Abstract: A safety-shielded trocar having an obturator with a linear cutting edge surface defining a base width substantially less than the diameter of the safety shield is disclosed. When the trocar is inserted through tissue, the tissue dilates from the width of the linear incision to accommodate the size of the safety shield of the trocar, thus making it possible to provide an access opening greater than the incisional width made by the linear cutting edge surface of the obturator. In a preferred embodiment, the safety shield has a shield tip region which is asymmetric to facilitate the dilation of the tissue as the trocar is inserted.

Abstract: A hand held surgical instrument for grasping and clamping tissue is disclosed. The surgical instrument has a handle body assembly and an elongated shaft. The shaft is connected to the handle body assembly at a proximal end and has an end effector at a distal end. The end effector is operably coupled to an actuation member extending from the handle body. The actuation member is moveable toward and away from the handle body to open and close the end effector. A locking tab is located on the handle body assembly and is moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position. A locking rod is movably engaged with a hole in the locking tab. When the locking tab is in the unlocked position, the actuation member is free to move towards and away from the handle body assembly to open and close the end effector. When the locking tab is in the locked position, movement to open the actuation member is prevented.

Abstract: The present invention provides an adjustable vasculopath device for holding a blood vessel prior to the insertion of medical devices such as needles or intravenous tubes into the blood vessel. The vasculopath device includes a pair of probes which may be inserted intradermally to hold the blood vessel. The present invention also provides a method for holding a blood vessel using two probes inserted intradermally.

Abstract: A conventional, stainless-steel acupuncture needle for use with a motor driven needling device for treating patients is provided with a thin, well-adhering, fluorocarbon-based coating. The coating is preferably implemented as a vapor phase coating, formed in a vacuum, to develop a tightly adhering, thin film coating over the surface of the needle. The coated needle is then coupled with the motor driven needling device, and inserted into the skin and muscle tissue of the patient. The motor driven needling device is then operated to cause the coated needle to reciprocate in the tissue of the patient for purposes of treating chronic muscular pain.

Abstract: Devices and methods for filtering blood. The devices generally comprise: a mesh for filtering blood flowing within a blood vessel, particularly within an artery such as the aorta; a structure adapted to open and close the mesh within the blood vessel; and a means to actuate the structure. The methods generally include the following steps: introducing a mesh into a blood vessel to entrap embolic material; adjusting the mesh, if necessary, during the course of filtration; and removing the mesh and the entrapped foreign matter from the blood vessel. Additionally, visualization techniques are used to ensure effective filtration.

Abstract: This apparatus comprises a rigid half circular headclamp, three fixation pins to firmly secure the clamp to the patient's skull, a connector to firmly secure the clamp to a surgical table on which the patient rests, an articulated arm including clampable joints, secured to the headclamp in one of several possible positions and a double chuck secured to the distal end of the articulated arm. The double chuck has two ball collets arranged in side by side cavities in the chuck body, and two locking screws for each ball collet. A first locking screw releasably locks the ball collet in a selected orientation, a second separate locking screw releasably locks in an adjusted axial position an elongated instrument inserted through said collet. The first and second locking screws are actuated independently of each other. A computer guided probe and a large number of surgical instruments can be slidably inserted within the ball collets and locked in an adjusted axial position and in a selected orientation.

Abstract: A bifurcated stent for insertion into a bifurcated vessel such as a blood vessel. In one embodiment, a first sheet is formed into a first leg, a second sheet is formed into a second leg, a third sheet is formed into a stem, and the two legs are attached to the stem. In a second embodiment, a first sheet is formed into a member having a first leg and half of a stem, a second sheet is formed into a second member having a second leg and half of a stem, and the two stem halves are combined to form the bifurcated stent. In a third embodiment, the stent comprises two sections that are serially inserted and assembled within the vessel at the site of the bifurcation to be treated.

Abstract: A medical device for placing an embolic coil at a preselected location within a vessel comprising a positioning catheter having a distal tip for retaining the embolic coil which when pressurized with a fluid expands outwardly to release the coil at the preselected position.

Abstract: A surgical device for closing trocar incision sites and delivering sutures. The present invention is a needle assembly in which the needle is constructed of a spring-like material and initially housed within a sheath in a deformed condition. The needle can be easily exposed by sliding an actuator so as to release the constraining means and allow the needle to assume its undeformed condition. The needle assembly has few parts, allows a wide range for deflection of the needle, and the needle may be exposed with a relatively short stroke.

Abstract: Surgical instruments and methods for making substantially linear incisions, especially through walls of vessels, such arteries, specifically designed for coronary artery bypass graft procedures (CABG) on the beating heart. The invention is particularly useful to create the incision in the artery to which a bypass graft is sewn, typically the left anterior descending artery (LAD). The instruments allow incisions to be rapidly made, precisely measured and cleanly formed so that a bypass graft can be rapidly sewn in place, without undue trauma to surrounding tissue and excessive loss of blood. In one embodiment, a hand-held instrument has a cutting edge formed on the interior edge of a curved blade fixed near the end of the instrument. The tip of the blade has a point for penetrating the vessel wall which may have several alternate shapes to facilitate penetration of the vessel wall while minimizing to the surrounding tissue.

