2645 results about "Anatomical structures" patented technology

Self-expandable, woven intravascular devices for use as stents (both straight and tapered), filters (both temporary and permanent) and occluders for insertion and implantation into a variety of anatomical structures. The devices may be formed from shape memory metals such as nitinol. The devices may also be formed from biodegradable materials. Delivery systems for the devices include two hollow tubes that operate coaxially. A device is secured to the tubes prior to the implantation and delivery of the device by securing one end of the device to the outside of the inner tube and by securing the other end of the device to the outside of the outer tube. The stents may be partially or completely covered by graft materials, but may also be bare. The devices may be formed from a single wire. The devices may be formed by either hand or machine weaving. The devices may be created by bending shape memory wires around tabs projecting from a template, and weaving the ends of the wires to create the body of the device such that the wires cross each other to form a plurality of angles, at least one of the angles being obtuse. The value of the obtuse angle may be increased by axially compressing the body.

A suture and needle combination is disclosed for use during surgical and non-surgical procedures comprising a suture needle 16 with a breakaway tip 20, insertable tip 24 or reusable tip 32. Suture 10 passes freely through hollow needle 16 after a user removes needle tip (20,24, or 32) during use. This suture needle combination reduces the amount of room needed within a surgical site, reduces the length of needle 16 needed to exit tissue (for example) while suturing, and decreased trauma to at risk anatomical structures during a surgical procedure or other use.

A tubular sleeve is provided for enabling a physician to impart a preselected shape in an implantable tubular device, such as a cardiac lead, a catheter, or some other tubular structure. The sleeve may be deformed by the surgeon before or at the time of implantation to customize the shape of the tubular device to the particular anatomical structures to be encountered by the device. To retain the deformation imparted by the physician, the sleeve may be composed of a heat-sensitive shape-memory material or an elastomeric material provided with a plastically deformable rib.

Self-expandable, woven intravascular devices for use as stents (both straight and tapered), filters (both temporary and permanent) and occluders for insertion and implantation into a variety of anatomical structures. The devices may be formed from shape memory metals such as nitinol. The devices may also be formed from biodegradable materials. Delivery systems for the devices include two hollow tubes that operate coaxially. A device is secured to the tubes prior to the implantation and delivery of the device by securing one end of the device to the outside of the inner tube and by securing the other end of the device to the outside of the outer tube. The stents may be partially or completely covered by graft materials, but may also be bare. The devices may be formed from a single wire. The devices may be formed by either hand or machine weaving. The devices may be created by bending shape memory wires around tabs projecting from a template, and weaving the ends of the wires to create the body of the device such that the wires cross each other to form a plurality of angles, at least one of the angles being obtuse. The value of the obtuse angle may be increased by axially compressing the body.

Disclosed is a surgical needle, or active cannula, that is capable of following a complex path through cavities and tissue within a patient's anatomy. The needle has a plurality of overlapping flexible tubes, each of which has a pre-formed curvature and a pre-determined flexibility. Each of the plurality of flexible tubes is selected based on their respective preformed curvature and flexibility so that a given overlap configuration causes the combination of overlapping flexible tubes to form a predetermined shape that substantially matches a desired path through the anatomy. By individually controlling the translation and angular orientation of each of the flexible tubes, the surgical needle may be guided through the anatomy according to the desired path.

Sinusitis and other disorders of the ear, nose and throat are diagnosed and / or treated using minimally invasive approaches with flexible or rigid instruments. Various methods and devices are used for remodeling or changing the shape, size or configuration of a sinus ostium or duct or other anatomical structure in the ear, nose or throat; implanting a device, cells or tissues; removing matter from the ear, nose or throat; delivering diagnostic or therapeutic substances or performing other diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Introducing devices (e.g., guide catheters, tubes, guidewires, elongate probes, other elongate members) may be used to facilitate insertion of working devices (e.g. catheters e.g. balloon catheters, guidewires, tissue cutting or remodeling devices, devices for implanting elements like stents, electrosurgical devices, energy emitting devices, devices for delivering diagnostic or therapeutic agents, substance delivery implants, scopes etc.) into the paranasal sinuses or other structures in the ear, nose or throat.

