136 results about "Nerve block" patented technology

A method and apparatus for treatment of cardiac and renal diseases associated with the elevated sympathetic renal nerve activity by implanting a device to block the renal nerve signals to and from the kidney. The device can be a drug pump or a drug eluding implant for targeted delivery of a nerve-blocking agent to the periarterial space of the renal artery.

Sympathetic nerves run through the adventitia surrounding renal arteries and are critical in the modulation of systemic hypertension. Hyperactivity of these nerves can cause renal hypertension, a disease prevalent in 30-40% of the adult population. Hypertension can be treated with neuromodulating agents (such as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II inhibitors, or aldosterone receptor blockers), but requires adherence to strict medication regimens and often does not reach target blood pressure threshold to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events. A minimally invasive solution is presented here to reduce the activity of the sympathetic nerves surrounding the renal artery by locally delivering neurotoxic or nerve-blocking agents into the adventitia. Extended elution of these agents may also be accomplished in order to tailor the therapy to the patient.

A method and apparatus for treating patients suffering from involuntary movement disorders (including epilepsy) by stimulating a selected cranial nerve of the patient with an electrical signal applied to induce a signal at brain by applying an electrical signal at the nerve to ameliorate the disorder and by applying a neural conduction block at the nerve selected to at least partially block nerve impulses on said nerve at a blocking site and reduce adverse effects of said signal on an organ.

A method and apparatus for treatment of cardiac and renal diseases associated with the elevated sympathetic renal nerve activity by implanting a device to block the renal nerve signals to and from the kidney. The device can be a drug pump or a drug eluding implant for targeted delivery of a nerve-blocking agent to the periarterial space of the renal artery.

Provided are needle locks and methods of using the same for ultrasound guided catheter insertion. The needle locks hereof substantially immobilizes a needle relative to an ultrasound probe to permit manipulation of a catheter or other device through the needle. The needle locks of the present invention may be used in nerve block, venous catheter insertion procedures or other invasive procedures.

A novel sharp needle with an at least partially occluded, closed distal and at least one side port and related methods is disclosed. Various embodiments of needles of the present invention provide for at least one benefit of enhanced injection characteristics, increased operational efficiency, reduced cost per unit, reduced incidence of injury through intraneural/intravascular injection, reduced incidence of injury through pricking/piercing, and/or the like.

A nerve cuff for establishing a nerve block on a nerve can have a cuff body with a channel for receiving a nerve, a reservoir for holding a drug, and an elongate opening slit extending the length of the cuff body that can be opened to provide access to the channel and can be closed to enclose the cuff body around the nerve. The nerve cuff can also include an electrode for detecting and measuring electrical signals generated by the nerve. A controller can be used to control delivery of the drug based on the electrical signals generated by the nerve.

The invention relates to a catheter for endovascular treatment on hypertension, in particular to a medical catheter for clinical endovascular intervention treatment on hypertension. The catheter has the functions of monitoring the temperature of the vascular tissue of the renal artery and measuring the local impedance of the tissue of the renal artery, and is used for carrying out feedback regulation on radio and high frequency current intensity to block bilateral renal sympathetic nerves and interdict sympathetic nerves to excite the kidney to generate and secrete renin-angiotensin, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing blood pressure. The catheter provided by the invention is made by compositing temperature plastic polymers and wire meshes, wherein the hardness of a near end is larger, a far end is softer, and multiple channels are formed in a catheter body; a far-end electrode is made from platinum (or gold) composite materials at the front end of the catheter, and multiple leads and drawing wires of the electrode are connected with a handle and a joint through the channels in the catheter body; and high-efficiency electrical isolation pipes and drawing pipes arranged in the channels of the catheter body ensure electrical signal transmission and smooth traction, thereby finishing bending and stretching operations.

A neurostimulation system and method of blocking a neural axon. Time-varying electrical energy is conveyed to a blocking site on the neural axon for an initial phase. The conveyed electrical energy has an amplitude and frequency during the initial phase sufficient to block action potentials from propagating along the neural axon from a location proximal to the blocking site to a location distal to the blocking site. The time-varying electrical energy is conveyed to the blocking site on the neural axon for a subsequent phase contiguous with the initial phase. The conveyed electrical energy has a decreased amplitude and a frequency during the subsequent phase sufficient to maintain blocking of the action potentials along the neural axon from the location proximal to the blocking site to the location distal to the blocking site.

Compositions comprised of a delivery vehicle or delivery system and an active agent dispersed within the delivery vehicle or system, wherein the delivery vehicle or system contains a polyorthoester polymer and a polar aprotic solvent. Also disclosed are low viscosity delivery systems for administration of active agents. The low viscosity delivery systems have a polyorthoester polymer, a polar aprotic solvent and a solvent containing a triglyceride viscosity reducing agent. Compositions described include an amide- or anilide-type local anesthetic of the “caine” classification, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), along with related methods, e.g., for treatment of post-operative pain or for prophylactic treatment of pain. The compositions are suitable for delivery via, e.g., direct application and instillation, intradermal injection, subcutaneous injection, and nerve block (perineural).

Compositions comprised of a delivery vehicle or delivery system and an active agent dispersed within the delivery vehicle or system, wherein the delivery vehicle or system contains a polyorthoester polymer and a polar aprotic solvent. Also disclosed are low viscosity delivery systems for administration of active agents. The low viscosity delivery systems have a polyorthoester polymer, a polar aprotic solvent and a solvent containing a triglyceride viscosity reducing agent. Compositions described include an amide- or anilide-type local anesthetic of the “caine” classification, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), along with related methods, e.g., for treatment of post-operative pain or for prophylactic treatment of pain. The compositions are suitable for delivery via, e.g., direct application and instillation, intradermal injection, subcutaneous injection, and nerve block (perineural).

