Abstract: A balloon catheter (10) with a shaft (14,24) extending in a longitudinal direction and having a proximal end and a distal end and an inflatable balloon positioned along the shaft. The balloon (12) includes at least one portion connected to the shaft and adapted for moving toward the proximal end thereof when the balloon is inflated. Related aspects are disclosed.

Abstract: A therapeutic garment for treatment of over-shunting headaches and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the therapeutic garment includes a waistband and an abdominal portion that extends from the waistband to encircle the abdomen and hips from the groin to the costal margin of a person wearing the therapeutic garment. A binder portion, having open and closed positions, is coincident to the abdominal portion. In the closed position, the binder distends the epidural venous plexus of the person wearing the therapeutic garment. A closure mechanism is configured to selectively alternate the binder between the open and closed positions. The therapeutic garment may further be fashioned into a brief, a tank top, or include leg extensions.

Abstract: Applicators for applying an on-skin assembly to skin of a host and methods of their use and/or manufacture are provided. An applicator includes an insertion assembly configured to insert at least a portion of the on-skin assembly into the skin of the host, a housing configured to house the insertion assembly, the housing comprising an aperture through which the on-skin assembly can pass, an actuation member configured to, upon activation, cause the insertion assembly to insert at least the portion of the on-skin assembly into the skin of the host, and a sealing element configured to provide a sterile barrier and a vapor barrier between an internal environment of the housing and an external environment of the housing.

Abstract: Described herein are flexible implantable occluding devices that can, for example, navigate the tortuous vessels of the neurovasculature. The occluding devices can also conform to the shape of the tortuous vessels of the vasculature. In some embodiments, the occluding devices can direct blood flow within a vessel away from an aneurysm or limit blood flow to the aneurysm. Some embodiments describe methods and apparatus for adjusting, along a length of the device, the porosity of the occluding device. In some embodiments, the occluding devices allows adequate blood flow to be provided to adjacent structures such that those structures, whether they are branch vessels or oxygen-demanding tissues, are not deprived of the necessary blood flow.

Abstract: A trocar assembly for releasable engagement with an adapter assembly of a surgical stapling instrument includes a trocar mechanism that includes a trocar member that is at least one of rotatable or articulable relative to a housing of the trocar assembly.

Abstract: Applicators for applying an on-skin assembly to skin of a host and methods of their use and/or manufacture are provided. An applicator includes an insertion assembly configured to insert at least a portion of the on-skin assembly into the skin of the host, a housing configured to house the insertion assembly, the housing comprising an aperture through which the on-skin assembly can pass, an actuation member configured to, upon activation, cause the insertion assembly to insert at least the portion of the on-skin assembly into the skin of the host, and a sealing element configured to provide a sterile barrier and a vapor barrier between an internal environment of the housing and an external environment of the housing.

Abstract: The present disclosure refers to an implant needle (1) for introducing an implant into a body of a patient, comprising a receiving portion configured to receive an implant and provided in a hollow needle main body (2), and a taper-shaped tip portion (3). The taper-shaped tip portion (3) is further comprising: a first slant surface (14a) contiguous to a first outer peripheral surface (15) of the hollow needle main body (2), wherein the first slant surface (14a) is provided as a first non-cutting edge; a second slant surface (16a) contiguous to a second outer peripheral surface (17) of the hollow needle main body (2), wherein the second slant surface (16a) is provided as a second non-cutting edge; and a pair of sharpened surfaces (9a, 9b) symmetric with respect to an edge point (10) and a longitudinal axis (13) of the needle main body (2), wherein the sharpened surfaces (9a, 9b) are both provided with a cutting edge.

Abstract: Vaso-occlusive apparatuses, including implants, and methods of using them to treat aneurysms. For example, described herein are expandable vaso-occlusive implants that include one or more soft and expandable braided member coupled to a pushable member such as a coil that maybe inserted and retrieved from within an aneurism using a delivery catheter. In particular, the expandable implants described herein are configured to allow relatively soft and elongate implants to be pushed out of a cannula without binding up within the cannula.

Abstract: A surgical fastener is provided for various surgical fastening applications, including attaching an implantable prosthesis, such as a soft tissue repair fabric, to tissue and/or muscle. The surgical fastener may include a coil body and a separate head that is attached to the coil body. The head may include an internal thread that is threadably attached to the coil body. The head may also be further secured to the coil body with a compression fit therebetween. A locking feature may prevent back-out of the coil body from the head. The surgical fastener may be assembled by threading the coil body through the head.

Abstract: An endoscopic forceps includes an elongate shaft defining an instrument axis. An end effector includes first and second jaw members each supporting an opposed sealing surface for clamping tissue. At least one of the jaw members is movable relative to the instrument axis such that the jaw members are movable between a first spaced-apart configuration and a second closed configuration for grasping tissue. A cutting instrument includes a reciprocating blade translatable relative to the sealing surfaces to sever tissue clamped between the jaw members. The reciprocating blade contacts an undersurface of at least one of the jaw members when the jaw members are in the second configuration to define a gap distance between the sealing surfaces. A handle adjacent the proximal end of the elongate shaft is operable to induce motion in the jaw members, and an actuator is operable to selectively translate the reciprocating blade.

