Abstract: In one embodiment, a medical apparatus, includes a medical instrument configured to move within a passage in a body of a patient, a position tracking system to track coordinates of the medical instrument within the body, a display screen, and a processor to register the position tracking system and a 3D computerized tomography (CT) image of at least a part of the body within a common frame of reference, find a 3D path of the medical instrument through the passage from a start point to a termination point within the common frame of reference, compute a direction to the 3D path from the medical instrument responsively to the tracked coordinates, and render and simultaneously display on the display screen respective 2D CT slices, based on the 3D CT image, including respective 2D indications of the direction to the 3D path from the instrument projected onto the respective 2D CT slices.

Abstract: A system includes an enclosure, an irrigation retainer, one or more sensors, and a processor. The irrigation retainer is coupled with the enclosure and configured to accept an irrigation container holding irrigation fluid for pumping to a phacoemulsification handpiece. The one or more sensors are coupled with the irrigation retainer and configured to provide at least one signal indicative of a remaining amount of the irrigation fluid. The processor is configured to receive the at least one signal, and in response to the at least one signal, output an estimation of the remaining amount of the irrigation fluid in the irrigation container or an estimation of the amount of irrigation fluid used.

Abstract: A method includes, inserting a catheter into a cavity of a patient organ for performing a medical procedure, the cavity is of a given cavity type. A partial anatomical mapping of the cavity is performed by visiting one or more anatomical points on a surface of the cavity, using the catheter. Based on the partial anatomical mapping, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) template is selected, which is specified for applying the medical procedure to the given cavity type. The selected GUI template is presented to a user for performing the medical procedure in the cavity.

Abstract: An eye surgery system includes an Input/Output (I/O) device and a processor. The I/O device is configured to enable a user to define one or more eye surgery protocols, and further configured to, using the I/O device, present a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays one or more user defined eye surgery protocols. The processor is configured to (a) present the one or more user defined eye surgery protocols on the I/O device using the GUI, (b) test compatibility of the one or more user defined eye surgery protocols with the eye surgery system, and (c) provide an indication of the compatibility to a user of the eye surgery system.

Abstract: A medical system includes a catheter configured to be inserted into a body part of a living subject, and including a distal end comprising an electrode, and a processor configured to compute position coordinates of the electrode, and find a measure of proximity of the electrode to tissue of the body part responsively to the position coordinates of the electrode and position coordinates of a wall of an anatomical map of the body part.

Abstract: A system (11) includes a medical probe (36) for insertion into a cavity of an organ, which includes a position and direction sensor (60) and a camera (45), both operating in a sensor coordinate system (62). The system further includes a processor (44) configured to: receive, from an imaging system (21) operating in an image coordinate system (28), a three-dimensional image of the cavity including open space and tissue; receive, from the medical probe, signals indicating positions and respective directions of the medical probe inside the cavity; receive, from the camera, respective visualized locations inside the cavity; register the image coordinate system with the sensor coordinate system so as to identify one or more voxels in the image at the visualized locations, and when the identified voxels have density values in the received image that do not correspond to the open space, to update the density values of the identified voxels to correspond to the open space.

Abstract: A surgical tool, consisting of a handle and a flexible insertion tube, having a proximal end coupled to the handle and a distal end configured to be inserted into an orifice of a living subject. The tool has an inner tube, which is bendable without breaking over a range of angles in response to a bending force, and which retains the bent shape after the bending force has been removed. The inner tube is located within the insertion tube. A flexible tubing defines a lumen and is contained within the inner tube. A tool working tip is configured to contact tissue in the subject and to mate with a distal termination of the inner tube. A rigid outer tube grips outer surfaces of the working tip and of the inner tube so as to maintain an opening of the working tip in communication with the flexible tubing lumen.

Abstract: A catheter calibration system includes a calibration chamber, a receiver and a processor. The calibration chamber is configured to generate a calibration magnetic field that oscillates at a first frequency. The calibration chamber includes a cavity for inserting a distal end of a catheter having one or more magnetic-field sensors. The receiver is configured to be connected to the catheter, to receive from the catheter one or more signals, which are generated by the one or more magnetic-field sensors in response to the calibration magnetic field, and to convert the one or more signals into one or more respective intermediate frequency (IF) signals having a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency. The processor is configured to receive the one or more IF signals from the receiver and to calculate catheter navigation calibration data from the one or more IF signals.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a medical system, includes a catheter to be inserted into a chamber of a heart of a living subject, and including catheter electrodes configured to contact tissue at respective locations within the chamber of the heart, a display, and processing circuitry to receive signals from the catheter, and in response to the signals assess a respective quality of contact of each of the catheter electrodes with the tissue in the heart, and render to the display respective intracardiac electrograms traces representing electrical activity in the tissue that is sensed by the catheter electrodes at the respective locations, while modifying a visual feature of at least some of the traces responsively to the respective quality of contact of the catheter electrodes with the tissue of the heart at the respective locations.

Abstract: A system includes a display and a processor. The processor is configured to: (i) receive a three-dimensional (3D) anatomical map including multiple vectors, and a selection of a section of the 3D anatomical map, the section including one or more given vectors among the multiple vectors, (ii) produce a two-dimensional (2D) projection of the section, which includes the one or more given vectors, and (iii) present on the display, the 2D projection overlaid on the 3D anatomical map.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a current source, an electronic circuit and a circuit board. The current source is configured to flow an electrical current having a selected frequency between a pair of electrodes coupled to a medical probe. The electronic circuit is configured to measure a single-ended voltage relative to ground that is formed on at least one of the electrodes in the pair in response to the electrical current, and, based on the measured voltage, to assess physical contact between the at least one of the electrodes and tissue. The circuit board includes the current source and the electronic circuit, and includes a layout that produces, at the selected frequency, a predefined capacitance between the current source and ground, thus forming a reference for measurement of the single-ended voltage.

