Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090204068 | AGENT DELIVERY CATHETER HAVING AN INFLATION BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO AXIALLY SPACED BALLOONS - An agent delivery catheter having two or more axially spaced balloons and an inflation bridge providing fluid communication between the two balloons. The catheter generally has a proximal balloon, a distal balloon, and a tube defining an inflation bridge lumen which is located in part within the inflatable interiors of the balloons, and which extends therebetween, and which has a proximal port within the proximal balloon interior and a distal port within the distal balloon interior to thereby provide for inflation of the distal balloon by placing the distal balloon interior in fluid communication with the proximal balloon interior of the shaft. | 08-13-2009 |
20090270787 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING ENLARGED MIGRATION CHANNELS FOR THERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITHIN THE ENDOTHELIUM - A system for enlarging endothelium migration channels at a treatment site in a coronary vessel wall, to enable enhanced delivery of a therapeutic agent thereto. The system includes an enlarging agent, for enlarging endothelium migration channels at a treatment site in a coronary vessel wall. It also includes a delivery system, for delivering the enlarging agent to the treatment site, so that the enlarging agent will be delivered thereby to enlarge the endothelium migration channels at the treatment site, and for delivering the therapeutic agent to the delivery site. The therapeutic agent will thereby be delivered into the enlarged migration channels at the treatment site, to treat the treatment site with the therapeutic agent. | 10-29-2009 |
20090292241 | BALLOON CATHETER - A catheter arrangement is described that is arranged to permit a guide wire or other structure to be fed laterally from the region of an expandable working element. The catheter includes an elongate flexible tubular member and an inflatable structure carried by a distal portion of the flexible tubular member. The flexible tubular member has a guide wire lumen and at least one fluid supply lumen that is in fluid communication with the inflatable structure. The inflatable structure includes at least one, and preferably two, inflatable members (which may take the form of balloons). In the case of two inflatable members, the first and second inflatable members are radially spaced about the guide wire lumen such that at least one gap is formed between the inflatable members. With this arrangement, the distal end of a guide wire may be advanced through the guide lumen and out of a side opening such that the guide wire passes laterally between the first and second inflatable members. With such an arrangement, a guide wire passing out of the side opening in the region between the inflatable members can readily be directed into a second branch of a vessel bifurcation while the device is positioned in a first branch. | 11-26-2009 |
20090318855 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING INTRAVASCULAR UPTAKE OF AGENTS - This invention is generally related to therapeutic treatment of a coronary vessel wall, and more particularly, to systems and methods for improving uptake of therapeutic agents within the endothelium for enhanced delivery of therapeutic agents to a treatment site. A medical device is provided that is capable of reducing the pressure applied to a vessel wall and delivering a therapeutic agent into the vessel wall. Also, methods are described for using the device to facilitate delivery and uptake of a therapeutic agent into the vessel wall. | 12-24-2009 |
20100145265 | AGENT DELIVERY CATHETER HAVING A RADIALLY EXPANDABLE CENTERING SUPPORT MEMBERS - A catheter for delivering an agent to an injection site in a wall of a patient's body lumen, with an elongated shaft having a needle-through lumen slidably containing a needle therein, and an expandable member on the distal shaft section which has a collapsed configuration and a radially expanded configuration. In the radially expanded configuration, the expandable member supports the shaft in a position spaced away from the body lumen wall, and the needle slidably exits the needle-through lumen in the extended configuration through the port spaced away from the body lumen wall as a portion of the expandable member maintains the position of the port section of the shaft in the body lumen. The expandable member typically has an open-walled, helical, or lobed configuration providing a perfusion path along the expandable member. | 06-10-2010 |
20100193482 | LASER CUTTING SYSTEM - A laser cutting system including a chamber configured to provide a controlled environment while the laser is being used to cut a pattern into a material to reduce or eliminate heat and oxygen related changes to the mechanical characteristics of the material. A system for providing a gas to the controlled environment within the chamber, as well as a means for exhausting gas and cutting debris from the chamber is also described. A cutting mandrel that provides for flow of a shielding gas and also provides a means for dispersing a laser beam before it can produce unwanted damage to a section of tubing is also described. | 08-05-2010 |
20100193483 | LASER CUTTING PROCESS FOR FORMING STENTS - Systems and methods for improving the cutting efficiency and cut profile of stent strut is provided. A means for altering the energy distribution of a laser beam is provided, along with various ways of controlling a laser to provide for improved strut configurations are provided. A method for improved cutting speeds using a combination of laser sources is also provided. | 08-05-2010 |