Compositions containing site 1 sodium channel blockers for use as local anesthetics with rapid nerve block, improved potency and efficacy, and no local toxicity have been developed. Liposomes were employed for increased loading of the site 1 sodium channel blocker, producing prolonged duration of block without systemic toxicity. In one embodiment, the compositions contain a site 1 sodium channel blocker alone. In another embodiment, the compositions contain a site 1 sodium channel blocker in combination with a corticosteroid. As demonstrated by the examples, encapsulating site 1 sodium channel blockers in liposomes results in rapid and prolonged nerve block without systemic toxicity, which is enhanced by the addition of a corticosteroid. Fluid liposomes showed more rapid release of STX than did solid ones, and dexamethasone accelerated STX release.

The single operator anesthesia and/or drug delivery system disclosed herein incorporates a variable-output nerve stimulator and an aspirating syringe pump, both of which are controlled via a needle with controls for stimulation and aspiration/injection on the needle itself. Pre-set injection pressures can be monitored and regulated via the syringe pump. Further pressures can be objectively limited by the syringe pump. With this system, the single operator can with sterile conditions, incorporate ultrasound, nerve stimulation, and landmark palpation while simultaneously performing the block without any help from another caregiver/operator. This system can easily store or translate to the electronic medical record the specifics of the block, including for example pressures and stimulation level). The present invention further provides a means to remove all direct human elements of a nerve block and perform a nerve injection robotically or from a remote location.

The mdx mouse is a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The present invention describes that mdx mice exhibited clinically relevant cardiac phenotypes. A non-invasive method of recording electrocardiograms (ECGs) was used to a study mdx mice (n=15) and control mice (n=15). The mdx mice had significant tachycardia, consistent with observations in patients with muscular dystrophy. Heart-rate was nearly 15% faster in mdx mice than control mice (P<0.01). ECGs revealed significant shortening of the rate-corrected QT interval duration (QTc) in mdx mice compared to control mice (P<0.05). PR interval duration were shorter at baseline in mdx compared to control mice (P<0.05). The muscarinic antagonist atropine significantly increased heart-rate and decreased PR interval duration in C57 mice. Paradoxically, atropine significantly decreased heart-rate and increased PR interval duration in all mdx mice. Pharmacological autonomic blockade and baroreflex sensitivity testing demonstrated an imbalance in autonomic nervous system modulation of heart-rate, with decreased parasympathetic activity and increased sympathetic activity in mdx mice. These electrocardiographic findings in dystrophin-deficient mice provide new bases for diagnosing, understanding, and treating patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The invention discloses a method for manufacturing a nerve block puncture needle based on the 3D printing technology and a product. The method includes the steps that a tissue structure at an wounded part of a patient is scanned by a scanner; 3D reconstructed models of nerves of the wounded part and adjacent structures of the wounded part are obtained; the path from a puncturing point to a target nerve is calculated, and the puncture needle required by puncture is individually and quickly printed through the 3D printing technology. According to the method for manufacturing the nerve block puncture needle based on the 3D printing technology and the product, the nerves and adjacent structures of the wounded part are scanned by the scanner, so data support is provided for the individualized customization of the puncture needle; through the 3D quick printing technology, puncture needles with different shapes, sizes, thicknesses and openings can be manufactured and molded at a time, so materials and the production cost are saved; polishing and grinding are not needed, so both time and the labor cost are saved; the accuracy of a nerve block is improved, and pains of the patient are relieved; special needs for puncturing anatomical structures of different parts are individually satisfied, blindness for clinical puncture because of anatomic variation on the patient is reduced, and medical disputes are avoided.

We disclose multi-electrode, energy-recycling, resonant stimulation circuits and strategies for energy-efficient blocking of action potentials in nerve. Our schemes increase the probability that most of the electrical stimulation is directed through the nerve rather than dissipated in ohmic extracellular solution alongside it via mechanical and electrical means; they use energy-recycling and resonant-amplification strategies that recycle and amplify capacitive nerve energy such that the nerve itself becomes an integral part of the circuit creating its oscillatory blocking waveform; they use traveling-wave strategies with distributed multi-electrode stimulation that alters the timing and intensity of stimulation at various points along the nerve to synchronize blocking stimulation with wave propagation in the nerve in an energy-efficient fashion. The schemes operate synergistically in a medical device to create advanced energy-efficient nerve-blocking stimulators whose operation may be altered and adapted in a feedback fashion to sensed action potentials in the nerve.

Methods and apparatus are provided for renal neuromodulation using a pulsed electric field to effectuate electroporation or electrofusion. It is expected that renal neuromodulation (e.g., denervation) may, among other things, reduce expansion of an acute myocardial infarction, reduce or prevent the onset of morphological changes that are affiliated with congestive heart failure, and/or be efficacious in the treatment of end stage renal disease. Embodiments of the present invention are configured for extravascular delivery of pulsed electric fields to achieve such neuromodulation.

A dosing regimen for formulations that contain a therapeutic dosage of a site 1 sodium channel blocker, where the dosing regimen provides a prolonged nerve block and is in an effective amount to delay the onset of neuropathic pain, such as hyperalgesia and/or allodynia, for at least one week, and preferably longer at the site, and preferably the region (e.g. entire limb), where the nerve block was applied. The site 1 sodium channel blocker is preferably saxitoxin (STX), preferably in combination with a corticosteroid, preferably dexamethasone. In a preferred embodiment, liposomes are included in the formulation as a controlled release system, producing prolonged duration of block without systemic toxicity. As demonstrated by the examples, encapsulating STX in a controlled release system, such as liposomes, preferably also including a corticosteroid, and administering in suitable dosing regimen to achieve a prolonged nerve block without systemic toxicity, delays the onset of hyperalgesia.