Patents by Inventor Nicholas B. Langhals

Nicholas B. Langhals 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: 11185344
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a mechanically-actuated tool for cutting a tissue graft having a hollow core and methods for use thereof. A portion of a biological structure, such as a nerve, is attached to the hollow core to form an implantable neural graft assembly. The tool has a cutter mechanism and a grasper mechanism. The grasper mechanism has one or more component(s) that open and close via an actuation mechanism, like a handle, and rotate via a controller component, like a rotatable wheel. The cutter mechanism may be a cutting tube component that harvests the tissue graft. The tool may also have an ejector mechanism to remove the tissue graft as part of the implantable neural graft assembly. Such devices and methods are particularly suitable for treating neuromas and other neural regeneration procedures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Nicholas B. Langhals, Cynthia Anne Chestek, Paul S. Cederna, Albert Shih, Melanie G. Urbanchek, Grant H. Kruger, Jeffrey Stephen Plott, Jordan T. Kreda
  • Patent number: 10779963
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods and systems for receiving, with processing circuitry of an implant device, an electrical signal from a free tissue graft attached to a portion of a nerve (e.g., a nerve branch or fascicle) through an electrical conductor in electrical communication with the free tissue graft (e.g., muscle graft), the nerve having reinnervated the free tissue graft. The electrical signal from the free tissue graft has a voltage amplitude of greater than or equal to about 150 microvolts. The processing circuitry stores signal data corresponding to the electrical signal from the free tissue graft in a memory accessible to the processing circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Cynthia Anne Chestek, Melanie G. Urbanchek, Paul S. Cederna, Richard Brent Gillespie, Nicholas B. Langhals, Zachary Irwin, Daniel C. Ursu
  • Patent number: 10314725
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods and systems for receiving, with processing circuitry of an implant device, an electrical signal from a free tissue graft attached to a portion of a nerve (e.g., a nerve branch or fascicle) through an electrical conductor in electrical communication with the free tissue graft (e.g., muscle graft), the nerve having reinnervated the free tissue graft. The electrical signal from the free tissue graft has a voltage amplitude of greater than or equal to about 150 microvolts. The processing circuitry stores signal data corresponding to the electrical signal from the free tissue graft in a memory accessible to the processing circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Cynthia Anne Chestek, Melanie G. Urbanchek, Paul S. Cederna, Richard Brent Gillespie, Nicholas B. Langhals, Zachary Irwin, Daniel C. Ursu
  • Patent number: 9352146
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides nerve interface devices, such as passive or active nerve caps or regenerative peripheral nerve interface devices (RPNI), for a subject in need thereof. The nerve interface devices include nerve interface cap devices capable of treating, minimizing, or preventing formation of neuromas in severed or damaged nerve endings. Such a nerve interface device includes a housing that may be formed of a scaffold, such as a biotic material or hydrogel, an autograft, and optionally an electrode and/or conducting polymer. The autograft may be free muscle or free skin tissue, which is attached to the nerve ending to permit reinnervation. The present disclosure also provides methods for treating, minimizing, or preventing neuroma formation in a subject having a severed or damaged nerve, especially a peripheral nerve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: The Regents Of The University Of Michigan
    Inventors: Nicholas B. Langhals, Paul S. Cederna, Melanie G. Urbanchek
  • Publication number: 20130304174
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides nerve interface devices, such as passive or active nerve caps or regenerative peripheral nerve interface devices (RPNI), for a subject in need thereof. The nerve interface devices include nerve interface cap devices capable of treating, minimizing, or preventing formation of neuromas in severed or damaged nerve endings. Such a nerve interface device includes a housing that may be formed of a scaffold, such as a biotic material or hydrogel, an autograft, and optionally an electrode and/or conducting polymer. The autograft may be free muscle or free skin tissue, which is attached to the nerve ending to permit reinnervation. The present disclosure also provides methods for treating, minimizing, or preventing neuroma formation in a subject having a severed or damaged nerve, especially a peripheral nerve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Publication date: November 14, 2013
    Inventors: Nicholas B. Langhals, Paul S. Cederna, Melanie G. Urbanchek