Abstract: An insertion tool for use in inserting a guide wire into a guide wire lumen of a catheter for use in a lumen of an endoscope. The insertion tool includes a main body having a main lumen and a funnel-shaped extension connected to and disposed atop the main body. The funnel-shaped extension having a funnel lumen. The funnel lumen has a top opening and a bottom opening. The funnel lumen tapering from the top opening to the bottom opening. The bottom opening positioned and sized to communicate with the guide wire lumen of the catheter such that, when the catheter is disposed in the main lumen, the guide wire may be easily inserted into the top opening of the funnel lumen and into the guide wire lumen of the catheter.

Abstract: The present invention relates to catheters for use with subcutaneous access ports for continuous or intermittent infusion therapy. These catheters utilize a pretensioned, helical coil which is incorporated into a flexible cannulated portion. This feature allows the flexible cannula to be bent without kinking under normal use. This flexibility provides a great deal of comfort to the patient. These catheters also incorporate a puncture needle which is positioned axially down the length of the catheter such that the sharp point at the distal end of the needle extends beyond the distal end of the catheter. This combination of a pretensioned, flexible catheter and a puncture needle achieves a stiffness sufficient to penetrate the tough, self-sealing septum used in subcutaneous access ports, yet, once the puncture needle is removed the patient is left with a comfortable alternative to commonly used hypodermic needles.

Abstract: A powered bone cutting saw is used from within the intramedullary canal of a bone. A cutting blade is inserted through a bored intramedullary canal to a predetermined cutting depth. A motor is coupled to the cutting blade to rotate the cutting blade. The blade is extended to a cutting position and operated by a surgeon to cut the bone radially from the inside outwardly, transversely, to the intramedullary canal. Gearing selectable by the surgeon permits the blade to oscillate. The motor can also be coupled to a reamer tip for boring the intramedullary canal. The apparatus, including the reamer tip, can be cannulated to accept a guide wire.

Abstract: A catheter and a method for making the same, the catheter having a radiopaque marker ring placed within a tube, whereby the radiopaque ring is inserted into an expanded section of the tube, followed by the relaxation of the tube to its original dimensions, where the ring inner-diameter is equal or greater than the tube inner-diameter, and the ring outer-diameter is less than the tube outer-diameter, such that said inner surface of said ring is exposed to said lumen of said tube such that said inner surface provides a pathway through which other devices pass through said tube without obstruction, and said outer surface of said ring is embedded within said tube, under conditions such that the bump on the outer surface of said tube which would otherwise be present is reduced to allow said tube to pass through other devices without obstruction, said embedding condition also minimizing the overall thickness of said tube.

Abstract: Apparatus for dispensing a plurality of ligating bands individually and sequentially. A support, attached to the distal end of an endoscope, carries the plurality of ligating bands at axially spaced positions along an exterior surface. The distal ends of each set of independent displacement filaments each ligating band releasably attach to the distal edge of the dispenser. Each filament loops around the corresponding ligating band and returns past the distal edge of the dispenser and through the endoscope to the proximal end thereof. When a physician pulls a set of filaments proximally, the loop in each filament advances the corresponding ligating band off the distal edge of the dispenser.

Abstract: A tissue manipulator is provided which is insertable through an endoscopic tube to enable a surgeon to manipulate tissue inside a body cavity. The tissue manipulator includes an expandable frame comprising a plurality of flexible, interconnected frame members which are adapted to expand laterally outward into a spatula-like platform for engaging the tissue. The platform is selectively expandable into a tulip-shaped configuration and a bulb-shaped configuration to manipulate large body organs such as the liver, lungs or intestines without risk of injury to such organs. The platform is infinitely adjustable in size from its collapsed configuration to its expanded configuration.

Abstract: A tissue manipulator is provided which is insertable through an endoscopic tube to enable a surgeon to manipulate tissue inside a body cavity. The endoscopic tissue manipulator includes an expandable tissue manipulating frame adapted to expand transversely through a longitudinal slot in a support tube to provide a spatula-shaped platform which can be manipulated by rotation of the support tube about its longitudinal axis to engage and displace large body organs away from a desired surgical site in a body cavity. The frame consists of a plurality of flexible frame members or wires adapted to flex laterally outward through the longitudinal slot in the support tube into a bow-shaped configuration overlapping the other frame members or wires of the spatula-shaped platform. The instrument can be provided with a single tissue manipulating frame or a pair of frames which are expandable through separate longitudinal slots in the support tube to provide a pair of spatula-shaped platforms to engage the tissue.

