A method for forming a material in an in situ medical device by initiating polymerization of water soluble polymer precursors in an aqueous solution during or after transport of the polymerizable solution from its storage container to a space inside the in situ medical device is described. The stored aqueous solution with water soluble precursors lacks a free radical initiator which, in a powder form, is introduced into the aqueous solution during or after its transport into the space inside the in situ medical device. This storage and delivery system provides greater stability to the stored aqueous solution, allowing it to be stored at ambient temperature and providing extended shelf life over the solutions used in existing in situ polymerization systems. The flexibility to store and deliver/transport only one aqueous solution, instead of requiring the use of two different solutions, is also a benefit.

A viscoelastic composition is disclosed which comprises (a) tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane or a salt thereof; (b) a phosphate buffer agent; and (c) a viscoelastic agent having an average molecular weight of about 100 to about 5,000,000.

Disclosed are implantable glucose sensors having a biostable surface. The implantable glucose sensor includes a glucose detector and an enclosure defining a boundary between an internal space and an external space. The enclosure includes a semipermeable biointerface film containing a base polymer and a biostabilizing additive. The semipermeable biointerface film has a biostable surface and is permeable to glucose. The working electrode is disposed inside the internal space, and the biostable surface faces the external space or faces both the internal and the external spaces. Also disclosed are methods of preparation of the semipermeable biointerface films adapted for use in the implantable glucose sensors. Further, disclosed are methods of monitoring glucose levels in a subject through the use of an implantable glucose sensor. The implantable glucose sensor may be an implantable electrochemical glucose sensor, in which the glucose detector is a working electrode. Alternatively, the implantable glucose sensor may be an implantable optical glucose sensor, in which the glucose detector is a glucose recognition element including a glucose-binding fluorophore.

The present invention relates to methods for making wear and oxidation resistant polymeric materials by high temperature melting. The invention also provides methods of making medical implants containing cross-linked antioxidant-containing tough and ductile polymers and materials used therewith also are provided.

A vessel has an interior surface facing a lumen. The interior surface includes a tie coating or layer, a barrier coating or layer, and a pH protective coating or layer. The tie coating or layer can comprise SiO.sub.xC.sub.y or SiN.sub.xC.sub.y, where x is from about 0.5 to about 2.4 and y is from about 0.6 to about 3. The barrier coating or layer can comprise SiO.sub.x, wherein x is from 1.5 to 2.9. The barrier coating or layer reduces the ingress of atmospheric gas into the lumen. The pH protective coating or layer can comprise SiO.sub.xC.sub.y or SiN.sub.xC.sub.y, as well. In an embodiment, in the presence of a fluid composition contained in the lumen and having a pH between 5 and 9, the calculated shelf life of the package can be more than six months at a storage temperature of 4 C.

A hemostatic device is disclosed, which capable of favorably maintaining strength of an inflatable portion and reducing a pressing force acting on a site where bleeding is to be stopped over time to such an extent that vascular occlusion can be prevented without operation by a doctor or a nurse. The hemostatic device includes a band for wrapping around a wrist, a fastener or means for securing the band to the wrist in a wrapped state, and an inflatable portion connected to the band and inflated by being injected with a gas, in which the inflatable portion includes a resin layer made of a resin material, a particulate portion dispersed in the resin layer, and a space portion formed around the particulate portion. The space portion contains gas dispersed in the resin layer so as not to communicate between an inner surface and an outer surface of the resin layer.

A drug delivery implant and a method of using the same are disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the method includes forming a pocket in the cornea of the eye to gain access to tissue surrounding the pocket; applying a photosensitizer inside the pocket so the photosensitizer permeates at least a portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket and facilitates cross-linking of the tissue surrounding the pocket; irradiating the cornea to activate cross-linkers in the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket, and thereby stiffen a wall of the pocket and kill cells in the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket; and before or after the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket has been stiffened and is devoid of cellular elements by the activation of the cross-linkers, inserting a corneal drug delivery implant into the pocket configured to release one or more medications into the eye.

A method for preparing a highly elastic biodegradable three-dimensional structure and a highly elastic biodegradable three-dimensional structure obtained thereby, particularly, a method for preparing a three-dimensional structure maintains mechanical properties even after three-dimensional printing, by adding a biocompatible heat stabilizer to poly(L-lactide-co--caprolactone) and application of the three-dimensional structure to a scaffold for tissue engineering.

A method for forming a material in an in situ medical device by initiating polymerization of water soluble polymer precursors in an aqueous solution during or after transport of the polymerizable solution from its storage container to a space inside the in situ medical device is described. The stored aqueous solution with water soluble precursors lacks a free radical initiator which, in a powder form, is introduced into the aqueous solution during or after its transport into the space inside the in situ medical device. This storage and delivery system provides greater stability to the stored aqueous solution, allowing it to be stored at ambient temperature and providing extended shelf life over the solutions used in existing in situ polymerization systems. The flexibility to store and deliver/transport only one aqueous solution, instead of requiring the use of two different solutions, is also a benefit.

Disclosed are an absorbable iron-based alloy implanted medical device (1) and preparation method thereof. The device (1) comprises an iron-based alloy base (11), a degradable polymer (13) arranged on the surface of the iron-based alloy base, and an alkaline protector (12) arranged on the surface of the iron-based alloy base. The alkaline protector (12) contains at least one alkaline substance capable of neutralizing the acidic substance produced by the polymer at the early stage after the device is implanted to delay the corrosion of the iron-based alloy base (1) in the early stage of implantation, hence the iron-based alloy base (12) would not substantially corrode or would corrode slowly, clinically satisfying the mechanical properties and requirements of the device (1) in the early stage of implantation; and in the meantime, after the neutralization and consumption of the alkaline protector (12) exposes the base (11), the base (11) can still accelerate the corrosion speed thereof in the acidic environment formed by the polymer (13), so as to clinically satisfy the requirement of the corrosion cycle of the device (1) at the same time.