Patent ID: 11963798
Assignee: MEDTRONIC, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  G | IPC A  G

Claim 0:
1. A medical system comprising:
a medical device, the medical device including:
an elongate body including a distal portion and a proximal portion opposite the distal portion; and
an optical element located at the distal portion of the elongate body, the optical element including at least one optical fiber having a distal portion and a proximal portion opposite the distal portion and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) located within the distal portion of the optical fiber, the optical element configured to provide an output indicative of a linear force exerted on an area of tissue by the elongate body based on spacing of the FBG;

a control unit in communication with the medical device, the control unit including:
an optical interrogator in communication with the optical element, the optical interrogator configured to receive the output from the optical element; and
processing circuitry configured to:
receive data from the optical interrogator;
determine the linear force exerted on the area of tissue based on the output;
compare the determined linear force exerted on the area of tissue to an image of the area of tissue performed by an imaging system in communication with the processing circuitry;
determine whether the distal portion of the elongate body is in contact with non-target tissue based on the comparison;
generate an alert to a display when the processing circuitry determines that the distal portion of the elongate body is in contact with non-target tissue; and
automatically prevent an operation of the medical device on the area of tissue when the processing circuitry determines that the distal portion of the elongate body is in contact with non-target tissue.