20100193484 | MULTIPLE BEAM LASER SYSTEM FOR FORMING STENTS - A system and method for precision cutting using multiple laser beams is described, The system and method includes a combination of optical components that split the output of a single laser into multiple beams, with the power, polarization status and spot size of each split beam being individually controllable, while providing a circularly polarized beam at the surface of a work piece to be cut by the laser beam. A system and method for tracking manufacture of individual stents is also provided. | 08-05-2010 |
20100193485 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR LASER CUTTING AND PROCESSING TUBING TO MAKE MEDICAL DEVICES - Methods for making devices include providing a tubular member to be formed into a device, placing a removable sacrificial block material in the lumen of the tubular member and laser cutting the tubular member. A doping material can be added to the melted portion of the tubular member to promote the formation of brittle slag. A fixture can be used to hold a cut workpiece in order to ream sacrificial material from the surface of the workpiece. Pressurized gas can be supplied to the inner lumen of the tubular member to cause slag to form on the outside surface, rather than the inner surface, of the tubular member. A tubular member made from nickel-titanium alloy can be tightly adhered to a sacrificial sleeve utilizing the phase changes associated with nickel-titanium. A rotating mandrel can be placed within the lumen of the tubular member during laser cutting. A mandrel which includes an enlarged diameter section causes the workpiece to expand slightly within its elastic deformation range to dislodge islands from the workpiece. Such a mandrel could be formed from a tubular member which has a central lumen that can be used to deliver a pressurized medium to “blast” islands from the workpiece. | 08-05-2010 |
20100249702 | POROUS CATHETER BALLOON AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME - A porous balloon or other catheter structure is formed by creating specific size pores for delivering an agent to a body lumen. The pores can be created by passing matter or energy through the surface of the catheter structure, as by a laser or a projectile. In the case of a laser, the catheter structure can be reversed so that the inner surface becomes the outer surface to convert diverging pores into converging pores. In the case of projectiles, a pore size can be achieved by selecting an appropriate size and shaped projectile to obtain the desired characteristic. Alternatively, a material to make the catheter structure can include impurities that can be removed once the catheter structure is set, leaving pores where the material formed around the impurities. | 09-30-2010 |
20110046709 | METHODS FOR IMPLANTING A STENT USING A GUIDE CATHETER - Various methods for implanting a stent into an ostium or a proximal portion of a body vessel utilizing a guide catheter, rather than a convention balloon angioplasty balloon catheter, as the primary delivery device are disclosed. The guide catheter can be used as the primary stent delivery catheter for the ostium region of the body vessel and can be anchored to the vessel to allow secondary treatment devices to be advanced to distal locations in the body vessel. | 02-24-2011 |
20110184509 | DUAL SHEATH ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF USE - A sheath assembly is provided for protecting a stent mounted on a catheter. An inner tubular member is positioned over the stent without longitudinal movement of the inner tubular member along the stent surface thereby eliminating the possibility of scraping or scratching a drug coating or polymer coating on the stent surface or balloon surface. An outer tubular member slides over the inner tubular member to firmly compress it onto the stent for further protection. In use, the outer tubular member is removed from over the inner tubular member so that the two half-cylindrical portions of the inner tubular member can fall away from the stent without longitudinal movement along the stent surface. | 07-28-2011 |
20110208292 | HINGED SHEATH ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF USE - A sheath assembly is provided for protecting a stent mounted on a catheter. An inner tubular member is positioned over the stent without longitudinal movement of the inner tubular member along the stent surface thereby eliminating the possibility of scraping or scratching a drug coating or polymer coating on the stent surface. An outer tubular member slides over the inner tubular member to firmly compress it onto the stent for further protection. In use, the outer tubular member is removed from over the inner tubular member so that the inner tubular member can open similar to a clamshell opening radially outwardly away from the stent without longitudinal movement along the stent surface. | 08-25-2011 |
20120057813 | FLUID BEARING TO SUPPORT STENT TUBING DURING LASER CUTTING - A fluid bearing assembly provides support to stent tubing while the stent tubing is undergoing laser cutting to form a stent pattern. The fluid bearing assembly supports the stent tubing and provides a fluid barrier between the bearing and the stent tubing thereby providing nearly frictionless movement between the support bearing and the stent tubing. | 03-08-2012 |
20120059355 | METHODS OF MODIFYING MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION EXPANSION - A reinforcement region is formed within the myocardium by introducing a delivery device through a vessel wall to a treatment site within a myocardium. A biomaterial is then delivered to the treatment site as the delivery device is withdrawn from the treatment site to form the reinforcement regions. Formation of the reinforcement region may further include introducing a delivery device through a vessel wall to a region within a myocardium such that the delivery device is positioned within the myocardium substantially parallel to a wall of the myocardium. A biomaterial may be delivered into a space formed within the region by the delivery device. The reinforcement region may be formed around an infarct tissue region of a myocardium to reinforce the damaged tissue. | 03-08-2012 |
