840results about How to "Inhibit reflux" patented technology

Methods and devices for use in tissue approximation and fixation are described herein. The present invention provides, in part, methods and devices for acquiring tissue folds in a circumferential configuration within a hollow body organ, e.g., a stomach, positioning the tissue folds for affixing within a fixation zone of the stomach, preferably to create a pouch or partition below the esophagus, and fastening the tissue folds such that a tissue ring, or stomas, forms excluding the pouch from the greater stomach cavity. The present invention further provides for a liner or bypass conduit which is affixed at a proximal end either to the tissue ring or through some other fastening mechanism. The distal end of the conduit is left either unanchored or anchored within the intestinal tract. This bypass conduit also includes a fluid bypass conduit which allows the stomach and a portion of the intestinal tract to communicate.

The invention is device and method for reducing regurgitation through a mitral valve. The device and method is directed to an anchor portion for engagement with the heart wall and an expandable valve portion configured for deployment between the mitral valve leaflets. The valve portion is expandable for preventing regurgitation through the mitral valve while allowing blood to circulate through the heart. The expandable valve portion may include apertures for reducing the stagnation of blood. In a preferred configuration, the device is configured to be delivered in two-stages wherein an anchor portion is first delivered and the valve structure is then coupled to the anchor portion. In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of forming an anchor portion wherein a disposable jig is used to mold the anchor portion into a three-dimensional shape for conforming to a heart chamber.

The invention is device and method for reducing regurgitation through a mitral valve. The device and method is directed to an anchor portion for engagement with the heart wall and an expandable valve portion configured for deployment between the mitral valve leaflets. The valve portion is expandable for preventing regurgitation through the mitral valve while allowing blood to circulate through the heart. The expandable valve portion may include apertures for reducing the stagnation of blood. In a preferred configuration, the device is configured to be delivered in two-stages wherein an anchor portion is first delivered and the valve structure is then coupled to the anchor portion. In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of forming an anchor portion wherein a disposable jig is used to mold the anchor portion into a three-dimensional shape for conforming to a heart chamber.

A system for inducing cardioplegic arrest and performing an endovascular procedure within the heart or blood vessels of a patient. An endoaortic partitioning catheter has an inflatable balloon which occludes the ascending aorta when inflated. Cardioplegic fluid may be infused through a lumen of the endoaortic partitioning catheter to stop the heart while the patient's circulatory system is supported on cardiopulmonary bypass. One or more endovascular devices are introduced through an internal lumen of the endoaortic partitioning catheter to perform a diagnostic or therapeutic endovascular procedure within the heart or blood vessels of the patient. Surgical procedures such as coronary artery bypass surgery or heart valve replacement may be performed in conjunction with the endovascular procedure while the heart is stopped. Embodiments of the system are described for performing: fiberoptic angioscopy of structures within the heart and its blood vessels, valvuloplasty for correction of valvular stenosis in the aortic or mitral valve of the heart, angioplasty for therapeutic dilatation of coronary artery stenoses, coronary stenting for dilatation and stenting of coronary artery stenoses, atherectomy or endarterectomy for removal of atheromatous material from within coronary artery stenoses, intravascular ultrasonic imaging for observation of structures and diagnosis of disease conditions within the heart and its associated blood vessels, fiberoptic laser angioplasty for removal of atheromatous material from within coronary artery stenoses, transmyocardial revascularization using a side-firing fiberoptic laser catheter from within the chambers of the heart, and electrophysiological mapping and ablation for diagnosing and treating electrophysiological conditions of the heart.

A bypass conduit assembly is placed in a hollow body organ to route food and liquids past the hollow body organ. A flexible tubular member extends from a narrowed section through the hollow body organ and into either the pylorus or intestines. The tubular member is connected to tissue by fasteners such as clips, staples or stents.

A disposable absorbent article includes an absorbent mat between a liquid-permeable top sheet and a liquid-impermeable back sheet. The absorbent mat includes a sheet-shaped water-absorbent layer that contains a water-absorbent resin powder but that does not contain pulp fibers; and a fiber assembly layer that contains a water-absorbent resin powder and pulp fibers in this order from a top sheet side. The sheet-shaped water-absorbent layer includes a plurality of water-absorbent resin presence regions in each of which the water-absorbent resin powder is wrapped; and a plurality of water-absorbent resin powder absence regions each being formed between the two adjacent water-absorbent resin powder presence regions.

