Abstract: A rotating adapter for connecting two tubular fluid carrying members in a catheterization system. The adapter (10) includes a standard threaded Luer connector at one end (28) for connection to a flexible catheter, and is rotatably affixed about a stem (22) at its other end. The adapter includes a temporarily expansible collar (40) for engaging with a shoulder (52) on the stem (22) in a snap fit. The shoulder (52) engages an annular rim or undercut (65) located on the interior wall of the collar (40). Notches provided in collar (40) permit the collar to temporarily expand radially to receive the stem, and the collar snaps around the shoulder when the stem is inserted into the shoulder. A tubular reinforcer ring (14) slidably interfits over the collar after the stem is fully inserted into the collar and engages the undercut, thereby resisting radial expansion of the collar during pressurization.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are disclosed for facilitating balloon catheter exchange in the vascular system of a patient. The apparatus and method concern means for holding a guidewire longitudinally fixed with respect to a guiding catheter while a balloon catheter is moved over the guidewire. Specifically, the guidewire is held longitudinally fixed with respect to the guiding catheter by way of magnetic coupling. A first magnetic element constitutes a portion of the guide wire or is attached to the guide wire to move with it. A second magnetic element is located proximate the balloon catheter but is not fixed to the balloon catheter. When the guidewire is moved within the guiding catheter to a location at which the first magnetic element reaches its point of closest approach to the second magnetic element, magnetic force holds the guidewire against movement relative to the guiding catheter even while a balloon catheter is being moved over the guidewire.

Abstract: A support system for a Foley catheter attaches to a patient by abdomen and thigh straps and has a compartment that encloses a limited length of the catheter where the catheter exits the urethra. One purpose is to reduce the risk that a confused patient will cause self-injury by pulling the catheter out of the bladder. One embodiment of catheter has a disconnect feature that causes the inserted part of the catheter to remain in the bladder if the patient is able to grasp and pull a portion of the catheter that extends beyond the compartment. This feature also allows voluntary separation permitting a patient to move around temporarily without carrying a urine collection bag. The inserted part has a valve that may be either a check valve or a three-way stopcock. Another feature is an alarm system that gives an alarm if a patients attempts to pull the catheter out.

Abstract: An "innerless" balloon catheter controls fluid flow past the guide wire at the distal end of the catheter by a combination of flow resistance and a pressure responsive valve. The catheter includes a shaft which carries an inflatable balloon at its distal end. The shaft has a lumen therethrough with the lumen being in fluid communication with the balloon interior for inflating and deflating the balloon via the shaft lumen. The catheter further includes a lumen extension through the balloon, with the lumen extension being in fluid communication with the shaft lumen. A guide wire extends through the shaft lumen and the lumen extension and out the distal end of the balloon. The resistance to fluid flow past the guide wire in the lumen extension is substantially greater than the resistance to fluid flow between the shaft lumen and the balloon interior.

Abstract: The stent delivery method and apparatus uses an elongate sheath having a rounded or tapered distal end portion which has a central opening and which is constructed in a manner that permits the distal end portion to expand easily. The method comprises the steps of: placing a stent on a balloon catheter or a balloon on a balloon guidewire thereby forming a stent on a balloon assembly; placing the stent on a balloon assembly in the elongate sheath having an elongate axis; pushing the sheath and stent on a balloon assembly to a desired site in the lumen of a vessel; positioning the stent on a balloon assembly at the desired site; withdrawing the sheath from the stent on a balloon assembly causing the distal end portion of the sheath to expand to pass over the stent and leaving the stent and balloon at the desired site in the lumen; expanding the balloon and stent to expand the stent to a desired diameter; collapsing the balloon; and, removing the balloon and the sheath from the lumen.

Abstract: Catheter-based coronary surgery is performed in a system which includes a combination of bypass of the heart, perfusion of the heart and the use of a therapeutic catheter to loosen plaque deposited in a coronary artery. Bypass is done with a bypass circuit circulating blood from the right atrium through an extracorporeal bypass unit and back through a femoral artery. Perfusion is done by passing a perfusate into the heart for retrograde flow, then drawing the perfusate out of the heart through a catheter which also serves as a guide for the therapeutic catheter. The open distal end of the guide is placed sufficiently close to the functional element at the end of the therapeutic catheter that plaque which has been loosened by the action of the therapeutic catheter is carried into the guide along with the perfusate, and hence out of the patient's body.