20120143089 | CATHETER HAVING AN AUXILIARY LUMEN FOR USE WITH A FUNCTIONAL MEASUREMENT WIRE - The present invention relates to a surgical catheter, and more particularly, a balloon catheter having an auxiliary lumen configured to permit the advancement of a functional measurement wire to a treatment site. The auxiliary lumen communicates with a working lumen that is configured to permit the advancement of a guidewire and the functional measurement wire, so that the guidewire and functional measurement wire may selectively be advanced to the treatment site during a surgical procedure. | 06-07-2012 |
20120143139 | AGENT DELIVERY CATHETER HAVING A RADIALLY EXPANDABLE CENTERING SUPPORT MEMBER - A catheter for delivering an agent to an injection site in a wall of a patient's body lumen, with an elongated shaft having a needle-through lumen slidably containing a needle therein, and an expandable member on the distal shaft section which has a collapsed configuration and a radially expanded configuration. In the radially expanded configuration, the expandable member supports the shaft in a position spaced away from the body lumen wall, and the needle slidably exits the needle-through lumen in the extended configuration through the port spaced away from the body lumen wall as a portion of the expandable member maintains the position of the port section of the shaft in the body lumen. The expandable member typically has an open-walled, helical, or lobed configuration providing a perfusion path along the expandable member. | 06-07-2012 |
20120190918 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SUPPORTING CARDIAC ISCHEMIC TISSUE BY MEANS OF EMBEDDED STRUCTURES - Systems and methods are disclosed for reinforcing ischemic tissue of a heart. A reinforcing element is initially positioned within a lumen of a delivery needle. The delivery needle is urged into the ischemic tissue and the reinforcing element is urged out of the needle into the ischemic tissue. The reinforcing element may be embodied as a coiled, undulating, or arcuate spring and may include a shape-memory material. A bioabsorbable material may maintain the reinforcing element in a deformed state. The reinforcing element may be tensioned as it is positioned within the myocardium in order to provide a cinching force by means of a cord lock selectively releasing the reinforcing element. The reinforcing element may be embodied as a number of spiral portions secured to a hub and urged outwardly by rotation of the hub. | 07-26-2012 |
20120285836 | ELECTROCHEMICAL FORMATION OF FOIL-SHAPED STENT STRUTS - An apparatus and method for electrochemically treating the struts of an intravascular stent is disclosed. An intravascular stent is mounted in a chamber and is electrochemically treated in order to remove a portion of the stent struts in order to form an airfoil shape. The airfoil-shaped stent struts will reduce turbulent blood flow in the vasculature in which the stent is implanted thereby improving clinical outcome. | 11-15-2012 |
20130313236 | MULTIPLE BEAM LASER SYSTEM FOR FORMING STENTS - A system and method for precision cutting using multiple laser beams is described, The system and method includes a combination of optical components that split the output of a single laser into multiple beams, with the power, polarization status and spot size of each split beam being individually controllable, while providing a circularly polarized beam at the surface of a work piece to be cut by the laser beam. A system and method for tracking manufacture of individual stents is also provided. | 11-28-2013 |
20130313237 | MULTIPLE BEAM LASER SYSTEM FOR FORMING STENTS - A system and method for precision cutting using multiple laser beams is described, The system and method includes a combination of optical components that split the output of a single laser into multiple beams, with the power, polarization status and spot size of each split beam being individually controllable, while providing a circularly polarized beam at the surface of a work piece to be cut by the laser beam. A system and method for tracking manufacture of individual stents is also provided. | 11-28-2013 |
20140121603 | AGENT DELIVERY CATHETER HAVING RADIALLY EXPANDABLE CENTERING SUPPORT MEMBER - A catheter for delivering an agent to an injection site in a wall of a patient's body lumen, with an elongated shaft having a needle-through lumen slidably containing a needle therein, and an expandable member on the distal shaft section which has a collapsed configuration and a radially expanded configuration. In the radially expanded configuration, the expandable member supports the shaft in a position spaced away from the body lumen wall, and the needle slidably exits the needle-through lumen in the extended configuration through the port spaced away from the body lumen wall as a portion of the expandable member maintains the position of the port section of the shaft in the body lumen. The expandable member typically has an open-walled, helical, or lobed configuration providing a perfusion path along the expandable member. | 05-01-2014 |
20150028008 | LASER CUTTING PROCESS FOR FORMING STENTS - Systems and methods for improving the cutting efficiency and cut profile of stent strut is provided. A means for altering the energy distribution of a laser beam is provided, along with various ways of controlling a laser to provide for improved strut configurations are provided. A method for improved cutting speeds using a combination of laser sources is also provided. | 01-29-2015 |