199results about How to "Diameter minimization" patented technology

A steerable catheter and methods of fabrication including a catheter body formed of a continuous wire braid formed of wires braided over a delivery lumen liner and a pull wire lumen liner distal to a pull wire jacket port, braided around the pull wire jacket port to form a braid port, and over at least a portion of the delivery lumen liner proximal to the pull wire jacket port. A pull wire extends from a pull wire proximal end through the pull wire lumen port and through the pull wire lumen to a pull wire distal end. A band is attached to the pull wire distal end and fitted over a distal segment of the wire braid proximal to the catheter body distal end to fix the pull wire distal end to the catheter body and restrain the wire distal end from flaring away from the delivery lumen liner.

The present invention provides a modular prosthetic valve device designed as two or more device modules that may be delivered to a body lumen unassembled and then assembled into the assembled valve device in the body at least in part using a self-assembly member at or near the site of valve implantation. The device modules may include a support structure and a valve module. The valve module may be delivered in an unassembled, folded delivery configuration, and unfolded and assembled into a working configuration via the self-assembly member. In its unassembled form, the valve module may be a single-piece leaflets substructure or a plurality of valve sections. The self-assembly member has a delivery configuration and a preset configuration, and may be triggered to revert to the preset configuration to assemble the valve module. The modular valve device may be folded in a manner not possible with current valve devices, for example, by rolling the unassembled valve module along its circumferential axis in the direction of its height, so that the diameter of the folded valve module may be equivalent to that of one rolled leaflet. This feature of the invention provides a percutaneous valve device having a smaller delivery diameter than pre-assembled valve devices. This in turn permits use of a delivery device of reduced diameter and increases the flexibility of the loaded delivery device compared to percutaneous valve devices in the art. The invention further provides a system for and method of folding and delivering such a modular valve device and assembling it using the self-assembly member, preferably in the body.

A force-sensing catheter for diagnosing or treating the vessels found within a body or body space includes a center strut that is bonded, preferably thermally, along its longitudinal axis with the thermoplastic tubular member within which it is housed. The tubular member preferably has three layers: an inner layer, a braided layer and an outer layer. One or more semiconductor or metallic foil strain gages are affixed to the center strut in order to provide a measure of the bending and torsional forces on the distal tip of the catheter. Temperature compensation is achieved by having a temperature sensor near the strain gages and calibrating the catheter over a range of temperatures.

A barbed suture includes a flexible thread having a core with a leading end, a trailing end, and a central axis. The barbed suture includes a first flexible flap connected to the core, the first flap extending between the leading and trailing ends of the core, and a second flexible flap connected to the core, the second flap extending between the leading and trailing ends of the core. The flexible flaps and the core have an S-shaped profile when viewed in cross-section. The barbed suture includes first and second slots formed in the respective first and second flaps for dividing the flaps into first and second barbs projecting from the core, whereby each slot extends outwardly from the core and rearwardly toward the trailing end of the core.

The present invention relates to systems and devices for delivering energy to tissue for a wide variety of applications, including medical procedures (e.g., tissue ablation, resection, cautery, vascular thrombosis, treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and dysrhythmias, electrosurgery, tissue harvest, etc.). In particular, the present invention relates to systems and devices for the delivery of energy with heat transfer ability. In some embodiments, the systems and devices also have variable characteristic impedance as a result of the use of heat transfer materials. In certain embodiments, methods are provided for treating a tissue region (e.g., a tumor) through application of energy with the systems and devices of the present invention.

Disclosed is an expandable transluminal sheath, for introduction into the body while in a first, low cross-sectional area configuration, and subsequent expansion of at least a part of the distal end of the sheath to a second, enlarged cross-sectional configuration. The sheath is configured for use in the vascular system and has utility in the introduction and removal of balloon counterpulsation catheters. The access route is through the femoral arteries and the iliac arteries into the aorta, where an intra-aortic balloon pump catheter is positioned to provide cardiac support. The distal end of the sheath is maintained in the first, low cross-sectional configuration during advancement to the arteries into the aorta. The distal end of the sheath is subsequently expanded using a radial dilatation device.

