Patents by Inventor C. Ross Ethier

C. Ross Ethier has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11311685
    Abstract: Various implementations include a tissue lifting device that is operable using one hand. The device includes a housing, an actuator that is slidably moveable through a channel within the housing, and a lifting mechanism adjacent a distal end of the housing. The actuator causes the lifting mechanism to lift a tissue. In some implementations, the housing includes a needle adjacent the distal end of the housing that punctures the tissue and allows for injection of a composition behind the tissue. The lifting mechanism according to some implementations is a suction-based (or aspiration) system. And, in other implementations, the lifting mechanism is a grasping system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignees: GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION, DUKE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: R. Rand Allingham, C. Ross Ethier, Jordan David Rehwaldt
  • Patent number: 6544208
    Abstract: A bioinert implantable shunt device useful for controlling internal pressure includes a valve apparatus, a device for attaching the valve apparatus and an inlet tube. The valve apparatus includes an inlet port, an outlet port, a flexible tube connected therebetween and a pressurized enclosure. The flexible tube is positioned inside the pressurized enclosure whereby fluid flow from the inlet port to the outlet port is dependent on a differential pressure between a pressure in the flexible tube and a pressure outside the flexible tube in the pressurized enclosure. The inlet tube is connected to the inlet port of the valve apparatus. The pressurized enclosure may include a housing and a semi-permeable membrane in a wall of the housing whereby fluid can pass through the semi-permeable membrane into the pressurized enclosure thereby increasing the pressure in the pressurized enclosure. The implantable shunt device may be for use in the treatment of glaucoma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Inventors: C. Ross Ethier, Arthur J. Sit, Molly S. Shoichet
  • Publication number: 20020087111
    Abstract: A bioinert implantable shunt device useful for controlling internal pressure includes a valve apparatus, a means for attaching the valve apparatus and an inlet tube. The valve apparatus includes an inlet port, an outlet port, a flexible tube connected therebetween and a pressurized enclosure. The flexible tube is positioned inside the pressurized enclosure whereby fluid flow from the inlet port to the outlet port is dependent on a differential pressure between a pressure in the flexible tube and a pressure outside the flexible tube in the pressurized enclosure. The inlet tube is connected to the inlet port of the valve apparatus. The pressurized enclosure may include a housing and a semi-permeable membrane in a wall of the housing whereby fluid can pass through the semi-permeable membrane into the pressurized enclosure thereby increasing the pressure in the pressurized enclosure. The implantable shunt device may be for use in the treatment of glaucoma.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2000
    Publication date: July 4, 2002
    Inventors: C. Ross Ethier, Arthur J. Sit, Molly S. Shoichet