Abstract: The present invention features an all-in-one system for vascular access and closure. In particular, this invention features systems and methods for forming holes in blood vessels and rapidly closing these vessel holes using an all-in-one system. For example, an arterial access and closure port system is disclosed herein to provide fail-safe percutaneous entry and exit into any artery, particularly useful for high flow and high pressure arteries such as the carotid artery. The present invention is a single system that forms and closes vascular holes and can be used for percutaneous arterial access with interventional radiology, interventional cardiology, neuro-intervention, endovascular surgery, and endovascular neurosurgery.

Abstract: An exemplary apparatus, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, can include, for example, a uterine manipulator having a clamp arrangement having a first tip(s) and a second tip(s), and a colpotomy ring arrangement coupled to the clamp arrangement on or at the first tip(s), and including an opening(s) in an outer surface thereof for insertion of the second tip(s) therethrough when the clamp arrangement is in a closed position. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the clamp arrangement can include a uterine manipulator. The first tip(s) can include a plurality of removable tips, where each of the tips can have a different length from one another. In certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the first tip(s) can have a variable length.

Abstract: An eustachian tube (ET) drug eluting stent includes a plurality of longitudinal spars with spring-like elements between each of the plurality of longitudinal spars, creating smooth arcs between each of the plurality of longitudinal spars while minimizing impediment of mucociliary flow. The combination of the plurality of longitudinal spars with spring-like elements are configured to enter into the ET uncompressed.

Abstract: A surgical arm is presented. The surgical arm comprises a first interface configured to receive a device for performing or assisting a surgical procedure and multiple adjustment members configured to adjust the surgical arm relative to a respective adjustment axis. The surgical arm further comprises at least two operating members configured to operate different ones of the adjustment members wherein the operating members are marked with different visual codings. Further a method for providing visual guidance for operating the surgical arm according to a pre-determined surgical approach is presented.

Abstract: A medical implant including an expandable framework configured to shift between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration, the expandable framework comprising a plurality of interconnected struts defining a plurality of cells; and an occlusive element connected to the expandable framework and having an inner surface and an outer surface. The expandable framework may include a plurality of securement members projecting from the plurality of interconnected struts. One of the inner surface or the outer surface of the occlusive element may be in contact with the plurality of interconnected struts, and the other of the inner surface and the outer surface not in contact with the plurality of interconnected struts may lie against an opposing surface of each of the plurality of securement members. A tip portion of the plurality of securement members may not extend radially outward of the plurality of interconnected struts.

Abstract: A method for accessing a mitral valve that includes forming an incision and inserting a first catheter comprising a lumen. The first catheter is adapted to be directed towards a left atrium and the first catheter has a working length of approximately 15 cm to approximately 52 cm. The method further includes utilizing a trocar in the first catheter to penetrate a pericardium and utilizing the trocar to penetrate the left atrium. The method further includes accessing the mitral valve from an antegrade direction.

Abstract: A suture bridge includes an elongated rigid insert including a first material, and a deformable shell including a second material, the second material being different than the first material, the shell at least partially surrounding the rigid insert, the insert and the shell collectively forming a bridge body having a first leg including a first patient contacting surface configured to contact a patient's skin, a second leg spaced from the first leg and including a second patient contacting surface configured to contact the patient's skin, a first support connected to the first leg, a second support connected to the second leg, and a traversing member extending between the first support and the second support, the traversing member being connected to the first support distal the first leg and connected to the second support distal the second leg.

Abstract: A device includes a body configured to be placed on an eye and multiple tine assemblies configured to secure the body to and release the body from the eye. The body includes multiple corners and multiple sides. Each corner includes a passage through the corner. Each side connects an adjacent pair of corners. Each tine assembly includes a twist pick configured to be inserted through one of the passages. Bottom surfaces of the sides are raised relative to bottom surfaces of the corners such that the bottom surfaces of the sides are spaced apart from the eye when the bottom surfaces of the corners are resting on the eye. Each of at least one side includes multiple openings configured to allow manipulation of a position of the body and a groove configured to receive a projection from a surgical tool in order to position the surgical tool on the eye.

Abstract: A method and an assembly for securing a crimped medical device over a deflated balloon of a balloon catheter is provided. The medical device is positioned in its expanded state over the deflated balloon of the balloon catheter, and is then crimped over the deflated balloon. First and second eyelets of first and second strings, respectively, are then threaded through first and second rings, respectively, that are provided on the medical device. Next, a locking wire is advanced through a lumen defined between the sheath and the catheter body to exit the distal end of the sheath, and then advanced through the first and second eyelets and into the distal tip of the balloon catheter. The sheath is then advanced over the crimped medical device to the distal tip to completely cover the crimped medical device.

Abstract: Robotic arms and surgical robotic systems incorporating such arms are described. A robotic arm includes a roll joint connected to a prismatic link by a pitch joint and a tool drive connected to the prismatic link by another pitch joint. The prismatic link includes several prismatic sublinks that are connected by a prismatic joint. A surgical tool supported by the tool drive can insert into a patient along an insertion axis through a remote center of motion of the robotic arm. Movement of the robotic arm can be controlled to telescopically move the prismatic sublinks relative to each other by the prismatic joint while maintaining the remote center of motion fixed. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.