531results about How to "Reduce overall outer diameter" patented technology

A catheter deliverable stent / graft especially designed to be used in a minimally invasive surgical procedure for treating a variety of vascular conditions such as aneurysms, stenotic lesions and saphenous vein grafts, comprises an innermost tubular structure and at least one further tubular member in coaxial arrangement. In one embodiment, the innermost tubular structure is of a length (L1) and is formed by braiding a relatively few strands of highly elastic metallic alloy. The pick and pitch of the braid are such as to provide relative large fenestrations in the tubular wall that permit blood flow through the wall and provide the primary radial support structure. A portion of the innermost tubular structure of a length L1 is surrounded by a further braided tubular structure having relatively many strands that substantially inhibit blood flow through the fenestrations of the innermost tubular structure. The composite structure can be stretched to reduce the outer diameter of the stent / graft, allowing it to be drawn into a lumen of a delivery catheter. The catheter can then be advanced through the vascular system to the site of treatment and then released, allowing it to self-expand against the vessel wall. Various optional embodiments are disclosed that allow one skilled in the art to tailor the design to the specific application.

A foldable intravascularly insertable blood pump comprises a rotatable impeller provided with vanes, a flexible shaft extending through a catheter and adapted to drive said impeller, and an envelope enclosing said impeller. For simplifying the technical setup of the blood pump and enhancing its robustness, the impeller comprises radially delivering vanes. The envelope comprises an annular bulge in the region of the impeller, wherein between the radially outer ends of the vanes and the envelope an annular deflection channel is defined. The impeller and the envelope are adapted to be folded by relative displacement of the shaft and the catheter.

A stent / graft especially designed to be used in a minimally invasive surgical procedure for treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) comprises an innermost tubular structure of a length (L1) formed by braiding a relatively few strands of shape memory alloy wire. The pick and pitch of the braid are such as to provide relative large fenestrations in the tubular wall. A portion of the innermost tubular structure of a length L2<L1 is surrounded by a further braided tubular structure having relatively many strands that occlude the fenestrations of the innermost tubular structure. The composite structure can be stretched to reduce the outer diameter of the stent / graft, allowing it to be drawn into a lumen of a delivery catheter. The catheter can then be advanced through the vascular system to the site of the AAA and then ejected, allowing it to self-expand with the portion L2 bridging the aneurysm. The portion L1>L2 does not block blood flow to the renal arteries while the portion L2 prevents the aneurysm to grown and burst.

An implant release mechanism for releasing, for example, a stent ( 60 ) is provided with three restraining wires ( 62 ) which pass in the space between a wire guide catheter ( 24 ) and a pusher sheath or dilator ( 30 ) and are arranged substantially equi-angularly threrearound. Each restraining wire ( 62 ) holds both the proximal and distal ends of the stent ( 60 ), in this case each holding a proportion of the ends of the stent ( 60 ). When the restraining wires ( 62 ) are pulled they will first unwrap from the proximal end of the stent ( 60 ) and will then release the distal end of the stent ( 60 ) so as to allow the stent to become fully deployed within the lumen of the patient. The use of common release wires improves deployment of implants and reduces the number and volume of components in the device, thereby allowing it to occupy a smaller volume.

An electrosurgical tool for cauterizing or ablating targeted tissue, which tool includes a conductive outer shaft which defines a return or reference electrode, and a conductive inner tube disposed within the outer shaft. The inner tube defines both a suction pathway for removing fluid and / or surgical debris from the surgical site through the distal end of the tool, and a pathway for delivering electrical energy to an active electrode secured to the distal end of the suction tube.

A device for securing a spinal rod to the spine. The device includes an elongated spinal rod configured to be implanted adjacent to the spinal column of a patient spanning across several vertebral bodies. The device also includes at least one fixation element for engaging vertebral bodies at a number of vertebral levels, each of the fixation elements having a vertebral engaging portion and a stem portion extending from the vertebral engaging portion. A ball ring having an aperture extending through the center of the ball ring. The ball ring further including a through slot so as to be compressible and expandable about a central axis extending through the center of the ball ring. The aperture is adapted to receive the spinal rod. The device further includes a set screw and a rod connector.

A self-expanding aneurysm cover device which takes the form of an outwardly biased cylindrical skeletal frame in which the proximal end of the cylindrical skeletal frame forms a loop which extends at an oblique angle to the axis of the cylindrical skeletal frame. A positioning tab extends from the proximal end of the skeletal frame which when pulled causes the cylindrical skeletal frame to collapse to a reduced diameter for removal of the device from a vessel.

An impeller is directly driven by an output shaft of a core engine. The airflow produced by the impeller rotates an air turbine and a fan disposed integrally with the air turbine. The impeller and the air turbine form a fluid coupling which serves also as a speed reducing mechanism. The rotational speed of the fan can be reduced to be lower than that of the output shaft while retaining efficiency of the core engine. The outer diameter of the fan can be increased, raising a bypass ratio.

