A medical device may comprise: a handle including an actuator, an end container configured to be coupled to a distal end of another medical device, the end container including a cavity including a movable portion, at least one channel, and a distal opening; a control element coupling the actuator to the movable portion of the end container. A proximal movement of the actuator may move the movable portion of the end container proximally within the cavity of the end container. The cavity may be configured to hold a fluid, and the proximal movement of the movable portion is configured to apply a compressive force to the fluid so that the fluid is expelled distally through the distal opening.

Infusion devices and methods are provided for a drug delivery system and can include an infusion needle (1) having a tip end (2) and a drive unit (D) coupled to the infusion needle and arranged for advancing the tip end of the infusion needle to penetrate any fibrosis when the infusion device is implanted in a patient's body. The infusion needle and drive unit are designed for implantation in a patient's body. Other components of the drug delivery system may be part of the implantable infusion device or, alternatively, be for extracorporal use cooperating with the implanted infusion device. Preferably, the infusion needle can be advanced and retracted with each infusion cycle. Furthermore, upon each advancement and/or retraction, the needle may be moved laterally so as to vary the injection site. Needle (1) and drive unit (D) are preferably disposed within a body (15), with the infusion needle being arranged for penetrating a self-sealing penetration membrane (18).

A medical system including a tube defining a lumen, a porous body connected to a distal end of the tube to be advanced to a target site within a subject. The porous body defines a plurality of openings, the plurality of openings are in fluid connection with the lumen, the porous body includes a first material and a second material, and the second material elutes from the porous body in the subject.

Embodiments of the invention provide swallowable devices, preparations and methods for delivering drugs and other therapeutic agents within the GI tract. Many embodiments provide a swallowable device for delivering the agents. Particular embodiments provide a swallowable device such as a capsule for delivering drugs into the intestinal wall or other GI lumen. Embodiments also provide various drug preparations that are configured to be contained within the capsule, advanced from the capsule into the intestinal wall and degrade to release the drug into the bloodstream to produce a therapeutic effect. The preparation can be operably coupled to delivery means having a first configuration where the preparation is contained in the capsule and a second configuration where the preparation is advanced out of the capsule into the intestinal wall. Embodiments of the invention are particularly useful for the delivery of drugs which are poorly absorbed, tolerated and/or degraded within the GI tract.

A heating system for heating neonate nutritional liquid, including a heater and a control module. The heater includes a heating portion having serpentine shaped grooves for receiving a tube. The tube may be a serpentine feeding tube module, having a serpentine tube portion, or a serpentine feeding tube cassette, having a serpentine tube portion covered by a rigidly attached polymeric sheet. The serpentine feeding tube cassette may include a thermocouple to measure the temperature of the warmed nutritional liquid as it exits the cassette.

A catheter can efficiently transmit an operator's pushing force to a distal end of the catheter with a reduced risk of getting caught at a curved region of a lumen (e.g., a blood vessel, bile duct, pancreatic duct or the like). The catheter includes a first core wire and a second core wire disposed between an inner tube and an outer tube. The second core wire can move to an optimal position depending on external forces exerted at a curved region of the lumen when the catheter is inserted into the curved region. Therefore, there is a reduced risk that the first core wire and the second core wire will interfere with each other, which would prevent the catheter from bending along the lumen and potentially break one or both of the first core wire and the second core wire.

Devices for palliating gastrointestinal strictures using rapid exchange type enteral stent placement catheters. The catheter may include an inner member and an outer member, with the two members being slidable with respect to one another. In various device embodiments, a ramp for directing a guidewire out from within the catheter is provided using portions of the outer member or a shaped mandrel. The inner member may take a number of forms, including a tubular distal portion, a skived or integrally attached elongate midsection, and a proximal portion. A mandrel can be used in a portion proximal of the guidewire ramp, with the mandrel taking one of several disclosed forms.

A medical tube 10 (drain tube 10) includes a main shaft tube 20, a flow path opening/closing mechanism 40, and a branch tube 30. The main shaft tube 20 internally has a main shaft side distal opening 21a and a main shaft lumen 21. The flow path opening/closing mechanism 40 brings the main shaft lumen 21 into a communicating state by applying pressure smaller than predetermined pressure, and brings the main shaft lumen 21 into a blocked state by applying pressure equal to or greater than the predetermined pressure. The branch tube 30 promotes a pancreatic juice pj to flow into a branch lumen 31, based on the applied pressure which is equal to or greater than the predetermined pressure.

An improved device which is introduced into the intestinal tract of a living organism and which operates autonomously therein, adapted to deliver one or more therapeutic agents. In one embodiment, the probe communicates wirelessly with a portable electronic device outside the organism in order to receive commands to deliver the therapeutic agent, or perform other functions while the probe is within the intestinal tract.

A medical device includes a wire or tube, and a porous body coupled a distal portion of the wire or tube. The wire or tube is configured to be transitioned from a first configuration to a second configuration. In the first configuration, the wire or tube is in a flat or straight configuration. In the second configuration, the wire or tube is expanded to a curved or helical shape.