Patents Examined by Kai Weng
  • Patent number: 9901726
    Abstract: A connector adapted to be detachably arranged in an opening of a housing of a medical device and including a connecting element to which a single-use article can be connected outside of the housing is disclosed. Via a hollow link portion the connecting element is connected to a coupling adapted to be inserted into the interior of the housing through the opening of the housing. Moreover, the connector includes a spring element adapted to be detachably arranged at the link portion so that the connector is supported at the housing to be axially resilient via the spring element. A medical device for extracorporeal blood treatment including such connector as an interface to a single-use article, for example, is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: B. BRAUN AVITUM AG
    Inventors: Bruno Stenzel, Andreas Schade
  • Patent number: 9889042
    Abstract: A surgical kit includes at least one instrument and at least one implant device. The instrument has a needle body used to form a surgical passage through ocular tissue. The device includes a flexible tube that defines a duct for diverting aqueous humor with an outer surface having a maximal cross-sectional dimension that is less than the maximal cross-sectional dimension of the needle body. The device incorporates a seal that defines a maximal cross-sectional dimension that is greater that the maximal cross-sectional dimension of the needle body and is operably disposed within the surgical passage and forms a seal between the surrounding ocular tissue. The kit (and devices thereof) can be used as part of a surgical method to divert aqueous humor to a space formed in ocular tissue.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: INNFOCUS, INC.
    Inventor: Leonard Pinchuk
  • Patent number: 9872974
    Abstract: Pump cassettes, wound-treatment apparatuses and methods. In some embodiments, a pump cassette comprises: a pump body having a pump chamber, an inlet valve in fluid communication with the pump chamber, and an outlet valve in fluid communication with the pump chamber; a diaphragm coupled to the pump body such that the diaphragm is movable to vary a volume in the pump chamber; and an identifier configured to store one or more properties of the pump cassette such that the identifier is readable by an automated reader to determine the one or more properties. In some embodiments, the pump cassette is configured to be removably coupled to a wound-treatment apparatus having an actuator such that the actuator can be activated to move the diaphragm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: KCI Licensing, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Brian Locke, David George Whyte
  • Patent number: 9867934
    Abstract: A device for detecting moisture for use with a device for monitoring an access to a patient for an extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus is described. The device for detecting moisture is constituted as a two-dimensionally extending fabric to be placed on the patient's skin, having an electrically conductive structure as a moisture sensor and constituted by non-conductive and conductive warp and weft threads configured to produce in the woven fabric a defined electrically conductive structure through spatial separation of the warp and weft threads. By the use of conductive warp and weft threads, an electrically conductive structure can be constituted having sections running in different directions, thereby creating a moisture sensor exhibiting a particularly high degree of sensitivity. The electrically conductive structure is preferably terminated with a terminating resistor, preferably not a component part but rather part of a connection part of the device, so that production is simplified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: John Heppe
  • Patent number: 9861780
    Abstract: A bladder catheter includes a tube, wherein the tube has an insertion section for inserting into a urinary bladder through a urethra and wherein the tube has a connection section for connecting connection elements, wherein fluid can be drained from the urethra at the connection section via the insertion section, wherein a closable valve is arranged between the insertion section and the connection section in such a way that the discharge of fluid from the connection section can be prevented while the valve is closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: RETHINK MEDICAL SL.
