The present invention provides a system for enriching a flowing liquid with a dissolved gas inside a conduit. The system comprises two or more capillaries, each capillary delivering a stream of a gas-enriched liquid to the flowing liquid. The first ends of the capillaries are positioned to form an intersecting angle with respect to the effluent streams such that these streams of gas-enriched liquid collide with each other upon exit from the first ends of the capillaries, effecting localized convective mixing within the larger liquid conduit before these gas-enriched streams are able to come into close contact with the boundary surfaces of the conduit, whereby the gas-enriched liquid mixes with the flowing liquid to form a gas-enriched flowing liquid. In the preferred embodiment, no observable bubbles are formed in the gas-enriched flowing liquid. Methods of making and using such system are also provided.

An enhanced flexibility catheter shaft having an elongate flexible body with a proximal end, a distal end, and at least one lumen extending therethrough. A distal, flexible section on the body has a ribbed or corrugated tubular membrane having at least a first reinforcement structure, such as a first helical support, on a radially exterior or interior surface of the tubular membrane and optionally a second reinforcement structure, such as a second helical support, on the other of the radially interior or exterior surface of the tubular membrane.

A catheter includes a hollow shaft having a tip part decreasing in diameter in a direction of a distal end, and a coil body covering the hollow shaft. The tip part has a small diameter portion, a large diameter portion, and a tapered portion gradually increasing in diameter from the small diameter portion toward the large diameter portion. The coil body has a substantially cylindrical joint part at which an end portion of the coil body in the direction of the distal end is joined in the circumferential direction. The joint part is located over the tapered portion and/or the small diameter portion, and in a state in which the hollow shaft extends substantially linearly, the distance between an inner peripheral surface of the joint part and outer peripheral surfaces of the tapered portion and/or the small diameter portion increases in the direction of the distal end.

The present disclosure illustrates an introducer sheath with a partially annealed metal frame. The introducer sheaths described herein include a hub coupled to a shaft. The shaft comprises a braided wire frame with (i) an annealed distal portion that prevents the braided wire frame from unraveling at a distal end, and (ii) a second portion that is unannealed; a jacket encompassing the braided wire frame; and a liner forming an inner wall.

The inventive method for manufacturing a medical device having a shuttle mold system mounted in a vertical injection molding machine, the shuttle mold system having a top section and two bottom sections, with the two bottom sections mounted 180 degrees from each other on a rotating table and the top section mounted in a fixed position above the rotating table, and where after molding, the table rotates 180 degrees for removal of parts and inserting fixtures for the next device manufacture cycle.

This disclosure describes microfabricated intravascular devices that are configured for high axial strength while also maintaining effective bending flexibility. A tube member includes a series of circumferentially extending rings connected to one another by a series of axially extending beams. Transverse cuts separate and define the rings. A series of axial cuts are aligned with the beams and extend from the beams partially into the adjoining rings so that the beam length is nested partially within the axial length of the adjoining rings. This increases the functional length of the beams to provide bending flexibility while still sufficient ring structure to provide effective axial stiffness.

Ablation systems of the present disclosure facilitate the safe formation of wide and deep lesions. For example, ablation systems of the present disclosure can allow for the flow of irrigation fluid and blood through an expandable ablation electrode, resulting in efficient and effective cooling of the ablation electrode as the ablation electrode delivers energy at a treatment site of the patient. Additionally, or alternatively, ablation systems of the present disclosure can include a deformable ablation electrode and a plurality of sensors that, in cooperation, sense the deformation of the ablation electrode, to provide a robust indication of the extent and direction of contact between the ablation electrode and tissue at a treatment site.

A non-coring needle for use in accessing an implanted medical device is disclosed. The non-coring needle is configured to include a compact bevel face relative to standard non-coring needles. In one embodiment, the non-coring needle comprises a hollow cannula that defines a lumen and terminates at a sharpened distal tip. The cannula includes a proximal portion and a bent distal portion. The distal portion defines a bevel face extending proximally from the distal tip, and the bevel face includes the lumen distal opening. The bevel face defines an open angle of at least about one degree with respect to a longitudinal axis of the proximal portion of the cannula. The bevel face is also laterally offset from the proximal portion of the cannula by an offset distance of no more than about 0.010 inch. A portion of the bevel face is dulled to prevent access port septum coring.

A dual tip dialysis catheter has a proximal portion with connected lumens and a distal portion with diverging lumens. The lumens may separate at a split junction and diverge in a scissors like manner to reduce or eliminate a crack or gap adjacent to the split junction, thereby reducing clotting. A dual tip dialysis catheter may have forward openings configured to direct flow in opposite directions.

A system can include a needle that includes a distal tip configured to be inserted into a vessel of a patient, the needle defining an outer surface. The system can further include a catheter that includes a distal end and an inner surface that defines a lumen within which a portion of the needle is positioned, the distal tip of the needle being at a position that is distal to the distal end of the catheter, the catheter further comprising a catching region of reduced diameter that extends inwardly at the distal end of the catheter. The system can include a longitudinally extending stiffener positioned between the outer surface of the needle and the inner surface of the catheter, the stiffener including a distal end that engages the catching region of the catheter when the catheter and the stiffener are inserted distally into the vessel of the patient over the needle, the stiffener being configured to disengage from the catheter and translate proximally relative thereto to leave the catheter positioned within the vessel of the patient as the stiffener is withdrawn from the catheter in a proximal direction.