Abstract: A stent (32) configured to be placed in a body lumen and having a tubular shape formed by a structure that is expandable and contractible skeleton (18, 19) in a radial direction, the skeleton (18, 19) having a heteromorphic structure due to changes of a cross section shape thereof in a thickness direction. A stent (10) that is expandable and contractible in the radial direction while being configured to be placed in a body lumen, the stent (10) having a heteromorphic tubular shape, a cross section shape of which changes in a lengthwise direction, and having a metal skeleton (18, 19) formed by at least one of electroforming and etching.

Abstract: A piezoelectric pump is provided with an actuator containing a piezoelectric element and a vibrating sheet; a first diaphragm, positioned opposite the actuator, with a first connecting hole provided therein; a pump chamber formed by the space between the actuator and the first diaphragm; and a second diaphragm positioned opposite the first diaphragm. The part of the second diaphragm opposite the first connecting hole is provided with an opposing wall portion that prevents a fluid that has been introduced into the pump chamber via the first connecting hole from flowing back towards a suction side via the first connecting hole.

Abstract: A diaphragm pump for achieving reduced pressure ripple of an exhausted gas is provided. The diaphragm pump is a pump for transporting a gas in accordance with change in volume of a pump chamber, and the diaphragm pump includes an exhaust valve permitting flow of the gas that flows out of the pump chamber and prohibiting a flow thereof in a reverse direction, an air chamber in which the gas that has flowed out of the pump chamber through the exhaust valve flows, an exhaust port through which the gas is exhausted to the outside of the diaphragm pump, and a through hole portion for restricting a flow rate of the gas that flows from the air chamber to the exhaust port.

Abstract: In a solenoid valve, a bobbin and a solenoid coil are accommodated in a casing. A rod-shaped plunger is slidably inserted into the bobbin. A core provided with a flow port through which a fluid flows is disposed on one side of the casing. A valve body is attached to one end opposing the flow port of the plunger. In a non-operating period during which a solenoid coil is in a non-energized state, the valve body moves away from the flow port due to the biasing force applied by the biasing portion and another end of the plunger protrudes outward from the casing through the through hole, abuts against lock portions disposed outside of the casing, and is thereby locked. The lock portions can be elastically deformed by an external force such that separation of the plunger and the valve body from the casing is allowed.

Abstract: A fluid concentration measuring device measures the concentration of a fluid flowing through a duct having a light-transmissive, deformable duct wall. The device includes a light source; a light receiving element which receives the light, which passed through the wall of the duct and the fluid inside the duct, and outputs a signal indicating the intensity of the light; light path distance setting means and fluid concentration output means which obtains a plurality of relational expressions, which indicate the relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration when the light from the light supply part is received by the light receiving part over each of the light path distances, and obtains the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part based on the relational expressions for the plurality of light path distances and outputs the fluid concentration.

Abstract: In a fluid control device, a check valve includes a first valve housing and a first diaphragm. The first diaphragm defines a first valve chamber and a second valve chamber. An exhaust valve includes a second valve housing and a second diaphragm. The second diaphragm defines a third valve chamber and a fourth valve chamber. The check valve is opened and closed by a difference in pressure between the first valve chamber and the second valve chamber. The exhaust valve is opened and closed by a difference in pressure between the third valve chamber and the fourth valve chamber.

Abstract: A cuff for a sphygmomanometer includes an air bladder for compressing a living body, an exterior cover including the air bladder, and a fixing unit arranged in the exterior cover. A portion closer to an end of the exterior cover is inserted between a roller arranged in the fixing unit and a stopper, and is fixed by being pushed against the roller by the stopper. The roller is rotatable only in a direction of reducing the size of the annular portion of the exterior cover. Accordingly, the cuff for the sphygmomanometer has a simple configuration, is inexpensively manufactured, and easily carries out and stably reproduces attachment with respect to the upper arm.

Abstract: A control amplitude and a control frequency of a voltage applied to a piezoelectric pump are determined, control is carried out so that a voltage at the determined control amplitude and control frequency is applied to the piezoelectric pump, and a blood pressure value is calculated based on a cuff pressure detected by a pressure detection unit during inflation when the cuff pressure is increased by the piezoelectric pump. The amplitude of the voltage is controlled in predetermined steps, and a voltage having an amplitude that is a value above the control amplitude by at least one step and a voltage having an amplitude that is a value below the control amplitude by at least one step are applied, in a predetermined order, so that the control is essentially the same as when a voltage at the determined control amplitude is applied.

Abstract: A sphygmomanometer cuff includes a fluid bag, a curved elastic member, a cushion material, and an outer package body. The fluid bag is arranged around an arm of a subject and compresses the arm. The curved elastic member is arranged to overlap an outer side of the fluid bag with respect to the arm, formed in a substantially tubular shape extending in a predetermined axial direction, and elastically deformable in a radial direction thereof. The cushion material is arranged at a position projecting from an end of the curved elastic member in the axial direction and more easily compression deformed than the curved elastic member. The outer package body accommodates the fluid bag, the curved elastic member, and the cushion material.