A device for controlling the expansion of a hollow internal organ, comprising an inflatable balloon, which is inserted in an uninflated state into the desired position close to the organ using minimally invasive procedures. After insertion, the balloon is inflated to its required size and shape. The invention is useful for restricting the expansion of the stomach during meals, thus inducing a feeling of satiety and preventing over-eating. Inflation may be performed through a catheter connected to a readily accessible inflation port. In the case of the gastric embodiment, the balloon may be positioned pro-peritoneally, such that the procedure is surgically simple. One or more sensors located close to the organ to be controlled, may monitor a physiological effect relating to the organ, and the output of the sensor used to control the level of inflation of the balloon in order to correct the condition being monitored.

A needle aspiration biopsy device includes a syringe, a valve coupler for controlling a vacuum in the syringe barrel, and an anti-reflux head. The head includes a hub, defining a large collection well preferably several hundred micro liters in volume, and a needle mounted to the hub. A passageway is defined either by a contoured needle or a straight needle and an internal channel in the hub wall such that a proximal end of the passageway extends inside the hub and opens in spaced relation to a floor of the collection well. A method of biopsy using the device is also disclosed.

A transvesicular drainage device, designed to drain excess fluid from a variety of locations in the human body into the bladder. The device may be used to treat ascites or any fluid collection within the body of a human, or a non human mammal.

A catheter with valve for implantation in a vascular structure of a living being. The catheter is in the general shape of a "T" with the top of the "T" implanted within the lumen of a vascular structure, and the leg of the "T" extending out of the vascular structure through an incision in the vascular structure. The lumen of the implanted portion of the catheter completely occupies the lumen of the vascular structure, causing all blood flow through the vascular structure to be directed through the implanted portion of the catheter. A valve is placed in the wall of the implanted portion of the catheter which opens into the lumen of the leg of the "T" of the catheter upon application of sufficient differential pressure between the lumens of the two portions of the catheter. The leg of the "T" is connected to the side wall of the implant portion of the catheter at an angle, such that the axis of the lumen of the leg of the "T" intersects the axis of the lumen of the implanted portion of the catheter at approximately a 45 degree angle.

Disclosed is a pressure sensitive prosthesis that includes a tubular member having a passageway extending therethrough and a sleeve attached about one end of the tubular member. The sleeve functions as a one-way valve to permit fluid flowing through the sleeve lumen in a first direction and under a first pressure, while collapsing in response to fluid flowing in a second direction when the pressure thereof exceeds that of the first direction or pressure. One aspect of the invention includes an esophageal anti-reflux expandable prosthesis wherein the sleeve is adapted to invert back through the tubular stent frame to permit belching or vomiting (fluid or materials under a third, significantly higher pressure). Another aspect of the invention includes a tubular drainage stent, such as a biliary or urethral stent in which the sleeve opens to permit passage of fluids, then collapses to prevent retrograde flow.

A disposable absorbent article includes an absorbent mat between a liquid-permeable top sheet and a liquid-impermeable back sheet. The absorbent mat includes a sheet-shaped water-absorbent layer that contains a water-absorbent resin powder but that does not contain pulp fibers; and a fiber assembly layer that contains a water-absorbent resin powder and pulp fibers in this order from a top sheet side. The sheet-shaped water-absorbent layer includes a plurality of water-absorbent resin presence regions in each of which the water-absorbent resin powder is wrapped; and a plurality of water-absorbent resin powder absence regions each being formed between the two adjacent water-absorbent resin powder presence regions.

In a plasma CVD apparatus, a plate formed with a plurality of perforated holes is arranged to separate a plasma generation region and a processing region. The aperture ratio of the perforated holes to the plate is not greater than five percent. Plasma including radicals and excited species is generated from an oxygen (O2) gas in the plasma generation region, then the radicals and excited species flow into the processing region through the perforated holes. A monosilane (SiH4) gas is also supplied into the processing region, but the backward flow of the monosilane gas into the plasma generation region is suppressed by the plate. In the processing region, the radicals and the excited species and the monosilane gas result in a gas phase reaction that yields the silicon dioxide film formed on the substrate or the wafer with high quality.