Abstract: A cased suctioning catheter assembly with a protective flexible sheath around the catheter tube, has a thumb or finger operable pump located near the patient end of the catheter assembly. This pump receives irrigation fluid from a bag hanging on an IV stand and, when operated, pumps it into an irrigation lumen in the suction catheter on an as-needed basis during suctioning. Thereby one hand of the administrator can both stabilize the cross piece at the patient end of the suction catheter assembly and operate the irrigator, while the other hand controls vacuum flow as needed for the suctioning function.

Abstract: A method for accurately and conveniently implanting a selected quantity of a liquid into the colon. The apparatus comprises a positive displacement, plunger type, syringe for holding and dispensing a selected quantity of liquid, a tubular connecter at the outlet end of the syringe, a valve connected to the bore of the connector for selectively connecting the bore to the atmosphere and a tube attached to the tubular connector. A nozzle may be used to attach the tubular connector to a plastic tube which is in turn attached to a rectal catheter. In use, a selected quantity of liquid is drawn into the syringe, the tube is connected thereto, the catheter is inserted well into the colon and the syringe plunger is pressed to dispense the liquid into the tube. Since the tube is then still filled with liquid, the valve is opened and the atmosphere is connected to the tube. In some cases the remaining liquid will drain into the colon by gravity.

Abstract: An improved medical tool which combines tumescent anesthetic solution with lipoplastic. Using a peristaltic pump and a cannula, the surgeon directs the tumescent solution into the area of concern. The tumescent solution provides both a local anesthetic as well as a vasoconstrictor. The solution eliminates the need for a general anesthetic, thus eliminating problems associated therewith, and the solution causes the blood vessels to constrict, reducing the amount of blood loss during the procedure. Once the solution has had an opportunity to perform its function, the surgeon reverses the direction of the peristaltic pump and removes the fat and tissue through the same cannula used for the tumescent portion of the operation. Since the suction process is performed by the peristaltic pump (as opposed to manually by the surgeon), the cannula is reduced in size to a highly versatile and tactile instrument providing highly improved results.

Abstract: Apparatus (11) for delivery of a medicament, drug or other therapeutic agent transdermally to a body by iontophoresis is provided. The apparatus (11) provides a means (13) for measuring and displaying the cumulative amount of the medicament delivered to the body by monitoring the amount of a metal, initially present at the anode (45), that is transferred to the cathode (41) in a subsidiary electrolyte cell (47) through which the drive current for the apparatus (11) passes. Optionally, the apparatus also provides a plurality of light emitting devices (63-1) that display a measure of the cumulative amount of medicament delivered, by use of visually distinguishable light colors or by use of binary encoding in the light display.

Abstract: A drip chamber has an open distal end and a luer fitting is positioned in the open distal end of the drip chamber to engage a complementary fitting associated with another IV component, e.g., an IV fluid bag. Thus, the drip chamber can be engaged with an IV bag without the use of "sharps".

Abstract: The present invention relates to an improved intravascular catheter. The intravascular catheter involves the use of a progressively compliant tip at the distal end of the catheter body. This progressively compliant tip utilizes an endmost tubular member having a first softness and an intermediate tubular member having a second softness. The low temperature thermoplastic overcoat on the catheter body has a third softness which is significantly lower than the first and second degrees of softness exhibited by the other tubular members. The endmost member, intermediate member and thermoplastic overcoat are joined together by heat formed, blended tubular regions, each having respective incrementally increasing intermediate softness characteristics over predetermined lengths thereof.

Abstract: A catheter system includes a catheter sheath and a flexible working shaft within a working lumen of the sheath. The sheath includes a monorail-type guidewire lumen at its distal end, and a stiffening member is provided adjacent a side port of the monorail guidewire lumen to inhibit prolapse of the catheter as it is introduced past a bend or curve over a guidewire. In a first embodiment, the stiffening member may be secured directly within a working lumen of the catheter body. In a second embodiment, the stiffening member may be attached to a distal end of the working shaft, typically an imaging core.