    Inventor: Manuel Luque González
  • Patent number: 9839727
    Abstract: A negative pressure (i.e., vacuum or suction) wound healing device and system incorporating the device. The device of the present disclosure is smaller, lighter, portable, and overall more managable by both the user and the medical personnel than the conventional systems. The device could be readily worn by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Wound Care Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul J. Anderson, Douglas Duchon
  • Patent number: 9833592
    Abstract: A package or container for a catheter having a catheter tube with a proximal end provided with a catheter outlet and a distal opening at a distal end thereof. A gel receptacle is provided with a cavity for holding an amount of a lubricating agent, and the catheter tube extends therethrough. The gel receptacle is configured such that as the catheter is withdrawn from a stored position therein, a leading tip of the catheter is immersed in the lubricating agent, thus automatically coating the leading tip. The gel receptacle may be held within a rigid body or may be a standalone item packaged in a sterile bag solely with the catheter. A side wall of the gel receptacle is deformable so that as the catheter is withdrawn proximally the side wall is collapsed inward to displace the lubricating agent gel and coat an exterior surface of the catheter tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Cure Medical LLC
    Inventor: Timothy A. Palmer
  • Patent number: 9833350
    Abstract: Provided herein are balloon systems and related methods for the treatment of obesity. The system includes a trans-abdominal gastric cannula and size-varying balloons that, with the assistance of the cannula(s) and anchors, are specially positioned and anchored to the gastric wall. The size-varying balloon may have an annulus that in combination with reliable and precise balloon positioning, minimizes the risk of gastric obstruction during use. A malabsorption sleeve may be positioned in the small intestine to further restrict caloric intake through the small intestine. The specially-configured gastric cannula provides a platform for accessing the gastric environment that facilitates precise handling, manipulation, and placement of balloons, including an annular-shaped balloon, in the gastric environment, including by balloon anchors connecting the balloon wall to the lumen-facing stomach wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: EZ-OFF WEIGHTLOSS, LLC
    Inventors: Mary Pattison, Charles Phillip Pattison, Stephen J. Lowry, Mark Molos
  • Patent number: 9802028
    Abstract: A cerebral catheter device for draining fluid from the brain of a patient is described. The device may be used as part of a ventricular shunt system. The device includes an elongate tube for insertion into the brain of a patient to a vicinity of a desired target. A head is attached to the elongate tube that has a passageway in fluid communication with a lumen of the elongate tube. Formations are provided on the external surface of the head for securing the head in a hole formed in the skull of a patient. The head further includes a first fluid connector portion that is attachable to an associated drainage catheter device. This allows fluid communication to be established between the lumen of the elongate tube and a drainage catheter device via the passageway of the head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: RENISHAW (IRELAND) LIMITED
    Inventor: Steven S Gill
  • Patent number: 9801979
    Abstract: A catheter assembly includes a hydrophilic catheter; a wetting fluid for wetting of the catheter; and a receptacle enclosing at least the insertable part of the catheter and the wetting fluid. The wetting fluid is a solution incorporating at least one osmolality-increasing compound, and the total concentration of the osmolality-increasing compound(s) preferably exceeds 600 mOsm/dm3. The wetting fluid could either be arranged in contact with the hydrophilic surface layer of the catheter in the receptacle, for preservation of the hydrophilic surface layer in a wetted state during accommodation in said receptacle and provision of a ready-to-use catheter assembly, or be arranged to keep the wetting fluid separated from the hydrophilic surface layer of the catheter during storage, but to be brought into contact with said hydrophilic surface layer upon activation before an intended use of the catheter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: ASTRA TECH AB
    Inventors: Jan Utas, Kristina Kull
  • Patent number: 9801761
    Abstract: A process of manufacturing a wound dressing filler and/or wound dressing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Smith & Nephew PLC
    Inventor: John Kenneth Hicks
  • Patent number: 9789284
    Abstract: A urinary catheter is configured to avoid sliding contact between the outer surface of a catheter tube and the urethra wall. A flexible tubular membrane extends through the catheter tube and has a proximal end secured to an anchor outside the urethra as the catheter tube moves into the urethra, pulling the membrane through the proximal end of the tube so it inverts and covers the outer surface of the tube. Alternatively, a catheter tube of flexible material has a proximal end secured to the anchor, and the catheter tube turns inside out as it is inserted, forming a double wall reflected tube with a proximal reflection point. The sterile interior surface of the membrane or tube becomes the external surface facing the urethral wall as the catheter is deployed, and this external surface maintains static contact with the urethral wall as the catheter is advanced or retracted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Department of Veterans Affairs
    Inventor: Eric Nickel
  • Patent number: 9789234
    Abstract: Provided are systems and methods for delivery of fluid to a wound therapy dressing. In exemplary embodiments, a pressure source provides negative pressure to a wound dressing and a biasing mechanism provides positive pressure to a fluid reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: KCI Licensing, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin Andrew Pratt, Kingsley Robert George Flower, Richard Daniel John Coulthard, Michael Bernard Beasley, Daniel Evans
  • Patent number: 9782533
    Abstract: Devices, systems and methods are disclosed for the formation of an arteriovenous fistula in the limb of the patient. Embodiments include an apparatus for the creation, modification and maintenance of a fistula, including the modification of an existing dialysis fistula; and a method of supplying oxygenated blood to the venous circulation of a patient. A kit of anastomotic implants is described which supports a broad base of patient anatomies and fistula locations. The devices, systems and methods can be used to treat patients with one or more numerous ailments including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, hypotension, respiratory failure, pulmonary arterial hypertension, lung fibrosis and adult respiratory distress syndrome.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Rox Medical, Inc.