A linearly expanding spine cage has a minimized diameter in its unexpanded state that is equal to the diameter of an insertion groove cut into adjacent vertebral bodies. The cage conformably engages between the endplates of adjacent vertebrae to effectively distract the disc space, widen neuroforamina, stabilize the motion segments and eliminate pathologic spine motion. Angular deformities can be corrected, and natural curvatures maintained. The cage enhances spinal arthrodesis by creating a rigid spine segment. Expanding linearly (vertically, along the vertical axis of the adjacent spine) rather than uniformly, the cage height increases and holds the vertebrae with fixation forces greater than adjacent bone and soft tissue failure forces. Stability is thus achieved immediately, enabling patient function by eliminating painful motion. The cage width remains stable, so as to decrease impingement upon a second cage, or upon soft tissue structures in the immediate vicinity, including neural or vascular elements.

The present invention is a stent delivery system that uses short section of guidewire fixedly attached to the distal section of a balloon angioplasty catheter onto which a stent is co-axially mounted. By not having a guidewire that slides through the balloon of the balloon angioplasty catheter, the deflated balloon on which the stent is mounted can have a reduced diameter. Therefore, the outer diameter of the pre-deployed stent mounted onto that balloon is also minimized. This provides a smaller profile, i.e., a smaller outer diameter, for the stent. The time to perform a stent delivery procedure is reduced; a separate guidewire does not have to be placed prior to using the stent delivery system to place the stent at the site of a stenosis. Another embodiment of the present invention has a core wire that extends for nearly the entire length of the stent delivery system, the guidewire having different levels of stiffness for different portions of the core wire's length.

A surgical instrument is disclosed. The surgical instrument, which has an effector for engaging the surgical site joined to one end and a driving part for operating the effector joined to the other end, includes: a first shaft, which has one end joined with the driving part, and which extends along a first lengthwise direction; and a second shaft, which extends along a second lengthwise direction that forms a particular angle with the first shaft, and which has one end joined with the other end of the first shaft such that the second shaft is rotatable about an axis following the second lengthwise direction. Thus, it is possible to conduct surgery using several of such surgical instruments without having the instruments obstruct one another, and the surgical instrument can be made to have different usage modes according to what length it is set to.

A portable air-blowing working machine includes a prime mover and an air-blowing system. The air-blowing system incorporates first-stage and second-stage centrifugal air-blowing sections, which are rotatably driven by an output shaft of the prime mover and are interconnected by an air-blowing passage for delivering air discharged from the first-stage air-blowing section to the intake of the second-stage. In operation, external air is drawn into the first-stage air-blowing section, increased therein in velocity and pressure, and then continuously discharged via the air-blowing passage to the second-stage air-blowing section, where the air is further accelerated and compressed before being finally discharged to the atmosphere.

The granule consists of individual granules approximately spherical in shape, having a pore volume of 0.5 cm³, a mean diameter of pores of 50 nm or less, a specific surface area of 100 m²/g or less, and a bulk density of 0.7 g/cm³ or higher. It is produced by dispersing a fumed silica obtained by hydrolysis of a silicon compound into pure water to obtain a slurry, and drying the slurry. The granule is used for producing high purity synthetic quartz glass powder. The method further comprises: a first heat treatment under an oxygen-containing atmosphere, a second heat treatment in a temperature range of from 600 to 1100° C., and a third heat treatment in a temperature range of from 1100 to 1300° C. under an atmosphere containing hydrogen chloride; and a step of densification comprising calcining the product at a temperature not higher than 1500° C. under vacuum or in an atmosphere of gaseous hydrogen or gaseous helium. To calcine the powder without causing fusion adhesion of the particles, bubbling fluidization of said porous silica granule is conducted by supplying gaseous helium and calcining thereof in a temperature range of from 1000 to 1600° C.

