Abstract: An ear tube for draining and ventilating the middle ear that prevents perforation of the ear drum. The tube comprises a tubular stem having a lumen formed in it and a pair of ports formed in its walls for providing access to the lumen from the sides. A plurality of resilient arms extend from one end of stem at an angle to the stem and each other. Once through the membrane, the arms resiliently spring open to anchor the tube.

Abstract: An ear tube for draining and ventilating the middle ear that prevents perforation of the ear drum. The tube comprises a tubular stem having a lumen formed in it and a pair of ports formed in its walls for providing access to the lumen from the sides. A plurality of resilient arms extend from one end of stem at an acute angle to the stem and each other. The tube further comprises a collar that closes the arms against each other so that the ear tube can be slipped through an incision in the tympanic membrane. Once through the membrane, the arms resiliently spring open to anchor the tube. Preferably, the stem is formed from a translucent material and the collar is made of a transparent material so obstructions in the stem can be seen while the arms are formed from an opaque material so that a physician could easily see the arms through the tympanic membrane.

Abstract: An improved syringe that allows one-handed operation, without requiring the user to reposition her hands during any portion of the injection process. The syringe comprises a housing having a plunger disposed therein that expels medication through a needle when the plunger is pressed toward the opposing end wall. Instead of having the needle in the same axis as the plunger, the needle port is carried by the wall of the syringe housing at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing. With this configuration, the housing can be gripped between a finger and thumb, with the one of the fingers on the handle and the other finger on the end wall of the housing. A pair of rings are positioned at opposing ends of the housing receive the user's fingers so that relative movement of the finger and thumb creates both suction as well as pressure for injection of medication from the housing's chamber.

Abstract: A middle ear fluid aspirator comprised of a syringe assembly that provides suction through the creation of negative pressure therein and a needle having an angled region that permits the operation of the aspirator while maintaining visual contact with the tympanic membrane and a needle safety assembly whereby the penetrating portion of the needle is not capable of damaging the ossicular structures of the ear.

Abstract: A middle ear fluid aspirator comprised of a syringe assembly that provides suction through the creation of negative pressure therein and a needle having an angled region that permits the operation of the aspirator while maintaining visual contact with the tympanic membrane and a needle safety assembly whereby the penetrating portion of the needle is not capable of damaging the ossicular structures of the ear.

Abstract: A surgical knife especially suited for surgical procedures such as a tympanoplasty comprises a handle having a proximal and a distal end, with a curved blade rotatably carried on a post on the distal end of the handle. The blade extends radially outward from the post and beyond the end of the post in roughly an "S" shape. The cutting edge of the blade is on the end of the "S" and is thus spaced apart from and beyond the end of the post, where it can swivel about the axis of the post. When cutting, the blade will follow the direction the handle is moved, swiveling into alignment with that direction by the pressure of the tissue it is cutting.

Abstract: A hearing aid including a microphone fitted through a small hole in the conchal bowl of the user to receive sound impinging the anterior side of the pinna, an electronics package worn behind the pinna that receives the sound from the microphone, and a sound conductor running from the electronics package behind the ear through the soft tissue of the external auditory canal and into the auditory canal medial to the cerumen-producing portion of the canal. The outer end of the sound conductor is detachably connected to the electronics package; the inner end communicates with the auditory canal for directing amplified sound to the ear drum. Alternatively, the inner end of a fluid-filled sound conductor can be attached to the round window of the cochlea or can communicate electromagnetically with an acoustic lens placed against the ear drum.