Abstract: A medicine dispenser carried on pacifier includes: a miniature container adapted for filling medicine therein, and a pacifier combinable with the miniature container and fluidically communicated with the interior in the container, whereby upon sucking by a baby or an infant on a nipple portion of the pacifier, the medicine as flowing from the container into a passage in the nipple portion of the pacifier, the medicine will be sucked and administered into a baby's mouth through the passage in the nipple portion for treating or curing a baby's disease.

Abstract: A surgical instrument is configured to aid in performing a procedure of detaching an internal mammary artery (IMA) and the like, from the connecting tissues and side branch vessels which surround the artery in its native location, wherein the detaching procedure is preliminary to the performing of a coronary artery bypass grafting procedure and wherein the IMA is detached via a minimally invasive thoracotomy. To this end, an elongated slender rod includes a handle at its proximal end and an artery engaging loop, arc, fork configuration, or hook at its distal working end. Embodiments may incorporate electrosurgical capability or electrical insulation. A surgeon thus has means for harvesting an intact and undamaged graft vessel from its native location through a minimally invasive incision with enhanced speed, visibility, and freedom of motion.

Abstract: A device for retrieval of defect closure devices, comprising a closure-catch catheter having at a distal end thereof a closure-catching device and at a proximal end thereof, a grip for operating the closure-catching. An elongated sheath having a lumen and is provided at the proximal end thereof with a lateral injection tube and hemostatic device. The catheter is moveably insertable in the lumen.

Abstract: An internal coronary bypass, for circumventing an obstruction in a coronary artery, having a conduit through the heart's muscle that preferably connects a left-chamber of the heart to the coronary artery, at a point which is downstream of the obstruction, and a one way valve disposed in said conduit allowing blood to flow only in a direction from the left chamber to the artery.

Abstract: Microfabricated therapeutic actuators are fabricated using a shape memory polymer (SMP), a polyurethane-based material that undergoes a phase transformation at a specified temperature (Tg). At a temperature above temperature Tg material is soft and can be easily reshaped into another configuration. As the temperature is lowered below temperature Tg the new shape is fixed and locked in as long as the material stays below temperature Tg. Upon reheating the material to a temperature above Tg, the material will return to its original shape. By the use of such SMP material, SMP microtubing can be used as a release actuator for the delivery of embolic coils through catheters into aneurysms, for example. The microtubing can be manufactured in various sizes and the phase change temperature Tg is determinate for an intended temperature target and intended use.

Abstract: A lancet and method of manufacture. The lancet comprises a wire sandwiched between an upper web and a lower web. A twist-off wire point cover is provided to protect the point of the wire, and to preserve its sterility until use. The method of manufacture includes the steps of heating the upper and lower webs, thermoforming a lower web wire groove and a lower web wire point recess into the lower web, loading a wire into the lower web wire groove such that its point is disposed within the lower web wire point recess, gluing the upper web to the lower web at a lidding station, and cutting twist-off slits into the upper and lower webs to provide the twist-off cover. Alternate embodiments of the lancet are disclosed which provide a lancet containing a valley to facilitate wire loading, and which provide finger grips on the upper and lower webs. A butterfly and method of manufacture are also disclosed.

Abstract: An intravascular device for venting an inflatable chamber and methods for using the device are disclosed. The intravascular device generally includes three components, namely a catheter or cannula, an inflatable member, and a selective degassing element. The inflatable member is typically a balloon. The catheter or cannula is typically hollow with a first lumen extending between an inflation port and the interior of the inflatable member and a second lumen extending between the interior of the inflatable member and an exhaust port. The selective degassing element is typically positioned between the inflatable member and the exhaust port and occupies the entire cross-sectional area of the second lumen. When in a closed position, the selective element prevents the passage of liquid from the interior of the inflatable member, through the exhaust port. When in an open position, the selective element permits gas entrained within the inflatable member to be expelled from the device, via the exhaust port.

Abstract: Medical devices and methods used to cause hemostasis of blood vessels located along the gastrointestinal tract. The medical devices include a clip having a stem, an anchor at a first end of the stem and a bolster at or near a second end of the stem. Methods of deploying the medical devices are disclosed.

Abstract: A disposable ear piercing device includes a first disposable cartridge containing an earring head of a stud or straight post configuration. An inner slidable capsule and a slidable spacer within the capsule hold the decorative earring head and post within the cartridge. A second clutch cartridge spaced from the slidable capsule holds a closed end clutch. A spring biased plunger controlled by a trigger release actuates the slidable spacer and capsule within the first cartridge to project the earring head through the earlobe in an open saddle area. The clutch at the opposing saddle area receives and engages the earring stud or post. Release mechanisms on the capsule and clutch cartridge permit removal of the earlobe with the earring away from the instrument.

Abstract: The present invention provides catheter apparatus and catheterization methodology for generating an arteriovenous fistula or a veno-venous fistula on-demand between closely associated blood vessels and at a chosen anatomic site in-vivo. The catheter apparatus is preferably employed in pairs, each catheter of the pair being suitable for percutaneous introduction into and extension through a blood vessel. The catheterization methodology employs the catheter apparatus preferably in conjunction with conventional radiological techniques in order to place, verify, and confirm a proper alignment, orientation, and positioning for the catheters in-vivo prior to activating the perforation means for generating a fistula.