Abstract: An ultrasound-imaging system includes an ultrasound probe coupled with a console. Operations of the system can include detecting one or more blood vessels within the ultrasound image and identifying each blood vessel as a vein, an artery or other anatomic element using doppler ultrasound functionality of the ultrasound probe. Operations can also include determining a confidence for the blood vessel identification, and defining a window for doppler ultrasound operation. Operations can further include assessing a blood flow rate within blood vessels, and superimposing notifications atop the ultrasound image pertaining to the identity of the blood vessel including a confidence for the identity.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are dynamically adjusting ultrasound-imaging systems and methods thereof. For example, an ultrasound-imaging system can include an ultrasound probe, a console, and a display screen. The ultrasound probe includes an array of ultrasonic transducers that, when activated, emit generated ultrasound signals into a patient, receive reflected ultrasound signals from the patient, and convert the reflected ultrasound signals into corresponding electrical signals for processing into ultrasound images. The console is configured to execute instructions for dynamically adjusting a distance of activated ultrasonic transducers from a predefined target or area, an orientation of the activated ultrasonic transducers to the predefined target or area, or both the distance and the orientation of the activated ultrasonic transducers with respect to the predefined target or area.

Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to catheter placement systems including distally extendable support devices. When placing elongate catheters advanced insertion systems are required to maintain a “touch-free” insertion. Further longer needles are desirable to access deeper veins or penetrate deeper surface tissues. Distally extendable support devices provide columnar support to one of the elongate catheter or the needle to prevent buckling or kinking of the catheter, and maintain the needle tip within a predetermined bending arm distance. This prevents the user from contacting one of the needle or the catheter directly to provide additional support, maintaining a “touch-free” insertion.

Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for ultrasound-and-bioimpedance-based guidance of medical devices. A system can include an ultrasound probe, a needle, a console, and a display screen. The ultrasound probe is configured to emit ultrasound pulses and receive reflected ultrasound pulses reflected back through one or more tissues for producing ultrasound images. The needle can be configured to emit, detect, or alternately emit and detect electrical currents passed through the one-or-more tissues disposed between a pair or more of system electrodes for measuring bioimpedance. The console can be configured to instantiate one or more console processes for the ultrasound-and-bioimpedance-based guidance with the ultrasound probe and the needle.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are RFID enabled medical device systems including an RFID emitter configured to provide an interrogation signal that impinges on an RFID tag associated with a medical device to trigger a response signal. The response signal can indicate and presence or absence of the medical device proximate to the RFID emitter. A console communicatively coupled to the RFID emitter can determine, record, and analyze procedural or usage information about the medical device. Further information about the medical device can be encoded within the response signal and provided to the console. Console settings can be automatically updated based on the information within the response signal. Additional modalities are also contemplated including optical image recognition of medical device kits. Further AR viewers can provide image overlays to guide a user in correct procedure. Procedural compliance can be automatically recorded and monitored.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a system, apparatus and method directed to obtaining first data indicative of a first location within the patient vasculature, obtaining second data that is indicative of a second location within the patient vasculature, performing a confirmation process that includes determining whether the second location corresponds to the first location within a predetermined threshold, and when the second location is determined to correspond to the first location within the predetermined threshold, determining the first location accurately indicates the current location of the distal tip of the medical device. The first modality may be any of a fiber optic modality, a magnetically-based tip location system modality, or an electrocardiogram monitoring system modality and the second data may represent fluctuations of the distal tip of the medical device. The medical device may be an introducer wire, a guidewire, a stylet, a stylet within a needle, a needle, or a catheter.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are medical systems, devices, and methods for identifying a blood vessel as a vein or as an artery. The system includes an optical fiber configured for insertion into a blood vessel coupled with a console having a light source, an optical receiver, processors, and logic stored in memory. The optical fiber includes sensors disposed along its length configured to determine a state or condition of the optical fiber, where the state or condition includes a strain, movement, pressure, or temperature. The logic analyzes reflected optical signals emanating from the sensors to determine that the optical fiber is inserted within an artery or within a vein. Logic may also determine a red-blue shift of a projected light to determine a blood flow direction with respect to the optical fiber.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an ultrasound probe securement device to secure an ultrasound probe to a patient. The securement device can include a probe coupling mechanism to couple an ultrasound probe to the securement device, a patient coupling mechanism to couple the securement device to a patient, and a constraining mechanism to maintain an acoustic coupling of the ultrasound probe with the patient during an ultrasound procedure without user intervention.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are medical systems and devices that include an elongate probe configured for insertion into a patient, where a multi-core optical fiber extends along the elongate probe. The optical fiber includes sensing core fibers that extend distally along a flexible distal tip section having a bending flexibility that exceeds a flexibility of a main probe section. The optical fiber may further include illumining core fibers, imaging core fibers, and an electrical conductor. An electrode at the distal end provides for detection of an ECG signal. The distal tip section may also be steerable. The system includes a console having processors and logic stored in memory. The logic facilitates portraying of a shape of the elongate probe, an ECG waveform and/or an image of an interior of the patient. The elongate probe further includes a shape memory material defining a transition temperature.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a catheter placement system with a stiffening system and associated methods thereof. The catheter placement system can include a needle, catheter (e.g. rapid insertion central catheter), one or more guidewires, and a stiffening system, configured to place the catheter while containing portions of the catheter placement system that contact the patient within a sterile environment. Advantageously, the catheter placement system can provide all tools necessary for accessing a vasculature, dilating the insertion site and placing the catheter within a single device, mitigating repeated insertion of multiple tools and reducing the risk of introducing pathogens or the like. Further, the overall time required to place the catheter is reduced, reducing patient down time and improving patient outcomes.

