287 results about "Lymph fluid" patented technology

Microneedle devices are provided for controlled sampling of biological fluids in a minimally-invasive, painless, and convenient manner. The microneedle devices permit in vivo sensing or withdrawal of biological fluids from the body, particularly from or through the skin or other tissue barriers, with minimal or no damage, pain, or irritation to the tissue. The microneedle device includes one or more microneedles, preferably in a three-dimensional array, a substrate to which the microneedles are connected, and at least one collection chamber and/or sensor in communication with the microneedles. Preferred embodiments further include a means for inducing biological fluid to be drawn through the microneedles and into the collection chamber for analysis. In a preferred embodiment, this induction is accomplished by use of a pressure gradient, which can be created for example by selectively increasing the interior volume of the collection chamber, which includes an elastic or movable portion engaged to a rigid base. Preferred biological fluids for withdrawal and/or sensing include blood, lymph, interstitial fluid, and intracellular fluid. Examples of analytes in the biological fluid to be measured include glucose, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatine, metabolic enzymes, hemoglobin, heparin, clotting factors, uric acid, carcinoembryonic antigen or other tumor antigens, reproductive hormones, oxygen, pH, alcohol, tobacco metabolites, and illegal drugs.

A method of body manipulation in furtherance of treating lymphedema is provided. A wrap, adapted to fit about a body extremity and having a trunk region, and limb regions, and a plurality of compartments distributed throughout the regions, is provided and applied to the body extremity. Each of the compartments of the plurality of compartments are capable of selective pressurization and depressurization. The body extremity is prepared for receipt of lymph fluid via a first pressurization and depressurization sequence of select compartments within select regions of the regions of the wrap, and lymph fluid is drained from the body extremity via a second pressurization and depressurization sequence of select compartments within select regions of the regions of the wrap, whereby the lymphatic system is stimulated so as to promote readsorption of pooled lymph fluid within surrounding tissue.

A therapeutic pad system (200) is disclosed for the treatment of edema, wherein the pressure applied to the user by the pad encourages the proximal flow of lymph. A fluid is provided to one or more bladder-type pads (220) in the pad through an inlet port (218) at a distal end of the pad, and is expelled from the bladder through an outlet port (220) at the proximal end of the bladder, thereby producing a pressure gradient across the pad. The system includes a flexible and compressible liner (250) filled with a number of small foam pieces (258) that is adapted to be wrapped about the therapeutic pad, and a relatively rugged, outer binder (270) that is securable about the liner (250). An advantage of the present system is that it may be applied in a number of different modes and combinations providing many treatment options.

A method of body manipulation in furtherance of treating lymphedema is provided. A wrap, adapted to fit about a body extremity and having a trunk region, and limb regions, and a plurality of compartments distributed throughout the regions, is provided and applied to the body extremity. Each of the compartments of the plurality of compartments are capable of selective pressurization and depressurization. The body extremity is prepared for receipt of lymph fluid via a first pressurization and depressurization sequence of select compartments within select regions of the regions of the wrap, and lymph fluid is drained from the body extremity via a second pressurization and depressurization sequence of select compartments within select regions of the regions of the wrap, whereby the lymphatic system is stimulated so as to promote readsorption of pooled lymph fluid within surrounding tissue.

A single, integrated device in which a body fluid (e.g., blood) of a human or animal can be both collected and analyzed easily and without risk of contamination is disclosed. The collection portion and analysis portion of the device are permanently joined to permit movement of small quantities of body fluid under controlled conditions, to minimize any waste of the body fluid, to ensure that no contamination reaches the main body fluid volume, and to create a permanent physical record of the results of the analysis in association with the fluid sample itself: A wide variety of different body fluid components which may be indicative of various diseases, dysfunctions and abnormalities of the human or animal or the body fluid itself can be tested for. The device includes a container for collecting human or animal body fluid, one or more testing chambers containing one or more analysis units activated by body fluid; a transfer pump or vacuum assembly to transfer one or more samples into the analysis units; and one-way valves or the equivalent to prevent any portion of the withdrawn sample from being returned to the collection container. The body fluid acted upon may be blood, blood plasma, urine, bile, pleural fluid, ascites fluid, stomach or intestine fluid, colostrom, milk or lymph.

