Abstract: The present invention provides a novel ergonomic handle for a retrograde coronary sinus catheter stylet. The handle is provided at a proximal end of a thin rod. In use, the stylet is inserted into a retrograde cardioplegia catheter. The stylet handle of the present invention extends from the proximal end of the catheter. The handle includes a generally flat, substantially planar body portion having a proximal end, a distal end and an axis extending from the proximal end to the distal end. A first concave pocket is provided at the distal end of the body on one side of the axis and a second concave pocket is provided at the distal end of the body on the opposite side of the axis. Each pocket has a plurality of surfaces against which at least one of the digits of a user may be placed to manipulate the position of the stylet, and thus the catheter. The handle is manipulated in a plane defined by the body so as to manipulate the stylet and the catheter.

Abstract: A lancet device for lancing skin with a lancing needle of a lancet. The lancet device includes a housing and a lancet holder within the housing which is engageable with the lancet and moveable along a longitudinal axis of the housing. The device also includes a cam which has an end surface engageable with the lancet holder, cocking structure, biasing means between the cocking structure and the cam, and a trigger which is engageable with the cam for preventing rotation of the cam during actuation of the cocking structure. Actuation of the cocking structure causes the biasing means to become loaded between the cam and cocking structure, wherein upon disengagement of the trigger from the cam, the cam rotates, causing the lancet holder to move generally along the longitudinal axis of the housing. The lancet holder includes a cam follower member which contacts the end surface of the cam. The cam follower member rides along the end surface of the cam when the cam rotates in the housing.

Abstract: A contact lens case includes a cup adapted to receive a quantity of disinfecting or cleaning solution and a cap removably closing the opening mouth of the cup. A lens support structure is associated with the cap and holds a pair of lenses within the cup. The lens support structure includes a base plate which supports one of a pair of the lenses on each side thereof and basket means pivotally connected to the base plate for enclosing the lenses in overlying position and maintaining the lenses on the base plate. A latch structure releasably maintains the basket means in the overlying position, and includes a flexible, integral extension peripherally formed on each basket means and is releasably retained in the overlying position by snap-fit against the hook member laterally projecting from the base plate.

Abstract: A suturing device includes a housing having an axial lumen therethrough, at least one needle having a tip and being attached to the housing and being capable of traversing along a non-linear path from a first position wherein each such needle is substantially within the housing, to a second position wherein each such needle is substantially extended from the housing, and a suture releasably attached to the housing. The suture can be captured by the tip when each such needle is in the second position and pulled from attachment to the housing when each such needle is moved to the first position. Thereafter, the suture can be released from each such needle and a knot can be formed in the suture to close a wound.

Abstract: A dropper tip which is adapted to be connected to a container for dispensing fluid, such as medications and like, from the container includes a body having first and second opposite ends and an inner wall defining a conduit therethrough. The inner wall smoothly diverges and gradually increases in inner diameter from the first end to the second end such that air bubbles are prevented from being permanently trapped along the inner wall. The inner wall is highly polished and may be made of olefinic material, silicone rubber material, or fluorocarbon, including, but not limited to, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), carbon tetrafluoroethylene (CTFE), fluoroethylene propylene (FEP) or the like, to resist fluid wetting, facilitate fluid detachment therefrom and to reduce fluid film thickness therealong. The surface of the inner wall is smoothed to minimize surface roughness.

Abstract: A novel lancet device is disclosed, and the lancet device is compact and is designed to be held like a writing instrument during use. The device has a trigger relatively close to a firing end so the device can be easily maintained in the desired position while the device is being fired. A cocking knob on the device is rotated one hundred eighty degrees in order to cock the device and prepare the device for use. Only a relatively small amount of rotational force is needed to rotate the cocking knob. The device provides that a lancing needle does not extend and become exposed when the device is cocked. A thumb button is provided on the device, and the thumb button doubles as a depth adjustment knob and an ejector button. The thumb button can be pressed in order to simultaneously eject a tip platform along with the lancing needle, and can be turned in order to set the depth at which the lancing needle will pierce the fingertip when the device is fired.

Abstract: A novel stent compression instrument is used for holding a stent therein during shipping to a hospital and for thereafter crimping the stent onto a balloon catheter. The stent compression instrument includes a body having a central bore; a flexible diaphragm having an axial lumen and mounted within the body central bore, thereby defining a chamber between the body and the diaphragm, and first and second sealing structures for providing seals at opposite ends of the chamber. The diaphragm is formed from a generally tubular, thin wall into which the stent is placed therein and is expandable under a negative pressure condition to expand within the body and compressible under pressure to crimp the stent onto a balloon catheter.

Abstract: A produce (e.g. fruits and vegetables) marking system is used to etch the skin of a piece of produce with an identifying mark. The first embodiment of the system uses a laser to emit a high intensity light beam to form the identifying mark. The second and third embodiments of the system use a dot matrix printer head. In the second embodiment, the pins of the printer head directly contact the produce skin to etch an area of the skin to form the identifying mark. In the third embodiment, a thermally conductive ribbon member is placed between the printer head and the produce. The pins of the printer head impact the ribbon member thereby forming a hot spot on the ribbon member, which in turn, etches the skin of the produce to form the identifying mark.

Abstract: An actuating mechanism and method for sequentially translating a sheath member relative to an elongate member such as a balloon catheter movably inserted through the sheath includes a coupling structure constructed to enable selectively coupling or uncoupling of a drive member to the sheath member in order to drive translation of the coupled sheath member in one or more translation increments and to enable uncoupling of the drive member following each of said increments of retraction.