A package for an optical fiber device is disclosed. It has a high thermal conductivity packaging substrate surrounding the optical fiber device and has adhesive bonds at each end anchoring the optical fiber device to the substrate. The adhesive bonds are made of a material that has high transparency in damp heat as well as a high glass transition temperature and is capable of withstanding temperatures of over 100° C. The packaging substrate has a high absorption capacity and a CTE in relation to the CTE of the adhesive bond, such as to compensate for any variation in the adhesive bond due to temperature variations. This allows to limit mechanical stress in the optical fiber device within the package.

A single, multichannel catheter is useful for extracorporeal circulation of blood to a patient undergoing cardiovascular treatments or surgery. The catheter has three independent channels and an expandable balloon at one end of the catheter. The first channel is largest and allows for delivery of blood to a patient in an amount sufficient to maintain the patient's metabolism and perfusion throughout the treatment or surgery. The second and third channels are smaller and integrated into the wall of the first channel. The second channel is for delivering a biologically active fluid to the heart and/or venting the left heart. The third channel is for delivering a fluid to the balloon for its expansion when positioned in the ascending aorta to occlude the flow of blood to the heart. One or more perfusion openings may be located in the descending aorta.

An aerosol generating device is provided, including a housing configured to receive an aerosol-forming substrate having an internal cavity; a heating element configured to be received within the internal cavity of the substrate, and a positioning mechanism coupled to the heating element and to the housing being configured to move the heating element between a plurality of heating positions within the cavity. There is also provided an aerosol generating device including a housing configured to receive an aerosol-forming substrate, a heating element configured to heat a portion of the substrate, and a positioning mechanism configured to move the heating element from a first position next to a first portion of the substrate, to a second position remote from the substrate, and then to a third position next to a second portion of the substrate.

A system and method are disclosed for the securement of tissue and in particular for placement of a tongue base suspension fiber for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The system incorporates disposable connectors with releasable needles to facilitate the placement of fibers with minimal increase in suture site dilation or trauma.

A hand tool apparatus uses a cutting tool with a first width and a tool axis to machine a hole in an object. The hole has a second width at least as large as the first width of the cutting tool. The tool axis passes through a predetermined point on a surface of the object. The apparatus includes an actuating assembly including a housing. The housing contains an axial feed mechanism configured for moving the cutting tool in an axial direction, a spindle motor configured for rotating the cutting tool about the tool axis, and a radial offset mechanism. The radial offset mechanism is configured for moving the axial feed mechanism in a radial direction such that the tool axis is offset from a principal axis. A motor is configured for rotating said axial feed mechanism and the cutting tool about the principal axis.

A mitral valve prosthesis can be delivered within the native mitral annulus. The valve prosthesis has a valve component on which prosthetic valve leaflets are attached, and a lower support which anatomically and dynamically conforms to a native mitral valve annulus and which is flexibly attached to the valve component. The valve prosthesis can be delivered to the native mitral valve annulus in a collapsed configuration in which the valve component and anchoring element are serially rather than concentrically positioned to one another, thereby minimizing the diameter of the valve prosthesis during delivery. The devices and methods described are useful for treatment of various mitral valve disorders which result in, for example, mitral regurgitation.

A method and device for capturing speckles are described. A highly coherent light emitted from a light source is used to illuminate a surface and produces scattered lights. The scattered lights pass through a light restrictive element and the diffracted lights produced by this restrictive element interfere with one another to generate a speckle pattern. An image sensor is then used to pick up the speckle pattern to form a speckle image. Therefore, the effects of diffraction and interference and a light restrictive element to enlarge the speckle size and reduce the variation of the speckle pattern during the movement of the imaging device are utilized, so that the speckle pattern can be clearly identified in the image. As a result, the method and device for capturing speckles are fairly stable and sensitive.

A flexible cutting filament or wire is led through the carpal tunnel, beneath the transverse carpal ligament, by a passer. Thereafter, the opposite ends of the wire are secured in an instrument which tightens the wire and may be used to move the wire as a cutting tool to transect the overlying ligament, while preserving surrounding tissues. The small wire diameter enables minimally invasive techniques to limit post-operative pain and speed recovery.