A system is presented for correction of a patient's biological fluid, such as his blood, lymph or spinal fluid, containing various low-, medium- and high-molecular toxins. The system comprises an extracorporeal flow line in the form of a flexible tube interconnected between outlet and inlet means attached to appropriate location(s) on a patient's body. A small amount of the biological fluid, i.e., substantially not exceeding 100 ml, substantially continuously flows through the tube, and is mixed with magneto-conductive particles capable of adsorbing the various toxins. An obtained mixture of the biological fluid with the particles passes through a magnetic field region, and substantially all of the magneto-conductive particles are retained therein. Particle-free biological fluid is then returned into the patient's body through the inlet means.

Marker levels and forms can be modulated in patients having vascular disease when sufficient vascular tissue is removed. The markers can be, e.g., from tissue, blood or lymph. The markers are typically involved in molecular pathways which are in turn modulated. Atherectomy catheters are used for accomplishing sufficient removal of vascular tissue to effect the modulations.

Devices and methods for draining excess lymph fluid are disclosed. The device can be fixed to the blood vessel adjacent to the thoracic duct. The device can have a port for withdrawing lymph fluid exiting the thoracic duct. The device can have a cannula and/or subcutaneous port to draw the lymph fluid away from the thoracic duct and reduce hemostatic pressure in the lymphatic system.

The invention provides polynucleotides and genes that are differentially expressed in lymphatic versus blood vascular endothelial cells. These genes are useful for treating diseases involving lymphatic vessels, such as lymphedema, various inflammatory diseases, and cancer metastasis via the lymphatic system.

Techniques include automatically detecting a lymph node in a scanned image of a body without human intervention, using one or more of three approaches. First, a subset of scanned images is determined, which belongs to one anatomical domain. A search region for lymph tissue is in a particular spatial relationship outside an anatomical object in the domain. Second, scanned images are segmented without human intervention to determine a boundary of a particular lymph node. The scanned images and outline data are received. Some of these embodiments automatically segment by determining an external marker, based on the outline data, and an internal marker, based on a geometric center of the outline data or thresholds determined automatically inside detected edges, or both, for a marker-controlled watershed algorithm. Third, based on lymph node data at a particular time, a second scanned image at a different time is segmented automatically, without human intervention.

The present invention provides methods to culture and use vascular endothelial cells, including lymphatic, venous and arterial endothelial cells.

The current invention describes methods of transesophageal access to the neck and thorax to perform surgical interventions on structures outside the esophagus in both the cervical and the thoracic cavity. It describes a liner device made of a complete or partial tubular structure, or a flat plate, the liner having means to facilitate creation of a side opening, which may include a valve. The liner with its side opening form a port structure inside the esophageal lumen. The port structure allows elongated surgical devices to pass through a perforation across the full thickness of the esophageal wall to outside location, in a controlled way. The elongated surgical devices can be diagnostic scopes, therapeutic scopes, manual elongated surgical devices, robotic arms or the like. After being deployed outside the esophagus, the surgical devices can access structures outside the esophagus, in the neck and thorax in 360 degrees of freedom around the esophageal circumference. These structures can be bony, cartilaginous, spinal, vascular, soft tissue, deep tissues, lymph nodal, cardiac, pulmonary, tracheal, nervous, muscular or diaphragmatic, skin and subcutaneous tissues of the neck, skin and subcutaneous tissues of the anterior chest wall, skin and subcutaneous tissues of the skin of the back, and skin and layers of the breast.

