Abstract: A prosthesis for addressing pelvic organ prolapse in females comprises a frame fabricated from a shape memory material that supports a thin, flexible mesh sheet in a stretched condition when the frame is unconstrained. The mesh sheet is formed with two finger receiving pockets proximate its posterior periphery to be used by the surgeon in steering the prosthesis to a desired disposition within the pelvic basin. The frame is shaped so as to conform to and be supported by bone structures and muscle tissue in the pelvic basin while providing needed support to pelvic organs to maintain them in a proper position. The use of a shape memory material allows the prosthesis to be rolled or folded into a reduced size for ease of placement through a small incision in the wall of the vagina, but that springs back to its memorized shape following deployment from a delivery sheath.

Abstract: A prosthesis for addressing pelvic organ prolapse in females comprises a frame fabricated from a shape memory material that supports a thin, flexible sheet in a stretched condition when the frame is unconstrained. The frame is shaped so as to conform to and be supported by bone structures and muscle tissue in the pelvic basin while providing needed support to pelvic organs to maintain them in a proper position. The use of a shape memory material allows the prosthesis to be rolled or folded into a reduced size for ease of placement through a small incision in the wall of the vagina, but that springs back to its memorized shape following deployment from a delivery sheath.

Abstract: A prosthesis for addressing pelvic organ prolapse in females comprises a frame comprising first and second segments or halves fabricated from a shape memory material that together support a thin, flexible sheet in a stretched condition when the frame is unconstrained. The frame is shaped so as to conform to and be supported by bone structures and muscle tissue in the pelvic basin while providing needed support to pelvic organs to maintain them in a proper position. The use of a shape memory material allows the prosthesis to be rolled or folded into a reduced size for ease of placement through a small incision in the wall of the vagina, but that springs back to its memorized shape following deployment from a. delivery sheath. By providing a two-piece segmented frame, removal of the frame structure post implantation of the prosthesis is facilitated.

Abstract: A prosthesis for addressing pelvic organ prolapse in females comprises a frame fabricated from a shape memory material that supports a thin, flexible mesh sheet in a stretched condition when the frame is unconstrained. The mesh sheet is formed with two finger receiving pockets proximate its posterior periphery to be used by the surgeon in steering the prosthesis to a desired disposition within the pelvic basin. The frame is shaped so as to conform to and be supported by bone structures and muscle tissue in the pelvic basin while providing needed support to pelvic organs to maintain them in a proper position. The use of a shape memory material allows the prosthesis to be rolled or folded into a reduced size for ease of placement through a small incision in the wall of the vagina, but that springs back to its memorized shape following deployment from a delivery sheath.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards implantable, inflatable, bioabsorbable medical prostheses. In particular, the present invention relates to an implantable, inflatable, bioabsorbable method and device for occluding septal defects such as an atrial septal defect. A double button shaped device is contained in a catheter to allow for easy positioning and re-positioning of the apparatus to ensure proper placement and deployment. The device is charged with a filling solution so that it temporarily stabilizes the defect for a period of time typically varying from weeks to a year while it provides a structure to support natural tissue growth. The device is eventually replaced by natural tissue as it degrades and is absorbed or eliminated from the body by natural processes.

Abstract: A hernia repair patch (10) comprising a wire frame of a pair of overlapping v-shaped wire segments (12, 14) attached to a prosthetic fabric material (20). The vertices (18) of the v-shaped wire segments (12, 14) are disposed in opposite directions. The wire segments (12, 14) further include attached points (16) at free ends thereof. Said wire frame supporting the prosthetic fabric material may be formed of Nitinol or other suitable shape memory alloy.

Abstract: A hernia patch comprising a frame made of a plurality of strands made from a shape memory alloy wound together as a cable and a prosthetic mesh material attached to the cable frame. The cable frame forms a loop of a predetermined shape when unconstrained. The cable frame cam is rolled or folded into a tight cylindrical shape and inserted into a small diameter trocar. When the hernia patch is ejected out of the trocar into the patient's abdominal cavity, the frame warms to the point where the alloy is in its austenite form so that it springs to a functional, predetermined configuration. Alternatively, the superelastic properties of the alloy cause the frame to return to the predetermined configuration. The frame is integral with the prosthetic mesh material so that it will not migrate and therefore will not need to be sutured or stapled in place.

Abstract: A collapsible medical device and associated method for grafting a lumen of selected organs and vessels, wherein the medical device is shaped from a shape memory fabric. The device is preferably made from a continuous tubular fabric and each end terminates with an open end for passage there through. Each end further includes a securing member attached to an outer perimeter of the end, wherein a substantial plane formed by the perimeter intersects the longitudinal axis of the tubular fabric at either an acute or obtuse angle. The fabric may be heat treated within a mold in order to substantially set a desired shape of the device. The securing member may also attach to the end of a guide wire or delivery catheter, thereby allowing deployment and later retrieval after deployment of the device.