Methods and apparatus for treating disorders of the ear, nose, throat or paranasal sinuses, including methods and apparatus for dilating ostia, passageways and other anatomical structures, endoscopic methods and apparatus for endoscopic visualization of structures within the ear, nose, throat or paranasal sinuses, navigation devices for use in conjunction with image guidance or navigation system and hand held devices having pistol type grips and other handpieces.

Bone anchors, methods for deploying anchors, and systems for attaching ligaments and tendons to bone are disclosed. The bone anchors of the present invention are operative to remain firmly positioned within a target site of bone and provide means for selectively adjusting the degree of tension to one or more sutures secured thereto. The bone anchors are further operative to be utilized to connect tendons and ligaments directly to bone, as well as may be selectively utilized to adjustably position an implant or other anatomical structure held thereby. There is further disclosed methods for deploying a bone anchor utilizing a blind procedure that is expeditious, accurate and substantially less traumatic than prior art bone deployment techniques.

Valve prosthesis systems and methods / systems for placement of such valve prostheses are provided that facilitate efficient, reliable and minimally invasive delivery modalities. The placement systems and methods permit remote manipulation and positioning of the valve prosthesis such that desirable placement relative to anatomical structures, e.g., the heart annulus, may be achieved. The valve prosthesis includes a resilient ring, a plurality of leaflet membranes mounted with respect to the resilient ring, and a plurality of positioning elements movably mounted with respect to the flexible ring. The delivery system includes a first elongate element that terminates at the valve prosthesis and is manipulable by an operator to remotely rotate the positioning elements relative to the flexible ring. A second elongate element terminates at the valve prosthesis and is manipulable by an operator to remotely advance the valve prosthesis downward into an anatomical annulus. The second elongate element may be manipulated to remotely advance the valve prosthesis into the anatomical annulus to assume a position for supporting post-implantation function of the valve prosthesis in situ. The first elongate element may be further manipulated to remotely rotate the positioning element relative to the flexible ring to cause the positioning element to engage tissue associated with the anatomical annulus and to thereby maintain the post-implantation position of the valve prosthesis in situ. Methods for valve prosthesis deployment are also provided.

Devices, systems and methods for compressing, cutting, incising, reconfiguring, remodeling, attaching, repositioning, supporting, dislocating or altering the composition of tissues or anatomical structures to alter their positional or force relationship to other tissues or anatomical structures. In some applications, the invention may be used to used to improve patency or fluid flow through a body lumen or cavity (e.g., to limit constriction of the urethra by an enlarged prostate gland).

Sinusitis and other disorders of the ear, nose and throat are diagnosed and / or treated using minimally invasive approaches with flexible or rigid instruments. Various methods and devices are used for remodeling or changing the shape, size or configuration of a sinus ostium or duct or other anatomical structure in the ear, nose or throat; implanting a device, cells or tissues; removing matter from the ear, nose or throat; delivering diagnostic or therapeutic substances or performing other diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Introducing devices (e.g., guide catheters, tubes, guidewires, elongate probes, other elongate members) may be used to facilitate insertion of working devices (e.g. catheters e.g. balloon catheters, guidewires, tissue cutting or remodeling devices, devices for implanting elements like stents, electrosurgical devices, energy emitting devices, devices for delivering diagnostic or therapeutic agents, substance delivery implants, scopes etc.) into the paranasal sinuses or other structures in the ear, nose or throat. Specific devices (e.g., tubular guides, guidewires, balloon catheters, tubular sheaths) are provided as are methods for manufacturing and using such devices to treat disorders of the ear, nose or throat.

An implantable device is provided for controlling shape and / or size of an anatomical structure or lumen. The implantable device has an adjustable member configured to adjust the dimensions of the implantable device. The implantable device is housed in a catheter and insertable from a minimally invasive surgical entry. An adjustment tool actuates the adjustable member and provide for adjustment before, during or after the anatomical structure or lumen resumes near normal to normal physiologic function.