Abstract: A non-over-the-wire catheter for use in angioplasty including a core wire which extends distally beyond a distal end of a tubular member. The tubular member defines an interior passage which is in fluid communication with a distal interior passage of a waist tube that extends about the core wire. An inflatable balloon member extends about the core wire and is in fluid communication with the distal interior passage of the waist tube. An axially stiff component is coupled to the balloon member. The axially stiff component permits rotational movement of the core wire relative to the balloon member so that torque applied to the tubular member and conveyed to the core wire is not readily transmitted to the balloon member. A push element associated with the core wire abuts the axially stiff component.

Abstract: A tip design for a multilumen catheter which includes a plurality of inflatable tubes each of which is attached to a lumen at the distal end of the multilumen catheter. The inflatable tubes are normally inverted in their respective lumens, but can be individually everted, inflated, deflated and retracted or inverted back into their lumen by the application of fluid pressure and vacuums at the proximal end of the multilumen catheter. In a procedure to open a constricted passageway one or more of the inflatable tubes can be inverted into the constriction and thereafter inflated to open the passageway. Thereafter, addition inflatable tubes can be inverted into the constriction and inflated to effect further opening of the passageway. In another embodiment, the inflatable tubes are provided with gripping surfaces and are manipulated by appropriate fluid pressures like fingers to grasp and recover target objects in a blocked passageway.

Abstract: A catheter for use in body vessels or cavities has a housing of such size as to be readily held in the hand of a user and elongate tube means having one end connected to the housing and extending outwardly therefrom and being formed of material of such a stiffness so as to maintain the elongate tube means in straight condition in the absence of an external force applied thereto, an outer end portion of the elongate tube means being flexible. Guide wires are connected to the housing by the inner ends thereof and extend outwardly therefrom through the elongate tube means. The outer ends of the guide wires are connected to the flexible outer end portion of the elongate tube means. Guide wire control means is carried by the housing and cooperates with the inner end portions of the guide wires for controlling the angular attitude of the flexible outer end portion of the elongate tube means.

Abstract: A syringe is described including a plastic barrel having a unitary needle extending from one end thereof which is normally shielded by a nasal tip-seal cap. A plunger is movably mounted in the barrel for aspirating the contents of the barrel or for drawing liquid into the barrel. The nasal tip-seal cap may be deflected or compressed with respect to the shielded needle so that the needle will pierce therethrough to enable the needle to be in communication with the interior of a pharmaceutical vial. The method of using the syringe of the invention to nasally vaccinate an animal or nasally vaccinate a human is also described.

Abstract: This device for an injection syringe including a cylindrical body (2) closed at one of its ends by a transverse wall in which the needle (6) is implanted, is such that the end of the cylindrical body is fitted with a slideway (7) for a needle protector (8) that includes a first tubular portion (9) of large diameter suitable for sliding along the slideway (7) between two positions that are axially separate from each other, and a small diameter portion (10) that extends the large diameter portion longitudinally, forming a moving protective sheath for the end of the needle (6), guiding and indexing elements (11, 12, 14, 16, 22, 26) being provided in inaccessible manner between the slideway (7) and the large diameter portion (9) of the protector so as to allow the needle to be uncovered and then recovered in succession once only.

Abstract: A syringe is described which is used in an improved method of vaccinating an animal. The syringe includes a one-piece barrel and needle comprised of a suitable injection molded plastic such as a polycarbonate material with the needle normally being enclosed or shielded by a flexible nasal tip-cap seal. The syringe is filled with a freeze-dried vaccine at the factory and is shipped to the point of use in a sealed pouch. The nasal tip-cap seal is placed in engagement with the cap or cover of a vial containing a diluent such as sterile water. The syringe is moved relative to the vial to cause the needle to pierce through the cover of the vial so that the distal end of the needle is in communication with the interior of the vial. The contents of the vial are then drawn inwardly into the syringe.

Abstract: A kink resistant balloon catheter for insertion into a bodily conduit. The catheter (10) includes a shaft (20), a radiopaque distal tip (35), a dilatation balloon (33) between the shaft and the distal tip, and a removable core wire (40). The shaft includes a kink resistant, cross-wound multifilar (CWMF) coil (21) enclosed by a polymeric sleeve (22) and defining a central lumen (28) for delivery of a fluid inflation medium for inflating the balloon. A fixed core wire (36) interconnects the CWMF coil and the distal tip. In a method for widening constricted bodily passages using the novel balloon catheter, the removable core wire is inserted to assist positioning of the catheter, and is removed to permit rapid inflation and deflation of the balloon.