Abstract: A flexible elongated medical infusion guidewire having proximal and distal portions for delivering a pressurized fluid medicaments to a site with a body vessel. The guidewire is comprised of a helically wound coil having a polyimide sheath tightly enclosing its proximal portion, and a teflon sheath tightly covering the entire wire coil. The teflon sheath is punctured at its distal end to facilitate release of fluid therethrough. The coil is closed at its distalmost end by a ball weld.

Abstract: A convertible wire for use as a guidewire or a catheter in medical applications. The convertible wire comprises a coil spring structure that extends over a proximal portion and a distal tip portion. The spring pitch at the distal tip portion is greater than the spring pitch at the proximal portion to provide greater flexibility at the distal tip portion. A polyimide sheath surround the proximal portion of the spring for increased strength. An outer polytetrafluoroethylene sheath overlies the polyimide sheath and the coil spring in the distal tip portion so the distal tip portion constitutes an atraumatic soft, floppy tip that readily travels through passages in the body.

Abstract: A medical guidewire having a distal tip portion for advancement through a body by application of force to a proximal end portion, comprising: an elongated multi-filar coil structural element, and disposed thereabout and along a substantial portion of the length of the structural element, a sheath formed of material that is non-corrosive within the body, the sheath being adapted to flex in unison with the structural element without kinking, the sheath and structural element in combination having a torque response along the joined length approaching 1:1, thereby allowing control of the distal tip at the guidewire within a body by application of rotational force to the proximal end portion outside the body.

Abstract: A medical guidewire has an elongated body that has a degree of flexibility and a distal tip region of relatively greater flexibility. The guidewire consists of a core having a body of first diameter, a distal portion of a relatively smaller diameter, and a generally flat distal end. The end is disposed in the tip region and is spaced proximally from a round tip element that defines the distal end of the guidewire. The distal portion of the core is formed of nitinol. A first coil is joined at its proximal end to the core body by a coupling or crimp ring and extends along the core to a termination point in the distal tip region, proximal of the end portion of the core. A relatively more flexible second coil has a proximal end joined to the first coil and has a distal end joined to the round tip element. A safety wire is secured to the core and has a generally flat distal end within the second coil, joined to the round tip.

Abstract: A flexible catheter-like guidewire has a multi-filar, cross-wound coil body terminating in a distal ball tip element. The body has a first inner coil of multiple coil wires wound in a first helical direction and a second outer coil of multiple coil wires disposed thereabout and wound in a second opposite helical direction. The body defines an elongated lumen opening proximally. The guidewire further includes a proximal handle and, extending therefrom, a core sized and adapted to be received through the proximal opening into the body lumen. The core, by movement of the handle relative to the body, is adapted for axial movement within the body for adjustment of the flexibility of the distal region of the device. A proximal connector joins the lumen, with the core removed, to a source of fluid, and a sheath associated with the body seals the lumen for transport of fluid introduced through the proximal opening, through the lumen to be delivered radially from the lumen in the distal tip region of the device.

Abstract: Dilation balloon devices that employ a metal tube for introduction of inflation fluid from distal end into a balloon have special features that enable introduction through very small passages. A distal core wire is shown forming part of a guide wire extending into the distal end of the tube. The core wire is fixed at the distal end of the tube, and has a proximal extension bridging across a fluid opening formed in the wall of the tube. The wire extension serves to transfer stress from the distal end of the device, across the fluid opening, to adjacent proximal portions of the tube, to prevent stress build-up at the opening that might lead to fracture of the tube during bending. In various embodiments, the device includes a bushing seal at the distal end of the balloon; a helical coil surrounds part or all of the length of the device, with strategic tapers along its length; a shrink tubing is used rather than a coil; and a pair of cross-wound multifilar coils are employed.

Abstract: A medical guidewire has an elongated body that has a degree of flexibility and a distal tip region of relatively greater flexibility. The guidewire consists of a core having a body of first diameter, a distal portion of a relatively smaller diameter, and a generally flat distal end. The end is disposed in the tip region and is spaced proximally from a round tip element that defines the distal end of the guidewire. A first coil is joined to the core body and extends along the core to a termination point in the distal tip region, proximal of the end of the core. A relatively more flexible second coil is joined at its proximal end to the first coil and joined at its distal end to the round tip element. A safety wire is secured to the core and has a generally flat distal end within the second coil, joined to the round tip. A transition wire is secured to the core and has a generally flat distal end that terminates within the second coil intermediate of the distal ends of the core and safety wire.