Abstract: A coil of tubing can have either adjacent tubes or tubes with a space therebetween. To hold the tubes in place a material such as an adhesive can be placed across the top of the coil, on the bottom of the coil or both to hold the coil in place. The material can also envelope the coils such that the coils are banded. The coils may have a length of a straight portion of tubing prior to the coil beginning and an angled portion on the inside diameter for inserting or extracting a product in the tubing which may be similarly retained. The tubing may be coiled by insertion between two templates. The templates have injection ports for inserting material to hold or encase the tubing. Thus the tubing may be inserted in the templates, a material to hold the tubing in the coiled position inserted and the coiled tubing removed from the templates ready for use in their coiled position with the material on the tubing holding the tubing in the coiled position.

Abstract: A collapsible medical device and associated method for grafting a lumen of selected organs and vessels, wherein the medical device is shaped from a shape memory fabric. The device is preferably made from a continuous tubular fabric and each end terminates with an open end for passage there through. Each end further includes a securing member attached to an outer perimeter of the end, wherein a substantial plane formed by the perimeter intersects the longitudinal axis of the tubular fabric at either an acute or obtuse angle. The fabric may be heat treated within a mold in order to substantially set a desired shape of the device. The securing member may also attach to the end of a guide wire or delivery catheter, thereby allowing deployment and later retrieval after deployment of the device.

Abstract: A coil of tubing can have either adjacent tubes or tubes with a space therebetween. To hold the tubes in place a material such as an adhesive can be placed across the top of the coil, on the bottom of the coil or both to hold the coil in place. The material can also envelope the coils such that the coils are banded. The coils may have a length of a straight portion of tubing prior to the coil beginning and an angled portion on the inside diameter for inserting or extracting a product in the tubing which may be similarly retained. The tubing may be coiled by insertion between two templates. The templates have injection ports for inserting material to hold or encase the tubing. Thus the tubing may be inserted in the templates, a material to hold the tubing in the coiled position inserted and the coiled tubing removed from the templates ready for use in their coiled position with the material on the tubing holding the tubing in the coiled position.

Abstract: A collapsible medical device and associated method for shunting selected organs and vessels, wherein the medical device is shaped from a shape memory metal fabric. The device may be used, for example, to non-surgically create a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. The device is preferably made from a continuous tubular metal fabric and includes two outer flanges that reduce device migration and includes a central passageway between the two outer flanges. The metal fabric may be heat treated within a mold in order to substantially set a desired relaxed shape of the device. The medical device includes a fastener for attaching to the end of a guide wire or delivery catheter. The medical device having the desired relaxed shape may be collapsed and delivered through a catheter or the like for deployment in a desired channel or opening in a patient's body and is retrievable after deployment.

Abstract: A collapsible medical device and associated method for grafting a lumen of selected organs and vessels, wherein the medical device is shaped from a shape memory fabric. The device is preferably made from a continuous tubular fabric and each end terminates with an open end for passage there through. Each end further includes a securing member attached to an outer perimeter of the end, wherein a substantial plane formed by the perimeter intersects the longitudinal axis of the tubular fabric at either an acute or obtuse angle. The fabric may be heat treated within a mold in order to substantially set a desired shape of the device. The securing member may also attach to the end of a guide wire or delivery catheter, thereby allowing deployment and later retrieval after deployment of the device.

Abstract: A method for delivering an object within a patient, wherein the object is delivered in a preferred orientation relative to the delivery site of the patient. The delivery device has an alignment member that allows the object to be delivered intravascularly to the delivery site of the patient, wherein the object is delivered in a pre-determined orientation. The object may, for example, be non-symmetric or include a configuration that requires delivery to the site in only one suitable orientation relative to the delivery site. Such objects may be used, for example, to treat certain defects or injuries in vessels or organs within a patient's body.

Abstract: A device and method for delivering an object within a patient, wherein the object is delivered in a preferred orientation relative to the delivery site of the patient. The delivery device has an alignment member that allows the object to be delivered intravascularly to the delivery site of the patient, wherein the object is delivered in a pre-determined orientation. The object may, for example, be non-symmetric or include a configuration that requires delivery to the site in only one suitable orientation relative to the delivery site. Such objects may be used, for example, to treat certain defects or injuries in vessels or organs within a patient's body.

Abstract: A device and method for delivering an object within a patient, wherein the object is delivered in a preferred orientation relative to the delivery site of the patient. The delivery device has an alignment member that allows the object to be delivered intravascularly to the delivery site of the patient, wherein the object is delivered in a pre-determined orientation. The object may, for example, be non-symmetric or include a configuration that requires delivery to the site in only one suitable orientation relative to the delivery site. Such objects may be used, for example, to treat certain defects or injuries in vessels or organs within a patient's body.

Abstract: A sizing catheter and method of measuring a preselected internal opening within a patient to provide a rapid and precise determination of first and second stretched diameters of the preselected internal opening. The sizing catheter includes a dilation balloon constructed of a thin expandable plastic, which is inflatable and is utilized to determine a size of the preselected opening. The dilation balloon is inflated to an inflation threshold wherein the dilation balloon deforms about the preselected opening and the size of the dilation balloon adjacent the preselected opening approximates the first stretched diameter of the preselected opening. The sizing catheter and method may be utilized to determine an appropriate sized device to be positioned within the preselected opening.