A hysteroscopic fluid management system includes a saline source with an electrolyte concentration, at least one pressure mechanism for circulating saline to and from a targeted site and through a filter having filter characteristics back to the source, and a controller. The controller provides a saline inflow in a first flow path to the site and a saline outflow in a second flow path from the site through the filter and back to the source at a controlled flow rate. A diagnostic or therapeutic procedure is performed at the site in the presence of the saline. The filter characteristics and the controlled flow rate are selected to (1) cause substantially no change in the electrolyte concentration in the saline, (2) to prevent hemolysis of greater than 5% of filtered red blood cells exposed to the saline, and/or (3) to minimize effect on prothrombin time of plasma exposed to the filter.

The present invention provides dental amalgam recycling systems, useful for recycling particles from a dental liquid effluent drawn, for example, from a suctioning device.

Methods and devices are disclosed that enable safe, rapid and relatively short and straight access to the cerebral arteries for the introduction of interventional devices to treat acute ischemic stroke. In addition, the disclosed methods and devices provide means to securely close the access site to the cerebral arteries to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of a transcervical hematoma.

A method is provided that includes intranasally dispensing nasal wash fluid into a nasal cavity of a subject such that the nasal wash fluid washes biological material into an oropharynx of the subject from (a) the nasal cavity, (b) a nasopharynx of the subject, or (c) the nasal cavity and the nasopharynx. The method further includes, thereafter, collecting a specimen sample that passed out of an anterior opening of an oral cavity of the subject and contains at least a portion of the biological material washed into the oropharynx by the nasal wash fluid. Thereafter, information is derived from extracellular vesicles present in the specimen sample. Other embodiments are also described.

A disposable thrombectomy maceration and aspiration system for macerating and aspirating thrombus or other obstructive material in a lumen of a vascular graft or vessel. The system includes three major components: a disposable integrated aspiration pump and fluid collection device for generating aspiration vacuum pressure and collecting macerated particulate, a disposable integrated thrombectomy and aspiration apparatus removably coupled to the device configured to macerate the thrombus with a motor powered maceration wire while including an aspiration pathway for aspirating the macerated particulate into the device, and a catheter removably coupled to the apparatus and covering a portion of the maceration wire for insertion into the patient to the thrombus site. The catheter is of sufficient size to allow the macerated particulate to be aspirated from a distal opening through the catheter and apparatus before being deposited into the fluid collection compartment of the device.

A medical fluid treatment system includes a source of purified water; at least one concentrate for mixing with the water from the source to form a treatment fluid; a disposable set including a pumping portion, a concentrate line in fluid communication with the concentrate source and the pumping portion, and a patient line in fluid communication with the pumping portion, the patient line including a filter having a membrane configured to filter the treatment fluid, the filter configured such that (i) fresh treatment fluid flowing from the pumping portion towards a patient flows through the membrane and (ii) used treatment fluid flowing through the filter from the patient to the pumping portion bypasses the membrane; and a medical fluid delivery machine including a pump actuator operable with the pumping portion of the disposable set.

This invention pertains to systems and components useful for infusing medications such as insulin. Typically, the components are used to deliver insulin to a diabetic patient at a site of infusion over a period of time greater than 4 days. The system components typically comprise a cannula adapted for subcutaneous insertion into a diabetic patient. The system further comprises a fluid conduit adapted to deliver the insulin solution from a medication reservoir to the site of infusion and a depot in operable contact with the fluid conduit. The depot comprises selected materials including a site-loss mitigating agent (such as heparin) which inhibits inflammation at the site of infusion, and encapsulation of the cannula at the site of infusion. The site-loss mitigating agent is not premixed with the insulin, and instead is adapted to contact the insulin solution in the depot as the insulin solution flows from the medication reservoir to the site of infusion.

Oxygen concentrator apparatus provides variation in therapy gas during a breathing cycle such as by varying flow rate and/or oxygen purity of enriched air. The apparatus may include a compressor and a valve set that operates sieve bed(s) for the enriching air and to vent exhaust gas from the bed(s). The therapy gas may include released enriched air and exhaust gas. The apparatus has a supply valve to selectively release enriched air from an accumulator via a primary path to a delivery conduit. The apparatus may include a secondary path, such as with a valve, to release a portion of exhaust gas to the delivery conduit. A controller actuates the valve set to produce the enriched air, and the supply valve to release enriched air to the delivery conduit. The controller may actuate the secondary valve in anti-sync with the supply valve to release exhaust gas to the delivery conduit.

A respiratory conduit has a hollow tube having an inlet, an outlet, a longitudinal axis, and defining a fluid flow path. Along at least a length of the tube, an outer surface of the tube has alternate ridges and grooves. The respiratory conduit also has a sheath surrounding at least a portion of the length of the tube, the sheath has alternate attachment portions and bridging portions. The attachment portions contact the ridges of the tube. The bridging portions extend across the grooves of the tube. Each bridging portion has a span length being the distance in the longitudinal direction between adjacent attachment portions, and a depth being the maximum distance in a radial direction between a point on the bridging portion and a point on one of the adjoining attachment portions. The depth of the bridging portion is greater than zero.

IV filters are described herein. An IV filter includes a filter housing, a filter media, a filter channel, a priming channel, and a disk valve. The filter housing defines an inlet and an outlet. The filter media is disposed within the filter housing. The filter channel is disposed within the filter housing. The filter channel is in fluid communication with the inlet and the filter media, and the filter media permits flow from the filter channel to the outlet and captures particulate from the flow. The priming channel is disposed within the filter housing. The priming channel is in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet. The disk valve is coupled to the filter housing. The disk valve is moveable to direct flow from the inlet to the priming channel in a first position and to direct flow from the inlet to the filter channel in a second position.