Abstract: A medical device made of an ester resin, such as a hollow-fiber-type blood treatment device, is put into a packaging material made of a gas-impermeable material, and, with at least a reducing gas, such as hydrogen gas, being further enclosed therein, the packaging material is hermetically sealed to provide a medical device package. The medical device package is exposed to radiation to sterilize the inside thereof. In the medical device package, an oxygen scavenger may be further enclosed. The reducing gas may be mixed with an inert gas and enclosed as a mixed gas. As a result, it becomes possible to effectively suppress the generation of by-products, such as acetic acid, from the ester resin.

Abstract: A blood pressure meter includes an adjustment unit that adjusts a pressure in a cuff by controlling a piezoelectric pump that uses a piezoelectric vibrator to supply fluid to the cuff, a driving control unit that gradually changes a cuff pressure by performing driving control on the adjustment unit, a pressure detection unit that detects the cuff pressure, a blood pressure determination unit that determines a blood pressure value, a circumferential length detection unit that detects a circumferential length of the measurement area, a battery that supplies power to various units, and a decrease detection unit that detects a voltage decrease value for the battery during blood pressure measurement. Based on the circumferential length and the voltage decrease value detected in an initial inflation period when the blood pressure measurement is first started, a range of the voltage decrease value during blood pressure measurement carried out thereafter is estimated.

Abstract: A flow control valve includes a bobbin around which a solenoid coil is wound, a plunger inserted into the bobbin so as to be capable of sliding, a core in which is provided an outflow port from which a fluid flows, a spring that biases the plunger in a direction away from the core, and a valve body incorporated into the plunger so as to be disposed facing the outflow port. During a non-operating state, the valve body is disposed at a first position distanced from the outflow port. During an operating state, the plunger is pulled toward the core against a biasing force of the spring, and is not in contact with the core when the valve body is at a second position in which the valve body blocks the outflow port.

Abstract: A piezoelectric pump is provided with an actuator containing a piezoelectric element and a vibrating sheet; a first diaphragm, positioned opposite the actuator, with a first connecting hole provided therein; a pump chamber formed by the space between the actuator and the first diaphragm; and a second diaphragm positioned opposite the first diaphragm. The part of the second diaphragm opposite the first connecting hole is provided with an opposing wall portion that prevents a fluid that has been introduced into the pump chamber via the first connecting hole from flowing back towards a suction side via the first connecting hole.

Abstract: A fluid control device includes a vibrating plate including a first main surface and a second main surface, a driver that is provided on the first main surface of the vibrating plate and vibrates the vibrating plate, and a plate that is provided on the second main surface of the vibrating plate and has a hole provided thereon. At least one of either the vibrating plate or the plate is positioned between the hole and a region of the vibrating plate facing the hole, and includes a projection projecting in a direction intermediate between the hole and the region of the vibrating plate facing the hole.

Abstract: In a fluid control device, a check valve includes a first valve housing and a first diaphragm. The first diaphragm defines a first valve chamber and a second valve chamber. An exhaust valve includes a second valve housing and a second diaphragm. The second diaphragm defines a third valve chamber and a fourth valve chamber. The check valve is opened and closed by a difference in pressure between the first valve chamber and the second valve chamber. The exhaust valve is opened and closed by a difference in pressure between the third valve chamber and the fourth valve chamber.

Abstract: An electrode pad for use on a living organism can measure an electrocardiographic signal without being hindered by body-motion noise. The electrode pad is attached to the skin of the living organism, detects an electrical signal, and supplies the electrical signal to an electrocardiograph. The electrode pad for use on a living organism is characterized by the provision of a mesh-like electrode that extends along the skin, a conductive gel sheet that is layered on top of the electrode and extends along the surface of the skin, and a soft protective sheet that covers the layered electrode and conductive gel sheet.

Abstract: In a fluid control device, a check valve includes a first valve housing and a first diaphragm. The first diaphragm defines a first valve chamber and a second valve chamber. An exhaust valve includes a second valve housing and a second diaphragm. The second diaphragm defines a third valve chamber and a fourth valve chamber. The check valve is opened and closed by a difference in pressure between the first valve chamber and the second valve chamber. The exhaust valve is opened and closed by a difference in pressure between the third valve chamber and the fourth valve chamber.

Abstract: A control amplitude and a control frequency of a voltage applied to a piezoelectric pump are determined, control is carried out so that a voltage at the determined control amplitude and control frequency is applied to the piezoelectric pump, and a blood pressure value is calculated based on a cuff pressure detected by a pressure detection unit during inflation when the cuff pressure is increased by the piezoelectric pump. The amplitude of the voltage is controlled in predetermined steps, and a voltage having an amplitude that is a value above the control amplitude by at least one step and a voltage having an amplitude that is a value below the control amplitude by at least one step are applied, in a predetermined order, so that the control is the same or essentially the same as when a voltage at the determined control amplitude is applied.

Abstract: A needle-less connector includes a housing having a drug solution flow path, and an elastic valve body. An end surface of the housing on a side of a tip end opening of the drug solution flow path constitutes a protruding support surface whose center section protrudes and slopes in a direction of a foot, and the elastic valve body is superposed onto the protruding support surface in a state of close contact therewith. Insertion of a male luer into a slit of the elastic valve body causes expanding deformation of the elastic valve body along the protruding support surface. A flexion section is formed on a sloped surface of the protruding support surface, and the sloped surface has different tilt angles on a foot section side and on a crest section side of the flexion section.