79 results about "Lumen Diameter" patented technology

The instant invention relates generally to catheters and to introducer catheters used to help deliver catheters or other medical devices to locations within the human body. In particular, the instant invention relates to large diameter catheters and introducer catheters having a torque transfer layer that includes at least two flat wires braided into a wire mesh. The flat wires have a width of at least about 0.007 inches and a depth of at least about 0.003 inches. The lumen diameter of the catheter is at least about 6 French. The torque transfer layer provides increased strength, flexibility, and kink resistance.

Implant delivery systems for delivering sheet-like implants include a delivery shaft, an implant expander, a sheath, and a sheet-like implant. In some embodiments, the delivery shaft has a proximal end and a distal end. The implant expander is mounted to the distal end of the delivery shaft. The implant expander includes a central portion and a plurality of leg portions radiating from the central portion. The implant expander is evertable between an unstressed configuration in which a distal surface of the implant expander defines a concave surface, and a first compact configuration in which the distal surface of the implant expander defines a convex surface. The implant expander has a first lateral extent when the implant expander is free to assume the unstressed configuration. The sheath defines a lumen having a lumen diameter. At least a portion of the delivery shaft is slidably disposed in the lumen. The lumen diameter is smaller than the first lateral extent of the implant expander so that the sheath holds the implant expander in the first compact configuration when slidably disposed therein. The sheet-like implant overlays at least a portion of the distal surface of the implant expander with portions of the sheet-like implant extending between the leg portions of the implant expander and the sheath. Methods of treating a rotator cuff of a shoulder are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a rotary blood pump with a double pivot contact bearing system with an operating range between about 50 mL/min and about 1500 mL/min is described, wherein the force on the upper bearing is less than 3N during operating speeds up to 6000 rpm. The invention also relates to a method of using a blood pump system for persistently increasing the overall diameter and lumen diameter of peripheral veins and arteries by persistently increasing the speed of blood and the wall shear stress in a peripheral vein or artery for period of time sufficient to result in a persistent increase in the overall diameter and lumen diameter of the vessel is provided. The blood pump system may also be used to reduce venous hypertension in a lower extremity and increasing the rate of healing of lower extremity venous ulcers in patients is provided. The blood pump system includes a blood pump, blood conduit(s), a control system with optional sensors, and a power source. The pump system is configured to connect to the vascular system in a patient and pump blood at a desired rate. The pumping of blood is monitored and adjusted, as necessary, to maintain the desired elevated blood speed and wall shear stress, and the desired pulsatility in the target artery or vein in order to optimize the rate and extent of the persistent increase in the overall diameter and lumen diameter of the target peripheral artery or vein or to result in a reduction in venous blood pressure in the treated lower extremity or healing of the lower extremity venous ulcer.

A stent balloon is provided with two conductive rings, created by a thin metallized coating deposited directly on the balloon, adjacent to the ends of the stent. The impedance between those rings and the body of the patient is measured at different AC frequencies. As the balloon approaches the vessel wall the impedance increases rapidly. Once the balloon forms full contact with vessel wall the impedance increases slowly. The changing impedance provides a guide for optimal apposition of the stent.

The same conductive rings can also detect stent slippage and stent position relative to the balloon. With the addition of an extra conductive pad and wire, stent spring-back can be measured and corrected for.

A system and method for increasing the speed of blood and wall shear stress (WSS) in a peripheral vein for a sufficient period of time to result in a persistent increase in the overall diameter and lumen diameter of the vein is provided. The method includes pumping blood at a desired rate and pulsatility. The pumping is monitored and adjusted, as necessary, to maintain the desired blood speed, WSS and pulsatility in the peripheral vein in order to optimize the rate and extent of dilation of the peripheral vein.

An ultrasound catheter comprises an elongate tubular body. The elongate tubular body has a proximal region and a distal region opposite the proximal region. The tubular body defines a central lumen having a central lumen diameter. The ultrasound catheter further comprises an elongate, hollow inner core extending through the central lumen. The elongate, hollow inner core has an inner core outer diameter that is less than or equal to the central lumen diameter. The ultrasound catheter further comprises an ultrasound radiating member positioned within the distal region of the tubular body and between the tubular body and the inner core. The ultrasound catheter further comprises at least two electrical conductors extending between the tubular body proximal region and the tubular body distal region. The at least two electrical conductors are positioned between the tubular body and the inner core. The at least two electrical conductors are electrically connected to the ultrasound radiating member. The at least two electrical conductors are wrapped around the inner core a plurality of times in a region between the ultrasound radiating member and the tubular body proximal region.

Balloon catheters are disclosed that comprise a material that confers improved resistance to non-deflation. Balloon catheters are also disclosed that comprise a reduced drainage lumen diameter. In some embodiments the catheters achieve these characteristics without rendering the catheters undesirably stiff.

In accordance with the invention, there are provided medical devices for providing a fluid passage between two areas in the body. An embodiment of the present invention relates to a stent comprising a tubular member at least a portion of which comprises a reinforcement structure. The tubular member includes a wall and an axial lumen therein having a lumen surface. The reinforcement structure extends at least a portion of a length of the body portion adjacent the distal end portion. One advantage of this embodiment of the invention is, for example, that the reinforcement structure increases patient comfort by providing enhanced flexibility. A second advantage of this embodiment of the invention is, for example, that the reinforcement structure improves axial stiffness and radial stiffness allowing for a thinner tubular member wall thickness and larger lumen diameter.

