HydroCision, Inc. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20110091331 | HIGH PRESSURE PUMPING CARTRIDGES FOR MEDICAL AND SURGICAL PUMPING AND INFUSION APPLICATIONS - Pumping cartridges useful for medical and surgical pumping and infusion procedures are disclosed. Methods for manufacturing and utilizing such pumping cartridges and methods for pumping or infusing liquids for delivery to the body of a patient or a surgical or medical instrument for performing a medical treatment are also described. The invention includes, in one aspect, a series of pumping cartridges comprising cylinders and pistons constructed and arranged for sliding or reciprocating motion within the cylinders. The pistons and/or cylinders can comprise a sealing component including a circumferential, flared sealing flange and can be configured to enable the pumping cartridge to generate high liquid pumping pressures, for example above 1,000 psig. Many of the pumping cartridges disclosed can be relatively easily manufactured at a low cost per unit and can be configured to be detachable from a pump drive unit and disposable after a single use. Various compact flow path configurations are provided in the several pumping cartridge embodiments described, including a Y-shaped configuration, a T-shaped configuration, and an axial configuration. Some pumping cartridges disclosed include pistons including or at least partially forming a valve and/or pistons that are relatively movable with respect to a piston rod to which they are connected. Valve including a valve seat and a movable sealing element able to create a seal capable of withstanding differences in fluid pressures thereacross of at least about 1,000 psi, and in some cases up to in excess of 10,000 psi, without substantial fluid leakage therethrough are disclosed. In some of the disclosed valves, the movable sealing element is concave in shape, and can be curved, to create a mechanical advantage for improved sealing performance. Methods for manufacturing axially-configured pumping cartridges from thin-walled tubing are also disclosed, as well as a series of methods for pumping or infusing a liquid for delivery to the body of a patient or a surgical or medical instrument for performing a medical treatment using the above-mentioned pumping cartridges and devices. | 04-21-2011 |
20100228273 | LIQUID JET SURGICAL INSTRUMENT - The invention provides a variety of surgical instruments for forming a liquid jet, which are useful for performing a wide variety of surgical procedures. In some embodiments, the invention provides surgical liquid jet instruments having a pressure tube and an evacuation tube, where the pressure tube includes at least one nozzle for forming a liquid jet and where the evacuation tube includes a jet-receiving opening for receiving the liquid jet when the instrument is in operation. In some embodiments, the surgical liquid jet instrument is constructed to minimize damage to the tissue surrounding the tissue that is desired to be removed. In some embodiments, the outer surface of the distal tip of the evacuation tube wall and/or the pressure tube wall is blunted to minimize tissue damage. The invention also provides surgical methods utilizing the inventive surgical liquid jet instruments for cutting or ablating a selected tissue within portions of a patient's spine, such as within the intervertebral disc. | 09-09-2010 |
20100010524 | LIQUID JET SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING A DISTAL END WITH A SELECTIVELY CONTROLLABLE SHAPE - The invention provides a variety of surgical instruments for forming a liquid jet, which are useful for performing a wide variety of surgical procedures. In some embodiments, the invention provides surgical liquid jet instruments having a pressure tube and an evacuation tube, where the pressure tube includes at least one nozzle for forming a liquid jet and where the evacuation tube includes a jet-receiving opening for receiving the liquid jet when the instrument is in operation. In some embodiments, the distal ends of both the pressure and evacuation tubes have a first configuration in a non-relaxed state and a second configuration in a more relaxed state. In some embodiments, a straightener is constructed to selectively control the configuration of the distal ends of both the pressure and evacuation tubes. The invention also provides surgical methods utilizing the inventive surgical liquid jet instruments for cutting or ablating a selected tissue within portions of a patient's spine, such as within the intervertebral disc. | 01-14-2010 |
20090306692 | ELECTROFORMED LIQUID JET SURGICAL INSTRUMENT - Certain embodiments of the invention provide a variety of methods of manufacturing a liquid jet-forming surgical instrument. According to these methods, a nozzle assembly of the instrument is electroformed on a mandrel. The nozzle assembly includes a nozzle providing a jet-opening, wherein the nozzle is shaped to form a liquid jet. In some embodiments, the mandrel includes a first mandrel portion and a second mandrel portion. Once the nozzle assembly is formed, the mandrel may be removed from the nozzle assembly. The nozzle assembly may in certain embodiments be coupled to an outlet of the pressure tube. In certain embodiments, an inlet of an evacuation tube is positioned such that a jet-receiving opening of the evacuation tube is positioned opposite the jet-opening of the nozzle. | 12-10-2009 |
20090076440 | LIQUID JET SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATING CHANNEL OPENINGS ALIGNED ALONG THE JET BEAM - Certain embodiments of the surgical instruments provided according to the invention utilize a channel positioned adjacent to and downstream of a liquid jet-forming nozzle such that at least a portion of the liquid jet passes at least one of within the channel and adjacent to and along the length of at least a portion of a longitudinally-oriented opening in the channel, when the instrument is in operation. The use of such channels in certain embodiments of the inventive surgical instruments can enable the instruments to provide enhanced control over the depth and degree of cutting and/or ablation of tissue; and/or can provide improved and enhanced functionality for cleaning, debriding, and/or trimming and cutting a tissue/surface; and/or can provide longer effective liquid jet beam cutting/ablation lengths by reducing the degree of dispersion of the jet along its length. | 03-19-2009 |