235 results about "Surgical approach" patented technology

A tool that has an introducer having a space therein and a distal aperture at the distal end thereof, and a spike movable within the introducer, may be used in a surgical method for treating a vessel wall. A tissue plug may be removed from the vessel wall with the spike, whereby an opening remains in the vessel wall. The spike then may be moved within the space in the introducer in a direction away from the longitudinal centerline of the distal aperture. An object then may be delivered through the introducer and out of the distal aperture to the opening in the vessel wall.

An artificial functional spinal unit is provided comprising, generally, an expandable artificial intervertebral implant that can be placed via a posterior surgical approach and used in conjunction with one or more artificial facet joints to provide an anatomically correct range of motion. Expandable artificial intervertebral implants in both lordotic and non-lordotic designs are disclosed, as well as lordotic and non-lordotic expandable cages for both PLIF (posterior lumber interbody fusion) and TLIF (transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion) procedures. The expandable implants may have various shapes, such as round, square, rectangular, banana-shaped, kidney-shaped, or other similar shapes. By virtue of their posteriorly implanted approach, the disclosed artificial FSU's allow for posterior decompression of the neural elements, reconstruction of all or part of the natural functional spinal unit, restoration and maintenance of lordosis, maintenance of motion, and restoration and maintenance of disc space height.

An artificial functional spinal unit is provided comprising, generally, an expandable artificial intervertebral implant that can be placed via a posterior surgical approach and used in conjunction with one or more artificial facet joints to provide an anatomically correct range of motion. Expandable artificial intervertebral implants in both lordotic and non-lordotic designs are disclosed, as well as lordotic and non-lordotic expandable cages for both PLIF (posterior lumber interbody fusion) and TLIF (transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion) procedures. The expandable implants may have various shapes, such as round, square, rectangular, banana-shaped, kidney-shaped, or other similar shapes. By virtue of their posteriorly implanted approach, the disclosed artificial FSU's allow for posterior decompression of the neural elements, reconstruction of all or part of the natural functional spinal unit, restoration and maintenance of lordosis, maintenance of motion, and restoration and maintenance of disc space height.

The present invention relates generally to a prosthetic spinal disc for replacing a damaged disc between two vertebrae of a spine. The present invention also relates to a method for implanting a prosthetic spinal disc via anterior or anterior lateral implantation. Other surgical approaches for implanting the prosthetic disc may also be used.

Devices and methods for improving the function of a valve (e.g., mitral valve) by positioning a spacing filling device outside and adjacent the heart wall such that the device applies an inward force against the heart wall acting on the valve. A substantially equal and opposite force may be provided by securing the device to the heart wall, and / or a substantially equal and opposite outward force may be applied against anatomical structure outside the heart wall. The inward force is sufficient to change the function of the valve, and may increase coaptation of the leaflets, for example. The space filling device may be implanted by a surgical approach, a transthoracic approach, or a transluminal approach, for example. The space filling portion may be delivered utilizing a delivery catheter navigated via the selected approach, and the space filling portion may be expandable between a smaller delivery configuration and a larger deployed configuration.

An artificial functional spinal unit including an expandable intervertebral implant that can be inserted via a posterior surgical approach and used with one or more facet replacement devices to provide an anatomically correct range of motion is described. Lordotic and non-lordotic expandable, articulating implants and cages are described, along with embodiments of facet replacement devices and instruments for insertion. Methods of insertion are also described.

A system and method for navigation within a surgical field are presented. In exemplary embodiments according to the present invention a micro-camera can be provided in a hand-held navigation probe tracked by a tracking system. This enables navigation within an operative scene by viewing real-time images from the viewpoint of the micro-camera within the navigation probe, which are overlaid with computer generated 3D graphics depicting structures of interest generated from pre-operative scans. Various transparency settings of the camera image and the superimposed 3D graphics can enhance the depth perception, and distances between a tip of the probe and any of the superimposed 3D structures along a virtual ray extending from the probe tip can be dynamically displayed in the combined image. In exemplary embodiments of the invention a virtual interface can be displayed adjacent to the combined image on a system display, thus facilitating interaction with various navigation related functions. In exemplary embodiments according to the present invention virtual reality systems can be used to plan surgical approaches with multi-modal CT and MRI data. This allows for generating 3D structures as well as marking ideal surgical paths. The system and method presented thus enable transfer of a surgical planning scenario to a real-time view of an actual surgical field, thus enhancing navigation.

The invention provides a variety of surgical instruments for forming a liquid jet, which are useful for performing a wide variety of surgical procedures. In some embodiments, the invention provides surgical liquid jet instruments having a pressure lumen and an evacuation lumen, where the pressure lumen includes at least one nozzle for forming a liquid jet and where the evacuation lumen includes a jet-receiving opening for receiving the liquid jet when the instrument is in operation. In some embodiments, the pressure lumen and the evacuation lumen of the surgical liquid jet instruments are constructed and positionable relative to each other so that the liquid comprising the liquid jet, and any tissue or material entrained by the liquid jet can be evacuated through the evacuation lumen without the need for an external source of suction. The invention also provides a variety of surgical liquid jet instruments that are constructed and configured specifically for use in a surrounding liquid environment or a surrounding gaseous environment. The invention also provides a variety of surgical liquid jet instruments that are rotatably deployable from an undeployed position, for insertion into the body of a patient, to a deployed position, in which there is a separation distance between the liquid jet nozzle and the jet-receiving opening that defines a liquid jet path length. The invention also provides surgical methods utilizing the inventive surgical liquid jet instruments, and methods for forming components of the surgical liquid jet instruments.