    Inventors: Rodney Brenneman, Dean A. Schaefer, J. Christopher Flaherty
  • Patent number: 9763855
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, a vial adaptor comprises a housing configured to couple the adaptor with a vial, an access channel, a regulator channel, and a regulator assembly. The access channel is configured to facilitate withdrawal of fluid from the vial when the adaptor is coupled to the vial. The regulator channel is configured to facilitate a flow of a regulating fluid from the regulator assembly to compensate for changes in volume of a medical fluid in the vial. In some embodiments, the regulator assembly includes a flexible member configured to expand and contract in accordance with changes in the volume of the medical fluid in the vial. In some embodiments, the flexible member is substantially free to expand and contract. In some embodiments, the flexible member is not partly or completely located in a rigid enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: ICU Medical, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas F. Fangrow
  • Patent number: 9764070
    Abstract: The present invention is related to a medical aspirator and, in particular, to a medical aspirator comprising: a floor plate; a pressure plate disposed a certain distance away from the floor plate, and defining a discharge hole opened and closed by an opening/closing means; a coil spring installed between the floor plate and the pressure plate; a sealing membrane connecting the edges of the floor plate and the pressure plate, and defining a receiving space capable of receiving bodily fluid between the floor plate and the pressure plate; and a drainage tube connected to the pressure plate, for guiding bodily fluid generated from the body to the receiving space, and including a check valve therein enabling the fluid to flow only in the direction from the body toward the receiving space, wherein the medical aspirator has the effect of preventing contamination from outside air of bodily fluid extracted from the body and stored in the receiving space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Moohan Enterprise Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyo Seop Song
  • Patent number: 9750637
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods include a hand-held instrument with an aspiration conduit extending therethrough and with an aspiration needle arranged to aspirate fluid from a surgical site. A vacuum limiter is associated with the aspiration conduit. The vacuum limiter includes an opening formed in a wall of the aspiration conduit, an actuator disposed in the opening, and a biasing element biasing the actuator to a closed position that prevents passage of fluid through the opening. The biasing element is arranged to permit the actuator to displace from the closed position to a relief position so that fluid passes through the opening when a threshold vacuum is reached within the lumen. The actuator can further displace to an override position that prevents passage of fluid through the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: NOVARTIS AG
    Inventor: Philipp Schaller
  • Patent number: 9744316
    Abstract: A medical spraying device and method, for irrigating a wound, having a liquid reservoir for a medical irrigation liquid or a connection for such a liquid reservoir and an arrangement for applying pressure to the medical irrigation liquid, such that the irrigation liquid is pushable through a nozzle by the pressure acting on the irrigation liquid in order to produce a spray cone. The nozzle has a plurality of openings, which are arranged at an angle to one another in such a way that the irrigation liquid jets exiting from the openings, at a such flow rate and angle, meet in an atomization space and/or a discharge opening of the nozzle; thus, a spray cone is produced from the atomized irrigation liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Heraeus Medical GmbH
    Inventor: Sebastian Vogt
  • Patent number: 9730859
    Abstract: A drug reservoir comprises of a housing having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the housing is configured to hold a medicament; and a removable feature disposed on at least one of the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the removable feature covers at least in part one of the proximal end and the distal end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: SANOFI-AVENTIS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventors: Aled Meredydd James, James Andrew Holt, Richard James Vincent Avery
  • Patent number: 9724500
    Abstract: A by-pass shunt for use with a bodily fluid pump. The by-pass shunt includes an inflow conduit, an outflow conduit, and an intermediate conduit fluidically coupling the inflow and outflow conduits. A flow restrictor is operably coupled to a portion of the intermediate conduit and is configured to reduce a fluid flow from the outflow conduit, through the intermediate conduit, and into the inflow conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: CircuLite, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert C. Farnan, Bryan Fritz, Yun Yi