Abstract: An ultrasound probe (“probe”) for use with an ultrasound imaging system is disclosed. In particular, the probe is sized and configured so as to be supported and readily used with as little as one finger on a single hand of a user of the imaging system. This configuration enables remaining fingers on the hand of the user to be employed for other purposes, such as skin traction and patient contact. In one embodiment, therefore, an ultrasound probe is disclosed, comprising a body, a lens included on head portion of the body, a stabilizing portion extending from the body and configured to stabilize the body on a skin surface of a patient without user assistance, and a finger grip portion configured to enable a user of the probe to grasp and maneuver the probe during use thereof with no more than two fingers on a single hand of the user.

Abstract: Optical connection systems including electrical-and-optical connection systems and methods thereof are disclosed. An electrical-and-optical connection system can include an extension tube having a plug and a relay module having a receptacle. The plug can be formed of a metal piece around electrical wires, which, in turn, are around optical-fiber cores that extend along a length of the extension tube. The plug can be configured to pierce through at least a sterile barrier. The relay module can include electrical wires and optical-fiber cores within a housing of the relay module, as well as a receptacle disposed in the housing. The receptacle can be configured to simultaneously accept insertion of the plug therein and establish both electrical and optical connections between the plug and the receptacle from a sterile field to a non-sterile field set up by the sterile barrier. Shape-sensing systems including the optical connection systems are also disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an ultrasound imaging system including an ultrasound probe and a blood vessel visualization device. The ultrasound probe includes an ultrasound generation device and is configured to detect one or more blood vessels. The blood vessel visualization device is configured to project a depiction of the blood vessel topography within a target area. The blood vessel visualization device can include one or more near-infrared/infrared emitters configured to generate infrared/near-infrared waves within the target area, one or more near-infrared/infrared sensors configured to detect the difference in reflective properties of tissue and blood vessels within the target area, and one or more visual light projectors configured to project a blood vessel visualization depiction of the blood vessel topography onto the target area.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a computerized method including operations of generating a first display screen illustrating an ultrasound image, the first display configured to receive user input selecting a blood vessel displayed in the ultrasound image, generating a second display screen that illustrates a user selection element configured to receive user input selecting an angle of insertion of a medical device within a target blood vessel, a graphical representation of the medical device at the selected angle of insertion, and a user input element configured to receive user input increasing or decreasing a minimum dwell length of the medical device, wherein the graphical representation of the medical device visually represents aspects of the user input, and determining parameters that adhere to constraints based on user selection of either of the minimum dwell length or the selected angle of insertion.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are optical-fiber stylet holders and methods thereof for holding optical-fiber stylets in position in catheters or the like while preventing breakage of optical fibers in the optical-fiber stylets and maintaining functionality of the optical-fiber stylets. The holding of optical-fiber stylets in position in catheters or the like can be important for maintaining distal tips of intravascularly delivered optical-fiber stylets in their target anatomical locations during procedures.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system configured to simultaneously capture one or more ultrasound images and sterilize a skin surface within a target area via ultraviolet light. The ultrasound imaging system includes an ultrasound probe having an ultrasound array configured to capture the one or more ultrasound images of a target area. A sterilizing system of the ultrasound probe includes a plurality of ultraviolet light sources. Logic of the ultrasound imaging system governs the operation of the ultraviolet light sources including activation, deactivation, intensity modulation, and/or pulsing modulation. Contact and motion sensors provide input to the logic and the logic governs operation of the ultraviolet light sources in accordance input received from the contact and motion sensors.

Abstract: Alternative-reality devices and methods are disclosed for establishing and visualizing historical sites of vascular access, which are useful for evaluating potential sites of vascular access and improving the successes of obtaining vascular access. For example, an alternative-reality device includes anatomical target-defining instructions and vascular access site-tracking instructions in memory of the alternative-reality device for execution by one-or-more processors thereof. The alternative-reality device also includes a patient-facing camera configured to capture images or video frames for generating an anatomical target in the memory per the anatomical target-defining instructions and tracking the historical sites of vascular access in relation thereto with the vascular access site-tracking instructions.

Abstract: A tether connector configured to form an electrical connection with a sensor connector through a sterile barrier disposed over the sensor connector. The tether connector can include a housing, an electrical lead extending from the housing, and a first piercing element in the housing orthogonally connected to the electrical lead, the first piercing element configured to pierce the sterile barrier to form the electrical connection with the sensor connector.

Abstract: Disclosed are rapidly insertable central catheters (“RICCs”) including assemblies and methods thereof. In some embodiments, a RICC assembly includes a RICC and an introducer. The RICC includes a soft catheter tube having an introducing aperture that opens into a primary lumen of the RICC. The introducer includes an introducer catheter including a hard catheter tube having an introducing hole that opens into a single lumen of the introducer catheter. When the RICC assembly is in a ready-to-deploy state thereof, the introducer catheter is disposed in the primary lumen of the RICC such that a distal end of the introducer catheter extends past a distal end of the RICC. In addition, an introducer needle of the introducer is disposed in the introducer catheter through both the introducing aperture and the introducing hole such that a beveled tip of the introducer needle extends past the distal end of the introducer catheter.

Abstract: An angled intraosseous access system including a guide block and/or a guide plate is disclosed. The system includes a driver having a body, and including a needle assembly rotatably coupled thereto, the needle assembly defining a needle axis. One of the guide block or the guide plate is configured to engage a skin surface and align the needle assembly axis at a predetermined angle relative to the skin surface to access the medullary cavity at the predetermined angle. Advantageously, the angled needle of the intraosseous access system can mitigate pain during infusion and mitigate backwalling.