In a plasma CVD apparatus, a plate formed with a plurality of perforated holes is arranged to separate a plasma generation region and a processing region. The aperture ratio of the perforated holes to the plate is not greater than five percent. Plasma including radicals and excited species is generated from an oxygen (O2) gas in the plasma generation region, then the radicals and excited species flow into the processing region through the perforated holes. A monosilane (SiH4) gas is also supplied into the processing region, but the backward flow of the monosilane gas into the plasma generation region is suppressed by the plate. In the processing region, the radicals and the excited species and the monosilane gas result in a gas phase reaction that yields the silicon dioxide film formed on the substrate or the wafer with high quality.

An implantable fluid management device, designed to drain excess fluid from a variety of locations in a living host into a second location within the host, such as the bladder of that host. The device may be used to treat ascites, chronic pericardial effusions, normopressure hydrocephalus, hydrocephalus, pulmonary edema, or any fluid collection within the body of a human, or a non-human mammal.

An implantable fluid management device, designed to drain excess fluid from a variety of locations in a living host into a second location within the host, such as the bladder of that host. The device may be used to treat ascites, chronic pericardial effusions, normopressure hydrocephalus, hydrocephalus, pulmonary edema, or any fluid collection within the body of a human, or a non-human mammal.

An assembly for providing localized pressure to a region of a patient's heart to improve heart functioning, including: (a) a jacket made of a flexible biocompatible material, the jacket having an open top end that is received around the heart and a bottom portion that is received around the apex of the heart; and (b) at least one inflatable bladder disposed on an interior surface of the jacket, the inflatable bladder having an inelastic outer surface positioned adjacent to the jacket and an elastic inner surface such that inflation of the bladder causes the bladder to deform substantially inwardly to exert localized pressure against a region of the heart.

The invention provides a vapor-liquid two-phase flow tube shell type heat exchanger. The heat exchanger comprises a shell, wherein sealing heads are arranged at two ends of the shell respectively; tube plates are arranged in connection positions between the sealing heads and the shell; heat exchange tubes are connected with the tube plates at two ends; vapor phase in vapor-liquid two-phase flow can be condensed into liquid phase in the heat exchange process; the vapor-liquid two-phase flow flows in a tube process; separation devices used for decreasing vibration and reducing noise are arranged in the heat exchange tubes; a plurality of separation devices are arranged in the same heat exchange tube; the length of the separation devices is gradually reduced along the flowing direction of flow in the heat exchange tubes. According to the vapor-liquid two-phase flow tube shell type heat exchanger, the vibration of the tubes can be decreased to a maximum extent due to the length change of the separation devices when the vapor-liquid two-phase flow flows in the tubes; the noise level is reduced; meanwhile, the flowing resistance is reduced; the heat exchange uniformity is improved.

The invention relates to highly concentrated DHA and EPA formulations in a soft gel capsule. A capsule may contain at least 80% omega-3 fatty acids, salts or derivatives thereof, where EPA and DHA are present in relative amounts of greater than or equal to 3:1 or less than or equal to 1:3, and constitute at least 75% to greater than 95% of the total fatty acids present in the capsule. Capsules of the invention may be provided in a blister package so as to provide clean and protected oils that are easy to travel with. Compliance is improved with one-pill-a-day dosing and the days of the week imprinted on the foil packing. Anitoxidant protection may be provided by rosemary and vitamin C. The invention also provides a methods of treatment, modulation or prophalaxis of coronary disease, altering serum LDL-cholesterol and / or HDL-cholesterol, lowering serum triglycerides, lowering blood pressure, pulse rate, altering the activity of the blood coagulation factor VII complex, mild hypertension, protection from cyclosporine toxicity in kidney transplant, rheumatoid arthritis, development and progression of retinopathy, hypertriglyceridemia, and neurological disorders in a subject.

