Systems and methods for monitoring organ activity

1. A method for monitoring an organ, comprising:

inserting a medical device within the organ, the medical device comprising:

a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; and

an end-effector assembly extending distally from the distal end of the shaft, the end-effector assembly including a plurality of steerable legs, each leg of the plurality of legs being tubular and including at least one leg lumen extending therethrough and terminating in a leg aperture, and a plurality of sensing elements for detecting organ function, wherein the sensing elements include one or more of mechanical, chemical, and biological sensors, and wherein a first portion of a first sensing element of the plurality of sensing elements is positioned within a first leg lumen of the at least one leg lumens of a first leg of the plurality of steerable legs, and a second portion of the first sensing element extends through a first leg aperture of the first leg lumen, wherein the first leg of the end-effector assembly is a circumferentially-extending leg having an axis normal to a longitudinal axis of the end-effector assembly;

positioning the medical device adjacent a wall of the organ; and

measuring at least one of a physical, chemical, or biological property of the organ.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the end-effector assembly extends along a longitudinal axis of the end-effector assembly, the plurality of steerable legs including a plurality of longitudinally-extending legs and the at least one circumferentially-extending leg, wherein the at least one circumferentially-extending leg extends along an axis normal to the longitudinal axis of the end-effector assembly.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensing elements includes at least one of a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, a displacement sensor, a vibration sensor, a voltage sensor, a Doppler sensor, a chemical sensor, or a biosensor.

4. The method of clam 1 , wherein the organ is a bladder and further including expanding the end-effector assembly into contact with a wall of the bladder.

5. The method of claim 1 , further including wirelessly communicating a sensed condition via at least one of the plurality of sensing elements.

6. The method of claim 1 , further including independently steering at least one of the plurality of sensing elements to a location adjacent the wall of the organ.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the end-effector assembly is spherically-shaped.

8. The method of clam 1 , wherein the shaft includes a plurality of lumens, wherein each of the at least one leg lumens of the end-effector assembly communicates with at least one lumen of the plurality of lumens of the shaft.

9. A method for monitoring an organ, comprising:

independently steering at least one of a plurality of sensing elements of an end-effector assembly to a location adjacent an organ wall, the end-effector assembly being selectively coupleable to and uncoupleable from a shaft, the end-effector assembly extending along a longitudinal end-effector axis and including a plurality of legs, the plurality of legs including a plurality of longitudinally-extending legs and at least one circumferentially-extending leg extending along an axis normal to the longitudinal axis of the end-effector assembly, wherein the at least one of the plurality of sensing elements extends through a lumen of the at least one circumferentially-extending leg;

measuring at least one of a physical, chemical, or biological property of the organ;

treating the organ in response to the measured property of the organ; and

uncoupling the end-effector assembly from the shaft.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sensing elements includes at least one of a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, a displacement sensor, a vibration sensor, a voltage sensor, a Doppler sensor, a chemical sensor, or a biosensor.

11. The method of clam 9 , further including expanding the end-effector assembly.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein treating the organ includes delivering electrical stimulation to a bladder.

13. The method of claim 9 , further including producing an alert in response to the measured at least one of the physical, chemical, or biological property of the organ.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the end-effector assembly is a first end-effector assembly, the method further including:

coupling a second end-effector assembly to the shaft, wherein the second end-effector assembly is different than the first end-effector assembly.

15. A method for monitoring a bladder of a patient, comprising:

expanding an end-effector assembly within the bladder of a patient, the end-effector assembly including a plurality of sensing elements, at least one of the plurality of sensing elements extending through a lumen of one of a plurality of legs of the end-effector assembly, wherein the one of the plurality of legs of the end-effector assembly is a circumferentially extending leg extending along an axis normal to a longitudinal axis of the end-effector assembly;

after expanding the end-effector assembly within the bladder, distending a bladder wall via a first portion of the at least one of the plurality of sensing elements extending through a leg aperture of the one of the plurality of legs;

measuring at least one of a physical, chemical, or biological property of the bladder via the at least one of the plurality of sensing elements;

steering the plurality of legs to conform to a shape of the bladder and to contact the bladder wall with some of the plurality of sensing elements; and

delivering electrical stimulation to the bladder in response to the measured property of the bladder.

16. The method of claim 15 , further including producing an alert in response to the measured at least one of physical, chemical, or biological property of the bladder.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of sensing elements includes at least one of a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, a displacement sensor, a vibration sensor, a voltage sensor, a Doppler sensor, a chemical sensor, or a biosensor.