A peritoneal dialysis catheter for insertion into the abdominal cavity of a patient for delivering and withdrawing fluid from a patient comprising a catheter body having a proximal portion, a distal tip portion and a first longitudinally extending lumen configured to deliver fluid into the abdominal cavity. First and second side openings are formed in an outer wall of the catheter body adjacent the distal tip portion and are in fluid communication with the first lumen and configured for passage of fluid therethrough. A stiffening insert is positioned in the distal tip portion and has a first stiffness greater than a second stiffness of the distal tip portion to facilitate entry into the abdominal cavity. The stiffening insert has a lumen therethrough communicating with the first lumen. A method for insertion of the dialysis catheter is also disclosed.

A method of securely mounting a stent on a balloon of a catheter. The method generally includes crimping a stent on a balloon of a catheter at least one time, and positioning the balloon with the stent thereon within a polished bore of a mold formed at least in part of a metallic material. The balloon is pressurized and heated within the mold, or within a sheath, in two stages as the stent is restrained from radially expanding. The method may include crimping the stent onto the balloon one or two times during processing. The method increases retention of the stent on the balloon catheter following sterilization.

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 foldable intravascularly insertable blood pump employs an impeller with radially delivering vanes in combination with an annular deflection channel. The impeller is driven by a shaft extending through a catheter wherein the impeller and its envelope are foldable by relative displacement of the shaft and catheter.

A transmission cable of the invention includes a twisted-pair signal wire; a plurality of signal wire pairs; and a power wire pair. The twisted-pair signal wire, the plurality of signal wire pairs, and the power wire pair are bundled together so that the twisted-pair signal wire is surrounded by the plurality of signal wire pairs and the power wire pair when viewed in cross-section vertical to a longitudinal direction thereof.

A catheter includes a sheath main body portion, a first lumen, a sheath distal end portion, and a second lumen. The sheath main body portion is inserted into an organism. The first lumen is a passage provided in the sheath main body portion and through which a guide wire for guiding the sheath main body portion in an organism can be passed. The sheath distal end portion is provided on a lateral side of a distal end portion of the sheath main body portion. The second lumen is a passage different from the first lumen, provided in the sheath distal end portion, and through which a guide wire can be passed. The catheter can have both ease of exchange of catheter, which is the merit of an RX type catheter, and distal end pushing force transmission performance (pushability), which is the merit of an OTW type catheter.

This invention provides catheter assemblies and methods for insertion of a catheter into a vessel. The assemblies include a resilient valve in the hub of the catheter that can be opened by pressure from a male luer fitting. The methods include piercing a vessel with the needle and catheter of the assembly, retraction of the needle component thus closing the resilient valve. Finally the catheter can be accessed by applying a male luer fitting to the catheter hub and a shoulder of the resilient valve.

This invention provides devices and methods for insertion of a catheter into a vessel. The devices include coaxial slidably mounted needle, dilator and catheter components. The methods include piercing a vessel with the needle component, dilating the pierced hole with the dilator component, retraction of the needle component, insertion of the catheter and withdrawal of the dilator.

A method of making a catheter balloon or other expandable tubular medical device or component thereof, in which an assembly of heat shrink material on an outer surface of coaxially disposed first and second tubes is heated to radially shrink the heat shrink material and reduce the outer diameter of the first tube. In a presently preferred embodiment, the heat shrink material extends at least along a central section of the first tube to reduce the outer diameter of the first tube at least along the central section of the first tube. The first and second tubes form the outer and inner layers, respectively, of a multilayered balloon, which has an improved low profile outer diameter.

The present invention is a method of bonding a shaft tip to a distal end of a catheter or sheath shaft. The method includes extruding a shaft to have an initial outside diameter that is greater than an outside diameter the shaft will have when finished. A lap joint area is then ground into the distal end of the shaft. The tip is then insert molded over the lap joint area. The tip includes a collar at a proximal end of the tip that provides additional thermal mass to facilitate the bonding of the tip to the shaft. The shaft is then ground from its initial outside diameter to its finished outside diameter.

The carbon nanotube of the present invention has an outer diameter of not more than 500 nm and a length of not less than 50 nm, and comprises a wall which is made of carbon and includes an outside region of an amorphous structure and an inside region of a crystalline structure. The carbon nanotube of the present invention is a novel carbon nanotube which allows functional groups to be readily bonded to the surface thereof since the outside region of the wall has an amorphous structure, and can exhibit a high electrical conductivity and a high strength since the inside region of the wall has a crystalline structure.

A dual braided catheter shaft includes a flat wire forming the inner braid, thereby potentially allowing for reduced radial thickness of the shaft. In one embodiment, the shaft (100) includes an inner polymer jacket (104), an inner braid (106) formed on the inner jacket (104), an intermediate jacket (108) formed over the inner braid (106), an outer braid (110) formed on the intermediate jacket (108) and an outer jacket (112) formed on the outer braid (110). A preferred construction process involves extruding polymer material directly onto each of the inner and outer braids (106 and 110) so that little or no air gaps remain between the polymer material and the braids (106 and 110). The braiding parameters of the inner and outer braids (106 and 110) can be varied along the length of the catheter to provide varying mechanical properties.

