A dynamic balloon angioplasty system for applying a dynamic pressure to fracture hardened materials embedded within an elastic conduit. The system having a pressure source system outputting at least a first predetermined pressure from a pressure source outlet, and an angioplasty unit fluidly coupled to the pressure source outlet receiving at least the first predetermined pressure. The angioplasty unit having an angioplasty inflation device, an angioplasty balloon connector, and an oscillating mechanism selectively actuated to output a plurality of pressure pulses to the angioplasty balloon via a fluid communication path. A control system is configured to determine an optimal hydraulic pressure oscillation frequency and amplitude for a given procedure and output a control signal to the oscillating mechanism, and monitor a pressure signal to detect fracture of the hardened material within the elastic conduit or system failure or leakage.

Methods and devices that provide enhanced delivery of a composition to a body region of a patient utilizing radiofrequency energy include directing a first electrode and a second electrode coupled to a radiofrequency energy source to a location proximate to the body region. Radiofrequency energy is provided in modulated pulses from the radiofrequency energy source to the body region from at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode to provide a delivery condition configured to enhance delivery of the composition. The composition is delivered proximate to the body region using a composition delivery element. Devices for enhance composition delivery are also disclosed.

A clot removal device including an elongated member including a distal end; and an expandable frame including a proximal end, and one or more frame members including one or more pinching cells operable to be slidably and rotatably placed thereon, each of the pinching cells including a collapsed state within a microcatheter and an expanded state distal of the microcatheter configured to tweeze at least a portion of a clot.

An example cutting balloon is disclosed. The example cutting balloon includes an expandable member having an outer surface and longitudinal axis, a first cutting member disposed along the outer surface of the expandable member and a covering encapsulating the expandable member and the first cutting member.

A cutting balloon catheter including a balloon mounted on a distal portion of a catheter shaft. An expandable frame may be disposed over the balloon. The expandable frame may include a plurality of struts extending from a proximal end region to a distal end region. One or more cutting members may be secured to the expandable frame.

Various embodiments of the systems, methods and devices are provided for breaking up calcified lesions in an anatomical conduit More specifically, an electrical arc is generated between two spaced-apart electrodes disposed within a fluid-filled balloon, creating a subsonic pressure wave. In some embodiments, the electrodes comprise a plurality of points that allow the electrical arc to form at any one of the plurality of points to, among other things, extend the electrode life.

A system for breaking obstructions in body lumens includes a catheter including an elongated carrier, a balloon about the carrier in sealed relation thereto, the balloon being arranged to receive a fluid therein that inflates the balloon, and an arc generator including at least one electrode within the balloon that forms a mechanical shock wave within the balloon. The system further includes a power source that provides electrical energy to the arc generator.

A cage can be positioned around a medical balloon, such as an angioplasty balloon, to assist in a medical procedure. The cage can include a plurality of strips, each extending between a set of rings including first and second rings. As the balloon expands, the first and second rings move closer together and allow the strips to expand outward. The cage may have wedge dissectors on the strips.

Methods for performing non-invasive thrombolysis with ultrasound using, in some embodiments, one or more ultrasound transducers to focus or place a high intensity ultrasound beam onto a blood clot (thrombus) or other vascular inclusion or occlusion (e.g., clot in the dialysis graft, deep vein thrombosis, superficial vein thrombosis, arterial embolus, bypass graft thrombosis or embolization, pulmonary embolus) which would be ablated (eroded, mechanically fractionated, liquefied, or dissolved) by ultrasound energy. The process can employ one or more mechanisms, such as of cavitational, sonochemical, mechanical fractionation, or thermal processes depending on the acoustic parameters selected. This general process, including the examples of application set forth herein, is henceforth referred to as “Thrombolysis.”

Embodiments of the present invention comprise a fiber optic guidewire having a hypotube with a plurality of openings that provide variable stiffness and tracking characteristics between at least one proximal segment and one distal segment of the guidewire. In some embodiments, the guidewire further comprises a mandrel disposed within the hypotube, the mandrel cooperating with the optical fibers to permit the distal end of the hypotube to be shaped as desired by a user. Methods of manufacturing and using the guidewire are also disclosed.