Abstract: A flow-balanced cardiac wrap that assists the right and left ventricles of an affected heart to differing, and adjustable degrees is provided. The wrap generally applies an assist to the left ventricle that is greater than that applied to the right, or that reduces blood output from the right relative to the left. In one embodiment, the wrap comprises a material covering that is applied around the right and left ventricles of the heart, so that the left ventricle is assisted over a larger surface area than the right. The positioning of the right ventricular portion or the wrap is chosen so that desired pumping characteristics for the right ventricle are achieved.

Abstract: A unified, non-blood contacting, implantable heart assist system surrounds the natural heart and provides circumferential contraction in synchrony with the heart's natural contractions. The pumping unit is composed of adjacent tube pairs arranged along a bias with respect to the axis of the heart and bound in a non-distensible sheath forming a heart wrap. The tube pairs are tapered at both ends such that when they are juxtaposed and deflated they approximately follow the surface of the diastolic myocardium. Inflation of the tube pairs causes the wrap to follow the motion of the myocardial surface during systole. A muscle-driven or electromagnetically powered energy converter inflates the tubes using hydraulic fluid pressure. An implanted electronic controller detects electrical activity in the natural heart, synchronizes pumping activity with this signal, and measures and diagnoses system as well as physiological operating parameters for automated operation.

Abstract: A system and method for purifying air by employing an air purifier which includes at least one UV lamp such that the system produces at least two separate UV energy intensity maxima in distinct regions of the system. Each radiating region of the system is optically isolated from some or all of the other radiating regions by an optical isolator. The optical isolator, and/or other elements of the air purifier may be made of, and/or coated with, predetermined elements that act to enhance the efficiency of the internal reactions of the air purifier.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a balloon catheter having an irrigation sheath. The balloon catheter has a first expandable membrane forming an occluding balloon. A second membrane forms a sheath about the occluding balloon for providing irrigation to a body lumen. Fluid is provided to the occluding balloon to position the catheter and/or occlude the flow of blood. Fluid is then passed through the sheath to irrigate the target site. In one embodiment of the present invention, the sheath has a plurality of fluid releasing pores.

Abstract: The present invention provides an analog frequency divider structure that receives an input signal at a selected frequency and generates an output signal at a fraction, e.g. one-half, of the input frequency. In one embodiment, the analog frequency divider structure is implemented as a MEMS device having a vibratory beam extending along a longitudinal axis between two fixed ends and a piezoelectric transducer coupled to the beam. The MEMS structure further includes a conductive layer disposed on at least a portion of the vibratory beam, which is capacitively coupled to a conductive electrode. A longitudinal excitation of the piezoelectric transducer can effect application of a periodic longitudinal deformation force to the vibratory beam. This deformation force causes the beam to vibrate in a transverse direction at its natural transverse vibrational frequency, which is selected to be a fraction of the input frequency.

Abstract: A unified, non-blood contacting, implantable heart assist system surrounds the natural heart and provides circumferential contraction in synchrony with the heart's natural contractions. The pumping unit is composed of adjacent tube pairs arranged along a bias with respect to the axis of the heart and bound in a non-distensible sheath forming a heart wrap. The tube pairs are tapered at both ends such that when they are juxtaposed and deflated they approximately follow the surface of the diastolic myocardium. Inflation of the tube pairs causes the wrap to follow the motion of the myocardial surface during systole. A muscle-driven or electromagnetically powered energy converter inflates the tubes using hydraulic fluid pressure. An implanted electronic controller detects electrical activity in the natural heart, synchronizes pumping activity with this signal, and measures and diagnoses system as well as physiological operating parameters for automated operation.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming a transparent optical element, such as an optical fiber, having a graded index of refraction. One preferred practice of the invention employs a hollow tube formed of an amorphous fluoropolymer and fills the tube with a liquid dopant material having an index of refraction that is different than that of the fluoropolymer. The heating of the filled tube for a sufficient duration causes the diffusion of the dopant material through the fluoropolymer, thereby producing a graded distribution of the dopant and hence a graded refractive index.