In accordance with the present invention, there are provided methods for identifying the sentinel lymph node in a drainage field for a tissue or organ in a subject. In select embodiments, the invention allows for the identification of the first or sentinel lymph node that drains the tissue or organ, particularly those tissues associated with neoplastic or infectious diseases and disorders, and within the pertinent lymph drainage basin. Once the drainage basin from the tissue or organ, i.e., the sentinel lymph node, is identified, a pre-operative or intraoperative mapping of the affected lymphatic structure can be carried out with a contrast agent. Identification of the first or sentinel lymph node, on the most direct drainage pathway in the drainage field, can be accomplished by a variety of imaging techniques, including ultrasound, MRI, CT, nuclear and others. Moreover, once the lymphatic structure is identified as being associated with neoplastic or infectious diseases and disorders, the affected lymphatic structure can be removed surgically or by a suitable minimally invasive procedure to allow pathological analysis to be performed to determine whether certain diseases or disorders exist, without resort to more radical lymphadenectomy. Further, the agent can be made to carry diagnostic or therapeutic probes to be activated and/or delivered to the injection site or any part of the lymphatic pathway downstream from the injection site.

The invention belongs to the technical field of operating field target qualitative positioning for surgical operation, and particularly relates to a multispectral light-splitting fused surgical operation guide system, which is used for solving the problem that a target cannot be distinguished existing in a tumor qualitative positioning technology for surgical operation in the conventional intranperative imaging technology. The multispectral light-splitting fused surgical operation guide system comprises a light source part, a light-splitting image pick-up part and an image fusing part, wherein the light source part comprises an annular white-light LED (Light-Emitting Diode) and a near infrared LED; the light-splitting image pick-up part comprises a near focus lens, a light splitting lens,a relay lens, an optical filter and a lens barrel; and the image fusing part comprises a plurality of video decoders which are connected with the signal output end of a near infrared and color image-pickup CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) respectively. The multispectral light-splitting fused surgical operation guide system has the beneficial effects that: an anatomical color image of an operating field and a near infrared optical image which cannot be seen by naked eyes are shot respectively by adopting spectroscopic photography, and are displayed respectively; and image fusing is adopted, so thatblood vessels, lymph vessels, lymph nodes and fluorescent dye-marked tumor tissues in the operating field can be accurately positioned and displayed.

A method and device that can deliver a time-varying electric field non-invasively inside of biological tissue and/or biological fluid such as blood and/or lymph and/or synovial fluid and/or interstitial fluid and/or other fluids in-vivo and with magnitudes that do not cause a tolerable amount of neural motor and sensory action potential generation and frequency components below the megahertz range by means of the placement of more than one electrode on the skin with or without some intermediate biological, synthetic, or natural agent or substance between the electrode and the skin and/or by induction by means of a time-varying magnetic field or both with the novel purpose of activation and/or potentiation and/or normalization and/or regulation and/or stimulation and/or signaling and/or increase and/or regulation of the alertness and/or self tuning of the immune system or any of its parts or components directly or indirectly, locally and/or globally with the purpose of pathogen load reduction and/or reduction of the disease symptoms and/or clinical improvement and/or tumor size reduction and/or malignancy reduction or amelioration and/or improvement of the effects of an autoimmune disorder or any other related condition that could be treated or remised by its effects.

The invention discloses a stomach computer tomography (CT) image lymph node automatic auxiliary detecting system without supervision segmentation. The stomach CT lymph node automatic auxiliary detecting system without supervision segmentation mainly aims at solving the problems that an area-of-interest and a suspected lymph node area in an existing stomach CT image automatically acquire undetected areas or excessive irrelevant information is left over. The stomach CT lymph node automatic auxiliary detecting system without supervision segmentation comprises a preprocessing module, an area-of-interest extracting module, a suspected lymph node extracting module and a lymph mode tracking extracting module. The preprocessing module is used for preprocessing to-be-detected images, the area-of-interest extracting module is used for further processing the preprocessed images to acquire areas-of-interest, the suspected lymph node extracting module is used for extracting suspected lymph nodes out from the areas-of-interest, and the lymph node tracking extracting module is used for window feature matching tracking of the suspected lymph nodes, and completing mark extraction of the lymph nodes. The stomach CT lymph node automatic auxiliary detecting system without supervision segmentation is capable of automatically and effectively extracting suspected lymph node areas which draw attentions of doctors and eventually detecting the lymph nodes, and being used for processing medical images.