An aerosol delivery system is disclosed that is a single-use (disposable) continuous nebulizer system designed for use with mechanically ventilated patients to aerosolize medications for inhalation with a general purpose nebulizer, or for connection with devices usable in endoscopic procedures. The system separates the liquid reservoir from the nebulization process taking place either at the adapter hub, where it fits into an endotracheal tube (ETT), or a gas humidifier, where the aerosol may treat a gas used in an endoscopic procedure, with a multi-lumen tube configured to nebulize liquid and air at its distal end. The refillable liquid reservoir is mounted away from the immediate treatment zone, avoiding orientation issues associated with other types of nebulizers having a self-contained reservoir. The system can produce aerosols having a wide range of droplet sizes, depending upon central lumen diameter, with values of MMAD that range from 4 to 30 μm.

The present invention discloses a device and methods for characterizing vulnerable plaque and cancer tissue by measuring changes in tissue elasticity compared to that of normal tissue. The system includes a catheter with an expandable element at a proximal end. The expandable element is equipped with pressure sensors to detect changes in tissue elasticity and can be additionally equipped with sensors that detect tissue temperature and pH. For arterial tissue or tissue lining a body cavity, the device can also be equipped with width gauges that measure the diameter of the artery lumen or the width of any section of the body cavity. The distal end of the catheter may be attached to a motorized pullback device connected to a computer. Data collected by the device sensors are sent to the computer for processing and analysis.

A method is described for repairing tissue of a selected organ from among heart, brain, liver, pancreas, kidney, and glands in a patient's body. In the method, stem cells that have the capability to repair tissue of the selected organ are intraluminally applied through a designated natural body vessel or duct leading to a predetermined target site of the tissue of the selected organ to be repaired. The stem cells are delivered into the respective vessel or duct through a catheter having a proximal portion of relatively larger central lumen diameter and outer diameter, and a distal portion of relatively smaller central lumen diameter and outer diameter, the two portions being integral with one another so that stem cells delivered into the central lumen of the proximal portion will flow through and exit the central lumen of the distal portion, the lumen diameter and length of each of the two portions being selected to minimize the pressure drop across the catheter during flow of the stem cells.

A system and method for increasing the speed of blood and the wall shear stress in a peripheral artery or peripheral vein to a sufficient level and for a sufficient period of time to result in a persistent increase in the overall diameter and lumen diameter of the artery or vein is provided. The method includes systems and methods to effect the movement of blood at the desired rate and in the desired direction. The movement of blood is monitored and adjusted, as necessary, to maintain the desired blood speed and wall shear stress in the peripheral artery or vein in order to optimize the rate and extent of persistent diameter increase of the peripheral artery or peripheral vein.

Provided are methods and systems for detecting a maturing arterio-venous fistula comprising a vein. An exemplary method comprises determining a wall thickness of the fistula and a lumen diameter of the fistula vein using a high frequency ultrasound imaging system. A blood pressure of the subject is determined. A circumferential vessel wall stress is determined from the measured blood pressure, the wall thickness of the fistula and a determined radius of the measured diameter of the fistula. The determined circumferential vessel stress is compared to a predetermined threshold stress to determine if the fistula is mature.

A method for evaluating an airway in a bronchial tree, includes: segmenting a bronchial tree; modeling the segmented bronchial tree; computing a first ratio for an airway in the segmented and modeled bronchial tree, wherein the first ratio is a ratio between a diameter of the airway lumen and a diameter of an artery accompanying the airway; computing a second ratio for the airway, wherein the second ratio is a ratio between the diameter of the artery and a thickness of the airway wall; or computing a tapering index for the airway, wherein the tapering index indicates a tapering of the diameter of the airway lumen; scoring and color coding the first ratio, second ratio or tapering index; and visualizing the segmented and modeled bronchial tree color coded according to the first ratio, second ratio or tapering index.

An endoscope system includes an endoscope including an image pickup section that picks up an image of a subject lumen organ, a recording section that records three-dimensional image information of a lumen organ acquired from a medical diagnosis apparatus, a position estimating section that estimates a distal end position of the endoscope, a lumen-diameter acquiring section that acquires a lumen diameter of the organ in the estimated position of the distal end, a condition determining section that determines whether the acquired lumen diameter is smaller than the reference lumen diameter, an image-change-amount detecting section that detects a change amount of a predetermined parameter in an endoscopic image picked up by the image pickup section, a virtual-endoscopic-image generating section that generates a virtual endoscopic image from any visual point position, and an information recording section that records a position of a distal end of an insertion section and the virtual endoscopic image.

A method and system for use with an endoscopic instrument determines anatomical properties of body lumen at various states. Lumen properties such as lumen diameter are identified in two or more states corresponding to, for example, an inflated or deflated state. The lumen states are registered with one another and the anatomical properties are identified in real time at the location of an endoscope or endoscopic instrument used with the endoscope. In one embodiment a diametrical range of an airway is identified in real time at the location of a bronchoscope.

The present invention provides for an apparatus to locate a blood vessel puncture having a bleed back entrance port near a first end, a bleed back exit port near a second end; and a lumen extending between the bleed back entrance port and the bleed back exit port, wherein said bleed back entrance port has a diameter substantially equal to or greater than the lumen diameter. The present invention further provides for a method for locating a blood vessel puncture by inserting a locator into a blood vessel lumen, the locator having a bleed back entrance port at a first end, a bleed back exit port at a second end, and a finger adjacent the bleed back entrance port, observing a blood flow out of the bleed back exit port, and withdrawing the locator out of the blood vessel lumen until the finger contacts the blood vessel wall.

Implantable devices for continuously monitoring vascular lumen dimensions, in particular in the inferior vena cava (IVC) for determining heart failure status of a patient. Related therapy systems as well as monitoring and therapy methods are also disclosed. Devices include active or passive marker elements placed in contact with, adhered to or injected into the vessel wall to generate or reflect signals from which lumen diameter may be determined. Disclosed devices may be fully implantable and self-contained including capabilities for wirelessly communication monitored parameters.