Abstract: Methods of producing buried insulating layers in semiconductor substrates are disclosed whereby a dose of selected ions is implanted into a substrate to form a buried precursor layer below an upper layer of the substrate, followed by oxidation of the substrate in an atmosphere having a selected oxygen concentration to form an oxide surface layer. The oxidation is performed at a temperature and for a time duration such that the formation of the oxide layer causes the injection of a controlled number of atoms of the substrate from a region proximate to an interface between the newly formed oxide layer and the substrate into the upper regions of the substrate to reduce strain. A high temperature annealing step is then performed to produce the insulating layer within the precursor layer.

Abstract: Infrared surgical photoablation instruments are disclosed for creating lesions in tissue, including cardiac tissue for treatment of arrhythmias and other diseases. The hand held instruments are especially useful in open chest or port access cardiac surgery for rapid and efficient creation of curvilinear lesions to serve as conduction blocks. Photoablative instruments are disclosed that emit radiation at a wavelength in a range from about 800 nm to about 1000 nm, and preferably emit at a wavelength in a range of about 915 nm to about 980 nm. Radiation at a wavelength of 915 nm or 980 nm is commonly preferred, in some applications, because of the optimal absorption of infrared radiation by cardiac tissue at these wavelengths.

Abstract: The invention is directed to methods and devices for the reconstruction, repair, augmentation or replacement of laminarily organized luminal organs or tissue structures in a patient in need of such treatment. The device comprises a biocompatible synthetic or natural polymeric matrix shaped to conform to at least a part of the luminal organ or tissue structure with a first cell population on or in a first area and a second cell population such as a smooth muscle cell population in a second area of the polymeric matrix. The method involves grafting the device to an area in a patient in need of treatment. The polymeric matrix comprises a biocompatible and biodegradable material.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for forming annular lesions in tissue. The methods include introduction of an optical apparatus proximate to a tissue site, via, for example, a catheter. The optical apparatus includes a pattern-forming optical waveguide in communication with a light transmitting optical fiber. Energy is transmitted through the optical fiber, such that radiation is propagated through the optical fiber and the waveguide projects an annular light pattern, e.g., a circle or a halo.

Abstract: A system and method for implanting a wrap on a patient's heart or other organ provides a wrap having finger-engagement members typically defining loops that encompass all or a substantial portion of the fingers of a surgeon's treatment hand. The loops retain the fingers to the wrap during implant, and enable the fingers to be detached after the procedure is complete. The loops can be detachable from the wrap after the procedure is completed or can be formed to remain with the wrap.

Abstract: The invention relates to sensors for detecting a time-varying current by employing a plurality of coils with separate windings, disposed on separate toroidal cores, that are placed in close proximity of each other so that each coil responds independently to the same current. The current produces a time-varying magnetic field which in turn induces a plurality of voltages across the coils that can be combined to provide a resultant signal. Some embodiments of the invention employ coils with opposite windings to obtain signals with opposite phases and combine these signals through differential detection means to obtain a combined signal. One aspect of the invention relates to production of a wide-band or a selectable band-width sensor by preparing at least one coil to be dissimilar with respect to the others. In addition, the invention provides provisions for easy calibration of the sensor.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a hand held cardiac ablation instrument and methods for irradiating a target ablation site. The instrument can include at least one light transmitting optical fiber and a light diffusing element to create a circumferential or curvilinear lesion. A handle is provided for manual application. The handle can be substantially coaxial or otherwise aligned with the center of the circumferential housing. Light travelling through the light transmitting optical fiber or fibers is scattered in a circular pattern by the light diffusing element. The light diffusing element can include a scattering medium, a reflective end cap, and a reflective surface diametrically opposed to the target ablation site, that interact to provide a substantially uniform distribution of laser radiation throughout the circular target region.