Methods and devices for use in tissue approximation and fixation are described herein. The present invention provides, in part, methods and devices for acquiring tissue folds in a circumferential configuration within a hollow body organ, e.g., a stomach, positioning the tissue folds for affixing within a fixation zone of the stomach, preferably to create a pouch or partition below the esophagus, and fastening the tissue folds such that a tissue ring, or stomas, forms excluding the pouch from the greater stomach cavity. The present invention further provides devices for performing a transoral, endoscopic hollow organ division, including a tissue acquisition device capable of acquiring the desired tissue circumferentially, and a fixation mechanism to secure the muscular layers of the acquired tissue such that the desired healing response is achieved.

An valve prosthesis, such as an artificial venous valve, having a support frame and leaf structure comprising one or more leaflets in which the outer edge of each leaflet engages the inner circumference of the bodily passageway along a serpentine path urged against the passageway by an expandable frame, while the inner edges move in response to fluid to restrict retrograde flow. Optionally, one or more elements can extend from the support frame / leaf structure to provide centering support and / or protection from the leaflet adhering to the vessel wall. In one embodiment, the centering support structure comprises a second or third expandable frames attached to and extending from the proximal and / or distal ends of main valve structure and support frame. In another embodiment, one or more support elements extend outward from the valve support frame to engage the vessel wall to provide greater longitudinal stability.

The invention discloses a valved stent and process of manufacture for treating chronic venous insufficiency having the geometry of the supporting frame and its coupling to the membrane of a specific geometry that provides the valvular mechanism for optimal function. The membrane may comprise a decellularized pericardial tissue via chemical treatment with cholic acid or bile salts and crosslinked.

The invention relates to a repairing system provided with an anchoring device and used for preventing valve regurgitation. The system comprises a prosthesis preventing valve regurgitation and an anchoring part releasing device, wherein the prosthesis preventing valve regurgitation comprises a fixing unit, a connecting part and a close-assisting part, the fixing unit comprises a fixing part and an anchoring part, the connecting part is flexible, and the fixing part is fixed through the anchoring part, an anti-disengagement end is arranged at the near end of the anchoring part; the anchoring part releasing device comprises a delivery pipe and a push rod and is detachably connected with the fixing unit, the far end of the anchoring part releasing device is in a preset shape to enable the far end of the delivery pipe to be bent integrally or partially, a rigid section is arranged at the farthest end of the delivery pipe, the anchoring part is pre-arranged in the far end of the delivery pipe, the push rod is placed in the delivery pipe and located at the near end of the anchoring part, the anchoring part can be made to move towards the far end of the delivery pipe by pushing the push rod, and the far end of the anchoring part can recover to the preset shape after being pushed out of the delivery pipe.

Interengaging surgical staples (11, 31, 51, 71) are provided that are useful in systems for the surgical correction of defects in cardiac valves and / or supporting weaknesses in abdominal regions. The staples are constructed with at least one ring (21, 41, 61, 81) extending laterally from the upper end of one staple leg (15, 35, 55, 75), which once implanted provides for interengagement with the next staple by passage of the other leg (13, 33, 53, 73) of it therethrough. Either shape-memory staple design or an implantation tool causes the two staple legs to curve respectively toward each other once having penetrated the tissue, thus gathering and constricting the tissue in a region below the surface thereof. Elastic sections (67, 83) may be provided in the crown connectors to allow flex in the plane thereof.

A novel support system for bioprosthetic cardiac valves with heart shape commissural posts (18) and intercommissural conjunctions with long openings with oval closures (8), allows the better function of the valve by diminishing the forces applied on the leaflets during the cardiac cycle.

An accessory is connected between a leg bag and a urinary catheter to prevent microorganisms migrating from the leg bag up through the catheter. The accessory has a sleeve, connectors to connect the sleeve to the leg bag and to the urinary catheter, a filter positioned within the sleeve that can be coated with an antimicrobial composition, and a valve to prevent fluid from moving from the leg bag to the catheter. The antimicrobial coated sleeve can be used with or with out the filter. The filter is made by compounding a polymeric resin powder with an antimicrobial composition.