match a contoured surface of the femur. The substantially contoured interface surface may include at least one planar surface portion to about a flat cut portion in the surface of the femur. This planar surface portion may be a distal flat at a distal face of the interface surface. The contoured interface surface may alternatively include a plurality of planar surface portions. The femoral prosthetic component is configured such that preparation of the bone to match the interface surface results in minimal resection of the distal femur.

Abstract: Systems, methods and software are provided for aiding in positioning of objects in a surgical environment. A tracker is rigidly affixed to a surgical object. A camera has a field of view and senses positions of the tracker in the field of view. Controller(s) provide a zone positioned within the field of view at a location that is static relative to the field of view such that the zone is located independent of the sensed positions of the tracker. The zone defines a range of acceptable positions for the tracker relative to a position of the camera. Controller(s) acquire positions of the tracker as the surgical object is moved throughout a range of motion and enable evaluation of the positions of the tracker throughout the range of motion relative to the zone to aid in positioning of one or more of: the camera, the tracker, or the surgical object.

Abstract: A method includes obtaining a planned position of a first prosthetic component for implantation in a joint, obtaining positional data indicative of relative positions of bones of the joint, calculating, based on the positional data and the planned position of the first prosthetic component, a planned separation distance for the joint, facilitating adjustment of the planned position based on a desired separation distance by updating the planned separation distance in response to an adjusted planned position of the first prosthetic component, and guiding installation of the first prosthetic component in the joint in the adjusted planned position.

Abstract: A femoral prosthetic component includes a patellar guide portion, a pair of condyles projecting from the guide portion and forming an intercondylar notch therebetween, a bearing surface, and an interface surface configured to face a resected surface of a femur. The interface surface comprises an anterior face and a posterior face, and is substantially contoured between the anterior and posterior face to match a contoured surface of the femur. The substantially contoured interface surface may include at least one planar surface portion to about a flat cut portion in the surface of the femur. This planar surface portion may be a distal flat at a distal face of the interface surface. The contoured interface surface may alternatively include a plurality of planar surface portions. The femoral prosthetic component is configured such that preparation of the bone to match the interface surface results in minimal resection of the distal femur.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and guidance techniques for guiding placement of a robotic manipulator relative to an anatomy. A localizer tracks the robotic manipulator and the anatomy. Controller(s) obtain workspace parameters of the robotic manipulator and capture, from the localizer, a current state of the robotic manipulator relative to the anatomy. The controller(s) capture, from the localizer, states of the anatomy in response to movement of the anatomy according to a prescribed manner or a predetermined manner and determine operative parameters of the anatomy based on the captured states. The controller(s) compare the workspace parameters to the operative parameters to determine a desired state for the robotic manipulator relative to the anatomy, whereby the workspace parameters of the robotic manipulator have an acceptable relationship with respect to the operative parameters of the anatomy. The controller(s) guide placement of the robotic manipulator from the current state to the desired state.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electrode arrangement for forming a dielectric barrier plasma discharge between an electrode (1) supplied with an AC high voltage by a control device (20) and a treatment surface (21) of an electrically conductive body (22), said arrangement functioning as a ground electrode, wherein a dielectric material (8) completely covets the electrode (1) up to the treatment surface (21) and forms a contact side for the surface (21). The electrode arrangement permits effective and homogeneous formation of the plasma (23), in particular for large treatment surfaces (21), because the electrode (1) consists of at least two electrode portions (2, 3) arranged next to one another at the same distance (6) from the contact side and insulated from one another by the dielectric material (8), and because adjacent electrode portions are supplied by the control device with compensating partial AC voltages which are mirror-inverted in terms of the waveform and the voltage level.

Abstract: An electrochemical cell component including a bulk portion and a surface portion comprising a chromium getter multi-elemental oxide material having a formula (I): AxByOz (I), where A is Ba, Ca, Cr, Mg, or Sr, B is Al, Bi, C, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Ti, Y, or Zn, x is a number selected from 1 to 8, y is a number selected from 1 to 64, and z is a number selected from 1 to 103, the multi-elemental oxide being configured to prevent chromium poisoning of the component.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for planning and delivering radiation treatments by modalities which involve moving a radiation source along a trajectory relative to a subject while delivering radiation to the subject. In some embodiments the radiation source is moved continuously along the trajectory while in some embodiments the radiation source is moved intermittently. Some embodiments involve the optimization of the radiation delivery plan to meet various optimization goals while meeting a number of constraints. For each of a number of control points along a trajectory, a radiation delivery plan may comprise: a set of motion axes parameters, a set of beam shape parameters and a beam intensity.

Abstract: Surgical systems and methods for use with a hand-guided tool. The surgical system includes a robotic manipulator that holds a tool guide. The tool guide receives and guides the surgical tool to enable the tool to manipulate a bone. The robotic manipulator autonomously aligns the tool guide to a target orientation relative to the bone. The tool guide is moved to an initial location adjacent to the bone while remaining aligned with the target orientation. The initial location is suitable for the tool to perform an initial manipulation of the bone. The robotic manipulator facilitates withdrawal of the tool guide away from the initial location to a spaced location after the initial manipulation of the bone while maintaining alignment of the tool guide with the target orientation at the spaced guide location. The spaced guide location is suitable for the tool to perform a further manipulation of the bone.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for producing a brake element, in particular a brake disk or brake drum, which has a friction portion and a fastening portion, wherein a blank for at least the friction portion is produced by a casting method from gray cast iron with lamellar graphite, wherein the blank is subjected to austenitizing at a predefined austenitizing temperature, and wherein the austenitized blank is subjected to austempering at a predefined austempering temperature. The friction portion and the fastening portion is produced in one piece, and that the fastening portion is produced with a wall thickness of at least 1.5 and at most 4.5 mm.