Abstract: A cartilaginous structural member (CSM) for use in penile reconstruction, for the correction of developmental defects, postoperative reconstruction, and for reconstructive preprosthetic surgery. The cartilaginous structural member (CSM) comprise of live cells seeded onto pre-formed shaped structure which may be biodegradable. The live cells may comprise chondrocyte and the cartilaginous structural member (CSM) for use in reconstructive surgery may be constructed of polyglycolic acid. The implant structure is applicable to use for the regeneration and reconstruction or augmentation of semirigid members of the body such as the penis, nose, ear and locations which naturally has cartilage. Further, the cartilaginous structural member (CSM) may be used in plastic surgery such as, for example, breast augmentation or pectoral augmentation.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are disclosed for non-invasive measurement of blood velocity in otherwise inaccessible body regions, and for correlating such measurements with externally applied pressure to detect and/or assess diseases or physiological abnormalities. The blood velocity measurements can be based on the Doppler shift that occurs when an ultrasonic wave is scattered by moving particles within the blood. Since blood vessels have elastic walls, the geometry of the walls, and therefore the flow dynamics, will change in response to elevated in vivo pressure. The change in resistance to blood flow resulting from these pressure induced changes to the blood vessel wall geometry can provide a measure of intracranial pressure, ophthalmic pressure or various other body conditions that affect blood perfusion.

Abstract: Laser energy produced by a laser operating In the mid-infrared region (approximately 2 micrometers) Is delivered by an optical fiber in a catheter to a surgical site for biological tissue removal and repair. Disclosed laser sources which have an output wavelength in this region include: Holmium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Ho:YAG), Holmium-doped Yttrium Lithium Fluoride (Ho:YLF), Erbium-doped YAG, Erbium-doped YLF and Thulium-doped YAG. For tissue removal, the lasers are operated with relatively long pulses at energy levels of approximately 1 joule per pulse. For tissue repair, the lasers are operated in a continuous wave mode at low power. Laser output energy is applied to a silica-based optical fiber which has been specially purified to reduce the hydroxyl-ion concentration to a low level. The catheter may be comprised of a single optical fiber or a plurality of optical fibers arranged to give overlapping output patterns for large area coverage.

Abstract: A non-blood contacting, implantable heart assist system surrounds the natural heart and provides resistance to cardiac hypertrophy. The restraint system is composed of adjacent tube pairs arranged along a bias with respect to the axis of the heart and bound in a non-distensible sheath forming a heart wrap. The tube pairs are tapered at both ends such that when they are compressed they approximately follow the surface of the myocardium. Inflation of the tube pairs with a compressible fluid causes the wrap to exert a restraining force on the heart to prevent overexpansion during diastole.

Abstract: A unified, non-blood contacting, implantable heart assist system surrounds the natural heart and provides circumferential contraction in synchrony with the heart's natural contractions. The pumping unit is composed of adjacent tube pairs arranged along a bias with respect to the axis of the heart and bound in a non-distensible sheath forming a heart wrap. The tube pairs are tapered at both ends such that when they are juxtaposed and deflated they approximately follow the surface of the diastolic myocardium. Inflation of the tube pairs causes the wrap to follow the motion of the myocardial surface during systole. A muscle-driven or electromagnetically powered energy converter inflates the tubes using hydraulic fluid pressure. An implanted electronic controller detects electrical activity in the natural heart, synchronizes pumping activity with this signal, and measures and diagnoses system as well as physiological operating parameters for automated operation.

Abstract: Drug delivery vehicles and catheter systems are disclosed for controlled release of therapeutic agents employing a permeable hydrogel membranes a reservoir for an inflation fluid carrying a therapeutic agent. The membrane devices of the present invention can be used in conjunction with a catheter or similar instrument having an elongated hollow body member and a lumen extending therethrough to permit fluid communication between a proximal infusion port and a permeable membrane disposed at the distal end of the catheter body. The membrane preferably comprises an expandable, hydrophilic polymer having a predetermined permeability with respect to an inflation fluid. One preferred hydrophilic polymer is a hydrogel capable of imbibing an aqueous solution to reach a state in which it comprises between 50% and 98% water by weight in equilibrium. In this state, the hydrogel membrane serves to control the rate of medicament delivery.