Surgical systems for less invasive access to and isolation of an atrial appendage are provided. A suturing grasper compresses soft tissue structures and deploys one or more sutures through complimentary pledget(s) carried by the grasper. The pledgets are reinforced, containing support members that define the profile of the stitch and distribute stresses applied by the stitch, once tightened, over a length of tissue. This hardware may be applicable to other surgical and catheter based applications as well including: compressing soft tissue structures lung resections and volume reductions; gastric procedures associated with reduction in volume, aneurysm repair, vessel ligation, or other procedure involving isolation of, resection of, and reduction of anatomic structures.

A surgical implant is provided that includes first and second abutment surfaces between which are positioned a force imparting mechanism. A sheath is positioned between the first and second abutment surfaces, and surrounds the force imparting mechanism. The sheath is fabricated from a material that accommodates relative movement of the abutment members, while exhibiting substantially inert behavior relative to surrounding anatomical structures. The sheath is generally fabricated from expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, a copolymer of polycarbonate and a urethane, or a blend of a polycarbonate and a urethane. The force imparting member may include one or more springs, e.g., a pair of nested springs. The surgical implant may be a dynamic spine stabilizing member that is advantageously incorporated into a spine stabilization system to offer clinically efficacious results.

A medical robotic system provides 3D telestration over a 3D view of an anatomical structure by receiving a 2D telestration graphic input associated with one of a pair of stereoscopic images of the anatomical structure from a mentor surgeon, determining a corresponding 2D telestration graphic input in the other of the pair of stereoscopic images using a disparity map, blending the telestration graphic inputs into respective ones of the pair of stereoscopic images, and providing the blended results to a 3D display so that a 3D view of the telestration graphic input may be displayed as an overlay to a 3D view of the anatomical structure to an operating surgeon.

An apparatus for treating a hollow anatomical structure comprises an implant comprising a plurality of bioabsorbable fibers. The implant has a compressed state in which the implant can fit within a cylindrical tube having an inside diameter of 8 French or less. The implant is expandable from the compressed state to an expanded state in which the implant has sufficient size to span the inside diameter of a cylindrical tube having an inside diameter of 12 French or greater.

An implantable device system for controlling the dimensions of internal anatomic passages corrects physiologic dysfunctions resulting from a structural lumen which is either too large or too small. Implantable devices are disclosed which employ various mechanisms for adjusting and maintaining the size of an orifice to which they are attached. Systems permit the implants to be implanted using minimally invasive procedures and permit final adjustments to the dimensions of the implants after the resumption of normal flow of anatomic fluids in situ.

Valve prostheses are disclosed that are adapted for secure and aligned placement relative to a heart annulus. The valve prostheses may be placed in a non-invasive manner, e.g., via transcatheter techniques. The valve prosthesis may include a resilient ring, a plurality of leaflet membranes mounted with respect to the resilient ring, and a plurality of positioning elements movably mounted with respect to the flexible ring. Each of the positioning elements defines respective proximal, intermediate, and distal tissue engaging regions cooperatively configured and dimensioned to simultaneously engage separate corresponding areas of the tissue of an anatomical structure, including respective first, second, and third elongate tissue-piercing elements. The proximal, distal, and intermediate tissue-engaging regions are cooperatively configured and dimensioned to simultaneously engage separate corresponding areas of the tissue of an anatomical structure so as to stabilize a position of the valve prosthesis with respect to the anatomical structure, including wherein for purposes of so simultaneously engaging the separate corresponding areas of tissue, at least one of the first, second, and third elongate tissue-piercing elements is pointed at least partially opposite the direction of blood flow, and at least another thereof is pointed at least partially along the direction of blood flow. The valve prosthesis may also include a skirt mounted with respect to the resilient ring for sealing a periphery of the valve prosthesis against a reverse flow of blood around the valve prosthesis.