A stent loading device may comprise a stent crimping device, a fluid source and a support device arranged to support and move a stent delivery device. The fluid source may provide chilled fluid capable of placing a shape memory material into a martensitic state. After stent crimping, as the crimping device opens, the fluid flow may advance at least a portion of the stent into the delivery device. A step procedure may be used to move the rest of the stent into the delivery device, wherein the delivery device may be moved away from the crimping device, the portion of the stent still in the crimping device may be crimped again, and the delivery device may be moved back to its original position, thereby stepping another portion of the stent into the delivery device. The step procedure may be repeated until the entire stent is oriented within the delivery device.

Brachytherapy applicators incorporate various forms of selective shielding devices for controlling the direction and intensity of radiation directed at a patient's tissue. In some forms the applicators include a retractable sheath, in some a series of retractable fingers. In other forms the applicator, having an inflatable balloon, has a shield which is retractable from a position adjacent to the balloon or retracted from the balloon, or a shield can itself be inflatable, separately or together with the balloon.

A windshield wiper includes a wiper arm, which is driven via a drive shaft and to which a wiper blade is pivotably connected, in which at least one spray nozzle (10) is disposed on a pivotable part (14), the spray nozzle being composed of a plurality of parts and its housing (16) communicating disconnectably via a water line (18) to a water pump (118). In the housing (16) or in a nozzle body (12) communicating with it, a continuous water conduit (20) connected to the water line (18) is provided, from which a connecting conduit (22) branches off that leads to a spray conduit (24) that is approximately parallel to the water conduit (20) and has a nozzle opening (26), the water conduit (20) being closed on its free end (38).

Chambers for a bushing bearing with damping means include outer sleeve and inner bearing part, accommodated in the outer sleeve with rigid bearing core and elastomeric bearing body surrounding the core. The expanding walls of the chambers are disposed transversely to the bearing axis (A). The inner bearing part is segmented with respect to the longitudinal axis (A) of the bearing and includes a center main segment with bearing core and bearing body and two end segments, each having an inner ring, an outer ring, and an interposed elastomeric element forming expanding wall of a chamber. The end segments are pressed with inner ring onto axial ends of the bearing core so that the material overlaps between the elastomeric elements of the end segments and the ribs of the bearing body. The channel is formed outside of the bearing body in a channel carrier element.

A medical device or component thereof, and particularly intracorporeal devices for therapeutic or diagnostic uses, formed at least in part of a copolymer having a hard block and a polylactone soft block. In a presently preferred embodiment, the hard block of the copolymer is a polyester, and more specifically, the copolymer comprises a di-block copolymer of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and polycaprolactone. The copolymer is suitable for forming a variety of medical devices or medical device components, and is preferably used to form a catheter balloon, such as a balloon for an angioplasty or stent delivery catheter. However, a variety of medical devices or medical device components can be formed of the copolymer, including stent covers, vascular grafts, and shaft components.

A catheter deliverable stent / graft especially designed to be used in a minimally invasive surgical procedure for treating a variety of vascular conditions such as aneurysms, stenotic lesions and saphenous vein grafts, comprises an innermost tubular structure and at least one further tubular member in coaxial arrangement. In one embodiment, the innermost tubular structure is of a length (L1) and is formed by braiding a relatively few strands of highly elastic metallic alloy. The pick and pitch of the braid are such as to provide relative large fenestrations in the tubular wall that permit blood flow through the wall and provide the primary radial support structure. A portion of the innermost tubular structure of a length L1 is surrounded by a further braided tubular structure having relatively many strands that substantially inhibit blood flow through the fenestrations of the innermost tubular structure. The composite structure can be stretched to reduce the outer diameter of the stent / graft, allowing it to be drawn into a lumen of a delivery catheter. The catheter can then be advanced through the vascular system to the site of treatment and then released, allowing it to self-expand against the vessel wall. Various optional embodiments are disclosed that allow one skilled in the art to tailor the design to the specific application.

A rotation angle detector that is able to detect an absolute rotation angle of a detection body accurately and is able to reduce the installation space required. The rotation angle detector includes a first rotation angle detector connected to the detection body for generating a first detection signal having a cycle corresponding to the rotation of the detection body. The first rotation angle detector includes a first rotating body which is connected to the detection body and rotates together with the detection body. The detector includes a second rotation angle detector connected to the first rotation angle detector. The second rotation angle detector includes a second rotating body that rotates together with the first rotating body at a rate greater than that of the first rotating body, and generates a second detection signal having a cycle corresponding to the rotation of the second rotation body. The control device detects an absolute rotation angle of the detection body in accordance with the first detection signal and the second detection signal.

This invention provides devices and methods for insertion of a catheter into a vessel. The devices include coaxial slidably mounted needle, dilator and catheter components. The methods include piercing a vessel with the needle component, dilating the pierced hole with the dilator component, retraction of the needle component, insertion of the catheter and withdrawal of the dilator.