Medtronic, Inc.

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

William T Donofrio

Paul Gordon Krause

John E Burnes

Gerald P Arne

David Jerome Peichel

James D Reinke

Xiaohong Zhou

Robert Perrin Gill

Eitan T Wiener

Jeffrey H Nycz

Richard F Schwemberger

Richard Michael Harper

Timothy J Davis

Mary E Schramm

Anil K Nalagatla

Steven M Tethrake

Stanley W Olson, Jr

Kevin L Houser

Foster B Stulen

Mark A Burdorff

Paul J Niklewski

Curt R Eyster

Carlos Eduardo Gil

Can Cinbis

Jeetendra Subhash Bharadwaj

Fred J Molz, Iv

Richard W Flaker

Hal H Katz

James F Martin

Allan L Friedman

David J Keilholz

Ross G Krogh

Jason A Born

Jeffery J Wuennemann

Andrew J Ries

James Kevin Carney

Salvatore Privitera

William John Havel

Ashvani K Madan

Michael Robert Klardie

Randall Scott Hickle

William K Wenger

Gregory D Bishop

Robert Michael Ecker

John Eric Hein

Michael J Miller

George Patras

Michael A Schugt

Joseph Allen Brotz

John E Nicholson

William L Johnson

Michael L Hudziak

Robert A Kemerling

Kenneth S Kramer

Jason Paul Derouen

DeWayne A Davis

Chris C Christiansen

Sarah Anne Audet

Robert G Cook

Jeffrey A Swanson

Lee K Kulle

Thomas J Olson

Gerard J Hill

Tommy C Cushing

Louis Sabo

Richard James O'Brien

Qingshan (Sam) Ye

William L Collins, Jr

Nicholas E Cobb

William Patrick Adair

Olivier Blandin

Paul Bruggeman

Robert W Libbey

Michael K Berquist

Paul Vahle

Samira Tahvildari

Susan J J Drapeau

Fred B Stevens, Iii

Charles B Burford

K Madan Ashvani

A surgical instrument for assessing tissue characteristics such as tissue density and volume is disclosed. The surgical instrument is hand-held and includes transducers adapted for emitting and/or receiving acoustic signals. The surgical instrument utilizes pulse-echo to determine tissue characteristics. The surgical instrument may be utilized to determine such things as the size of a lesion and whether the lesion has been completely removed or filled with graft material.

Surgical instrument to assess tissue characteristics

An ultrasonic surgical system has an ultrasonic unit including an instrument operatively connected to an ultrasonic generator, wherein the instrument has an ultrasonic end effector on the distal end of a shaft. The system further includes a positioning unit including a movable arm adapted for releasably holding the instrument, whereby an operator may direct the positioning unit to position the end effector at a surgical site inside a body cavity of a patient for performing a plurality of surgical tasks. The system further includes a control unit operatively connected to the ultrasonic and positioning units, wherein the control unit is programmable with a surgical subroutine for performing the surgical tasks. The system further includes a user interface operatively connected to the control unit for initiating an operative cycle of the surgical subroutine such that the surgical tasks are automatically performed during the operative cycle.

Ultrasonic surgical system and method

In some examples, an electromechanical disassociation state (EMD) of a heart of a patient can be treated by delivering electrical stimulation to a tissue site to at least one of modulate afferent nerve activity or inhibit efferent nerve activity upon determining that the heart is in an electromechanical dissociation state, where the tissue site comprises at least one of a nonmyocardial tissue site or a nonvascular cardiac tissue site. The delivery of electrical stimulation may effectively treat the EMD state of the heart, e.g., by enabling effective mechanical contraction of the heart. In another example, an electromechanical disassociation state of a heart of a patient can be treated by determining autonomic nervous system activity associated with a detected EMD state of the heart of a patient, and delivering electrical stimulation therapy to the patient based on the determined autonomic nervous system activity of the patient associated with the EMD state.

Detecting and treating electromechanical dissociation of the heart

Electrical crosstalk between two implantable medical devices or two different therapy modules of a common implantable medical device may be evaluated, and, in some examples, mitigated. In some examples, one of the implantable medical devices or therapy modules delivers electrical stimulation to a nonmyocardial tissue site or a nonvascular cardiac tissue site, and the other implantable medical device or therapy module delivers cardiac rhythm management therapy to a heart of the patient.

Implantable medical device crosstalk evaluation and mitigation

Techniques for minimizing interference between the first and second medical devices or between the different therapy modules of a common medical device are described herein. In some examples, a medical device may include shunt-current mitigation circuitry and/or at least one clamping structure that helps minimize or even eliminate shunt-current that feeds into a first therapy module of the medical device via one or more electrodes electrically connected to the first therapy module. The shunt-current may be generated by the delivery of electrical stimulation by a second therapy module. The second therapy module may be enclosed in a common housing with the first therapy module or may be separate, e.g., a part of a separate medical device.

Shunt-current reduction techniques for an implantable therapy system

An implantable medical device (IMD) may include a battery dedicated to providing cardiac stimulation therapy and a separate power source that provides power for electrical stimulation therapy. Such a configuration preserves the battery dedicated for providing cardiac stimulation therapy even if the second power source is depleted. As an example, the IMD may comprise a cardiac stimulation module configured to deliver at least one stimulation therapy selected from a group consisting of pacing, cardioversion and defibrillation. The IMD further comprises a electrical stimulation module configured to deliver electrical stimulation therapy, a first power source including a battery, wherein the first power source is configured to supply power to the cardiac stimulation module and not to the electrical stimulation module, and a second power source. The second power source is configured to supply power to at least the electrical stimulation module.

Implantable medical device including two power sources

A medical device includes an implantable device having a processor, a pulse generator and a first lead having first and second ends. The first end of the lead is operably and conductively coupled to the implantable device. A first electrode is operably and conductively coupled to the second end of the first lead. The first electrode has a sharp tip for transmitting and focusing a stimulation signal from the pulse generator to a tissue site.

Implantable therapeutic nerve stimulator

The disclosure describes techniques of reducing or eliminating a commonality between two modules within the same implantable medical device. Each module within the implantable medical device provides therapy to a patient. The commonality between the two modules exists due to at least one common component shared by the two modules. The commonality between the two modules may create common-mode interference and a shunt current. In accordance with this disclosure, various isolation circuits located at various locations are disclosed to reduce or eliminate the commonality between the two modules. The reduction or elimination of the commonality between the two modules may reduce or eliminate common-mode interference and the shunt current.

Isolation of sensing and stimulation circuitry

Growing community of inventors

Andover, MN, United States of America

William T Donofrio