Abstract: A method includes inserting into a patient body a medical suction tool, which includes a hollow first tube for removing material away from a Eustachian tube of a patient, and a hollow second tube disposed around the first tube. The medical suction tool is navigated to the Eustachian tube. The Eustachian tube is sealed by coupling an outer surface of the second tube to an inner surface of the Eustachian tube. While the Eustachian tube is sealed by the second tube, the material is removed away from the Eustachian tube via the first tube.

Abstract: A medical apparatus includes a probe configured for insertion into a body of a patient. The probe includes electrodes configured to contact tissue within the body. The apparatus further includes a display screen, a position-tracking system configured to acquire position coordinates of the electrodes, and a processor. The processor is configured to acquire electrophysiological signals from a group of the electrodes in a sequence of time intervals, extract electrophysiological parameters from the signals, and for each time interval, compute a measure of consistency of the parameters extracted from the signals. The processor is further configured to render to the display screen a three-dimensional map of the tissue while superimposing on the map a visual indication of the extracted parameters for which the measure of consistency satisfied a consistency criterion, and automatically discarding from the map the parameters for which the measure of consistency did not satisfy the criterion.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a medical system includes a catheter configured to be inserted into a body part of a living subject, a display configured to provide a view of at least part of a hand of a user, and a processor configured to track a position of the catheter in the body part, render to the display a three-dimensional view of an interior of an anatomical map of the body part and a representation of the catheter inside the anatomical map responsively to the tracked position, while the display is providing the view of the at least part of the hand of the user, recognize a gesture of the at least part of the hand of the user selecting a portion of the catheter, and perform an action responsively to recognizing selection by the user of the portion of the catheter.

Abstract: A method includes receiving analog body-surface signal from body-surface electrode, and multiple analog unipolar signals from multiple unipolar electrodes of an invasive probe. A first unipolar electrode is assigned to serve as a common electrical ground and a common timing reference for the analog unipolar signals and the analog body-surface signal. The analog unipolar signals are digitized to produce digital unipolar signals sampled relative to a digital ground. Defined are an analog bipolar signal between the first unipolar electrode and a second unipolar electrode of the probe, and digital bipolar signal formed from the first unipolar electrode and the second unipolar electrode. Ground and timing offsets between the analog bipolar signal and the digital bipolar signal are estimated, while the first unipolar electrode is connected to the digital ground. The ground offset and the timing offset are applied in measuring a third unipolar signal, sensed by a third unipolar electrode.

Abstract: A robotic arm control system including a medical instrument to be inserted into a body-part, a force sensor to detect force applied by the instrument to the body-part, a robotic arm attached to the instrument, a first position sensor to track an instrument position of the instrument in the body-part, a second position sensor to track a body position of the body-part, and a controller to compute, responsively to the instrument position and the body position, a location of the instrument relative to the body-part, compare the detected force applied by the instrument to a permitted force level for application to an anatomical feature at the computed location and send a control command to, or cut power of, the robotic arm to loosen a rigidity of at least one robotic joint in response to the detected force applied by the instrument being greater than the permitted force level.

Abstract: A system includes signal acquisition circuitry and a processing unit. The signal acquisition circuitry is configured to receive multiple intra-cardiac signals acquired by multiple electrodes of an intra-cardiac probe in a heart of a patient. The processing unit is configured to select a group of the intra-cardiac signals, extract a respective most-likely annotation value from each of the intra-cardiac signals in the group, in accordance with a likelihood criterion, identify in the group an intra-cardiac signal whose most-likely annotation value is statistically deviant in the group by more than a predefined measure of deviation, extract, from the intra-cardiac signal having the statistically deviant annotation value, at least a second-most-likely annotation value in accordance with the likelihood criterion, and, responsive to a statistical deviation of the second-most-likely annotation value, select a valid annotation value for the corresponding intra-cardiac signal.

Abstract: A method, system, and device for selective power saving may be used in medical procedures. The device may be configured to receive motion information from a detector and location information from a sensor. A processor may correlate the motion information and the location information to determine whether to maintain power to the sensor. The determination of whether to maintain power to the sensor may be based on the correlation of the motion information and the location information. The processor may determine whether the location of the device has changed and the degree of that change. The processor may also determine whether the motion information is less than a duration threshold. The duration threshold may be a user configurable threshold. The processor may power off the sensor if a duration threshold is met and/or the location of the wireless tool has not changed.

Abstract: A method for tissue assessment includes ablating tissue at a site within a body of a living subject using an invasive probe applied to the site. At a first stage in ablation of the tissue, first measurements are made of scattered light intensities from the site at a plurality of different wavelengths. At a second stage in the ablation of the tissue, subsequent to the first stage, second measurements are made of the scattered light intensities from the site at the plurality of different wavelengths. Progress of the ablation is assessed by computing different, respective measures of change in the scattered light intensities at the different wavelengths occurring between the first and second measurements, and comparing the respective measures.

Abstract: A method includes receiving a plurality of data points including electrophysiological (EP) values measured at respective positions in at least a portion of an organ of a patient. Some of the EP values are classified as outlier values in accordance with a defined criterion. A visual representation of at least the portion of the organ is derived from the plurality of data points. The visual representation represents the EP values with respective colors, and visualizes less than all the outlier values, by performing one or both of (a) identifying outlier values that deviate from respective neighboring EP values by less than a defined deviation, and representing the outlier values using colors that match the neighboring EP values, and (b) setting for the visual representation a mapping, which maps the EP values to the colors and which excludes at least some of the outlier values.