Abstract: Disclosed is a novel aortic punch having a cutter on the end of a hollow body member. The hollow body member is slidable along a non-rotating shaft. On the end of the shaft is an anvil, and helical drive structure is provided between the hollow body member and the shaft or another non-rotating element adjacent the hollow body member. The helical drive structure comprises a flange receivable in a slot such that when a thumb button is pushed into a finger grip, the hollow body slides along, and rotates relative to, the shaft. This movement of the hollow body causes the cutter on the end of the hollow body to rotate relative to the anvil located on the end of the shaft as the cutter slides past the anvil. This rotation of the cutter provides that the aortic punch can be used to achieve a clean and accurate cut to the wall of an aorta during heart surgery.

Abstract: Actuating mechanism for rapidly and selectively moving a threaded screw and nut member combination into or out of threaded engagement, particularly for use of the screw as a control fluid plunger to pressurize angioplasty balloon catheters, or the like, which mechanism includes a housing and a threaded screw slideably displaceable through the housing, and a nut member having partial threads engageable and disengageable with the threaded screw structure. A carriage structure is secured to the nut structure and arranged to enable reversibly translating motion together with the nut member relative to the screw structure to enable the selectively threaded engageability of the partially threaded nut member with the screw structure.

Abstract: A method of marking the skin of a piece of produce with an identifying mark includes the steps of: providing a piece of produce; providing a laser which emits a high intensity light beam to mark the skin of the produce and which laser light beam can be controlled such that a depth of the mark formed on the skin is controlled; relatively moving the piece of produce and the laser; directing the laser light beam along a predetermined path along the produce skin which corresponds to the identifying mark to be applied on the produce skin; and controlling the depth the laser light beam impacts the produce skin such that identifying mark does not penetrate completely through the produce skin to the meat of the produce. Movement of the piece of produce is effected past the laser device while effecting movement of the laser device relative to the piece of produce.

Abstract: A lancet actuator device and mechanism for sequentially advancing and retracting a lancet blade include a housing having an opening for operating projection of the lancet blade. The actuator mechanism includes a drive spring structure insertably mounted in the housing and arranged to drive pivotal motion of the lancet blade including sequential thrusting of the blade from the housing aperture followed by immediate pivotally reverse retracting of the blade from the aperture into the housing as the spring deengerizes.

Abstract: A syringe instrument for particular use in medical balloon inflation procedures comprises a fluid chamber and a plunger arranged to displace fluid from the chamber for delivery to inflate the balloon, and incorporates control structure arranged to provide a series of releasible space limits for respective displacements of the plunger within the chamber. The control structure allows the fluid in the chamber to be pressurized at selective predetermined pressure levels governed by the releasable limits for the plunger displacements. A reverse drive structure is provided for reverse-displacement of the plunger from the fluid chamber to enable self-aspiration of fluid into the chamber from the balloon in order to simplify balloon deflation and removal from the patient. The reverse drive structure is manually activated with the same hand which depresses the plunger, for single handed operation of both the forward and reverse plunger motions.

Abstract: A coagulation timer device is used to monitor the bleeding time of a patient to determine the amount of time required to achieve clotting. The coagulation timer device includes a carrier member, a linearly oriented absorbing medium which is affixed to the carrier member and a bag member which overlays the carrier member and the medium. The medium, such as filter paper or the like, is used to blot blood from an incision which has been formed through the skin. The medium is affixed to the carrier member and includes a plurality of segments each of which are defined by a scalloped edge portion which extends beyond the edges of the carrier member. The segments are used one at a time at predetermined intervals to blot the blood by touching the scalloped edge to the blood.

Abstract: A needle connector assembly for attachment to an IV receptacle which includes a needle hub with a cannula or needle attached thereto and a housing to which the needle hub is mounted. The hub has a plurality of equi-spaced splines thereon and the housing has an aperture in the rear portion thereof defining a plurality of equi-spaced slots therein which mate with the splines when the hub and the housing are secured together. Along the length of the interchangeable splines and slots, an inwardly projecting, one-way barb is provided which has an inclined or cam surface at its leading edge. When the hub is inserted into the housing, the needle is completely surrounded by the housing and the barbs bite into the adjacent material to preclude withdrawal of the hub from the housing. The housing and the receptacle may interlock with each other at a patient IV site to secure the housing to the receptacle.

Abstract: A coagulation timer device is used to monitor the bleeding time of a patient to determine the amount of time required to achieve clotting. The coagulation timer device includes a carrier member, a linearly oriented absorbing medium which is affixed to the carrier member and a bag member which overlays the carrier member and the medium. The medium, such as filter paper or the like, is used to blot blood from an incision which has been formed through the skin. The medium is affixed to the carrier member and includes a plurality of segments each of which are defined by a scalloped edge portion which extends beyond the edges of the carrier member. The segments are used one at a time at predetermined intervals to blot the blood by touching the scalloped edge to the blood.

Abstract: An actuator device for propulsion of a needle assembly particularly employed for tissue sampling procedures includes a movable drive structure for propelling tissue sampling displacement of the needle assembly and a cocking structure arranged to reverse the displacement of the drive structure after the needle propulsion. A trigger structure in the actuator device cooperates with the drive structure to selectively activate the needle propulsion, and the trigger structure comprises a retention mechanism for releasably restraining the propulsion. The trigger structure also includes safety lock structure which releasably locks the activation restraint by the retention mechanism, and the cocking structure has release structure for unlocking the restraint by the retention mechanism to selectively allow operation of the trigger structure to activate propulsion by the drive structure.

Abstract: An actuator mechanism and assembly for sequentially advancing and retracting a lancet needle includes a housing having an opening for operating projection of the needle. Two guide tracks are provided within the housing for guiding separate motions of a two-part needle holder structure propelled by a drive spring, and the needle itself is smoothly guided along one of the tracks to advance and thrust the needle into a tissue penetration position immediately followed by automatic retraction along the same highly accurate linear path.