An automated method and / or system for identifying suspected lesions in a brain is provided. A processor (a) provides a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of a patient's head, including a plurality of slices of the patient's head, which MRI comprises a multispectral data set that can be displayed as an image of varying pixel intensities. The processor (b) identifies a brain area within each slice to provide a plurality of masked images of intracranial tissue. The processor (c) applies a segmentation technique to at least one of the masked images to classify the varying pixel intensities into separate groupings, which potentially correspond to different tissue types. The processor (d) refines the initial segmentation into the separate groupings of at least the first masked image obtained from step (c) using one or more knowledge rules that combine pixel intensities with spatial relationships of anatomical structures to locate one or more anatomical regions of the brain. The processor (e) identifies, if present, the one or more anatomical regions of the brain located in step (d) in other masked images obtained from step (c). The processor (f) further refines the resulting knowledge rule-refined images from steps (d) and (e) to locate suspected lesions in the brain.

An access and cannulation device includes a mounting element such as the anastomosis mounting element disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 08 / 714,615 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,763) and U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 200,796. The device is used to provide access therethrough and via an incision to the interior of a hollow anatomical structure such as a vessel, an organ or the like during surgery, especially minimally invasive surgery. It includes a flexible sleeve with a suture therein for closing the sleeve and locating edges of the structure adjacent to the incision in position for proper healing after completion of a surgical procedure. A tool is also disclosed for manipulating the device to configure it for the surgery and to close it after completion of the surgery whereby the edges of the wall of the structure adjacent to an incision are approximated to promote proper healing.

The present invention provides video and audio assisted surgical techniques and methods. Novel features of the techniques and methods provided by the present invention include presenting a surgeon with a video compilation that displays an endoscopic-camera derived image, a reconstructed view of the surgical field (including fiducial markers indicative of anatomical locations on or in the patient), and / or a real-time video image of the patient. The real-time image can be obtained either with the video camera that is part of the image localized endoscope or with an image localized video camera without an endoscope, or both. In certain other embodiments, the methods of the present invention include the use of anatomical atlases related to pre-operative generated images derived from three-dimensional reconstructed CT, MRI, x-ray, or fluoroscopy. Images can furthermore be obtained from pre-operative imaging and spacial shifting of anatomical structures may be identified by intraoperative imaging and appropriate correction performed.

A method for stimulating a particular area of a brain using a stimulation device includes detecting a spatial structure of a head and determining electrical and / or magnetic properties of at least one part of anatomical structures of the head. An energy amount to be provided by the stimulation device for stimulating the particular area of the brain is calculated automatically based on the spatial structure of the head and the determined electrical and / or magnetic properties of at least one part of the anatomical structures of the head.

A virtual interactive environment enables a surgeon or other medical professional to manipulate implants, prostheses, or other instruments using patient-specific data from virtual reality models. The patient data includes a combination of volumetric data, surface data, and fused images from various sources (e.g., CT, MRI, x-ray, ultrasound, laser interferometry, PET, etc.). The patient data is visualized to permit a surgeon to manipulate a virtual image of the patient's anatomy, the implant, or both, until the implant is ideally positioned within the virtual model as the surgeon would position a physical implant in actual surgery. Thus, the interactive tools can simulate changes in an anatomical structure (e.g., bones or soft tissue), and their effects on the external, visual appearance of the patient. CAM software is executed to fabricate the implant, such that it is customized for the patient without having to modify the structures during surgery or to produce a better fit.

A system and method for developing customized apparatus for use in one or more surgical procedures is disclosed. The system and method incorporates a patient's unique anatomical features or morphology, which may be derived from capturing MRI data or CT data, to fabricate at least one custom apparatus. According to a preferred embodiment, the customized apparatus comprises a plurality of complementary surfaces based on a plurality of data points from the MRI or CT data. Thus, each apparatus may be matched in duplicate and oriented around the patient's own anatomy, and may further provide any desired axial alignments or insertional trajectories. In an alternate embodiment, the apparatus may further be aligned with at least one other apparatus used during the surgical procedure.

An implantable device system for controlling the dimensions of internal anatomic passages corrects physiologic dysfunctions resulting from a structural lumen which is either too large or too small. Implantable devices are disclosed which employ various mechanisms for adjusting and maintaining the size of an orifice to which they are attached. Systems permit the implants to be implanted using minimally invasive procedures and permit final adjustments to the dimensions of the implants after the resumption of normal flow of anatomic fluids in situ.