A spacer for creating a docking station for a transcatheter heart valve is provided. The spacer changes an effective diameter and/or a shape of an implanted bioprosthetic structure such as a bioprosthetic heart valve or annuloplasty ring, providing a supporting structure into which the transcatheter valve expands without over expanding. The spacer may be deployed through an interventional technique either through transseptal access, transfemoral access, or transapical access and is typically deployed at least in part on an inflow portion of the implanted bioprosthetic structure.

A method of inserting a stent includes inserting a unitary, monolithic catheter assembly into a cardiac artery. The catheter assembly includes a body having a proximal end and a distal end, a distal balloon mounted on the distal end, and a proximal balloon mounted on the body, proximally of the distal balloon. A balloon expandable stent is mounted on the distal balloon. The method further includes the steps of advancing the catheter assembly to a blockage in the artery until the distal balloon and the stent both extend across the blockage; inflating the distal balloon and expanding the stent; deflating the distal balloon; advancing the catheter body distally until the proximal balloon extends within the stent; expanding the proximal balloon to post-dilate the stent; deflating the proximal balloon; and withdrawing the catheter body from the artery.

This document discusses, among other things, an apparatus comprising a lacrimal implant insertable at least partially into a lacrimal punctum. The lacrimal implant comprises an implant core, and an implant body. The implant body includes a cavity sized and shaped to receive the implant core. At least one of the implant core and the implant cavity includes a detection device configured to allow automatic detection of the lacrimal implant with a separate detector device.

The present invention relates to miniature biosensor technology which can be directly embedded into medical device technology to create a new category of multifunctional smart medical devices. The resulting data from these smart medical devices results in wireless communication networks and standardized referenceable databases, which are used in the creation of best practice guidelines, clinical decision support tools, personalized medicine applications, and comparative technology assessment.

A stent graft delivery system includes a stent graft and a thermal stent graft cutter for shortening the stent graft to a desired length in vivo. The thermal stent graft cutter is coupled to at least one of a stent graft cover at a distal longitudinal end of a cover body thereof, and the inner lumen tip of an inner lumen. A safety system allows activation of the stent graft cutter only when the stent graft is suitably sandwiched between the inner lumen tip and the distal end of the stent graft cover to inhibit inadvertent activation of the cutter and provide for proper cutting of the stent graft.

An implantable fluid operated device may include a fluid reservoir configured to hold fluid, an inflatable member, and a pump assembly configured to transfer fluid between the fluid reservoir and the inflatable member. The pump assembly may include one or more fluid pumps and one or more valves. An electronic control system may control operation of the pump assembly based on fluid pressure measurements and/or fluid flow measurements received from the one or more sensing devices. The electronic control system may include an internal component installed with the implanted device, and an external component that is operable by a user to provide user input, and to receive output from the implanted device.

A prosthetic assembly for repairing a target tissue defect within a target vessel region configured includes an exclusion structure sized to substantially bypass target tissue defect, and includes a branch assembly. The branch assembly can include a self-expanding outer branch prosthesis having an inflow region configured to deform to a non-circular cross-sectional-shape when deployed, and a support structure at least partially disposed within the inflow region. The support structure preserves blood flow to the branch vessel while the deformed inflow region inhibits blood leakage between and/or around the prosthetic assembly.

A catheter (4) based medical system (1) and medical procedure for reducing cardiac valve regurgitation are disclosed. The system comprises a resilient curvilinear shaped annuloplasty implant (3) for reducing the size of a dilated annulus (18) of said valve for reducing said regurgitation having resilient anchoring elements (300), and a delivery device (2) for said annuloplasty implant (3) having a distal curvilinear shaped portion (200) that is hollow to mount said annuloplasty implant (3) and has an annular opening (201) arranged to be in apposition against an annulus (18) of said cardiac valve. A plurality of suction units allows for a atrial approach and symmetric implantation of said implant.

Systems, devices and methods for repairing a native heart valve. In one embodiment, a repair device for repairing a native mitral valve having an anterior leaflet and a posterior leaflet between a left atrium and a left ventricle comprises a support having a contracted configuration and an extended configuration. In the contracted configuration, the support is sized to be inserted under the posterior leaflet between a wall of the left ventricle and chordae tendineae. In the extended configuration, the support is configured to project anteriorly with respect to a posterior wall of the left ventricle by a distance sufficient to position at least a portion of the posterior leaflet toward the anterior leaflet.

A stent that includes a plurality of quill filaments. Each quill filament includes filament material, a surface, and a plurality of quills. Each quill has a tip, a body, and a base where the body extends from the base to the tip. The quill filaments can be interwoven to form the stent or the quill filaments can be engaged to the framework of a stent.