The present invention provides a catheter for assisting recovery from dysphagia.

Disclosed is an NGT system, the system comprises a nasogastric tube having a diameter and length configured to pass through an esophagus such that the lumen of the NGT maintains fluid communication with a portion of the digestive tract, and a digestive tract sensor operatively associated with the NGT, the digestive tract sensor configured to sense from inside the body and transmit signals in response to one or both of conditions relating to nourishment states of the digestive tract, and positioning of the NGT.

The invention relates to a system for recording breathing efforts of a patient, which comprises a pressure determination device for determining a transpulmonary pressure at the point in time of the breathing effort of the patient. The invention moreover relates to a unit for recording the optimum filling volume of the balloon of an esophageal catheter.

A method of detecting and measuring the condition of intraluminal esophageal mucosa. An esophagus is intubated with a catheter including an inflatable and deflatable balloon and one or more impedance sensing electrodes on an exterior surface of the catheter. The balloon is inflated to press the impedance sensing electrode(s) into a mucosa of the interior esophageal wall. An electric current is directed through the mucosa via the impedance sensing electrode(s) while the impedance sensing electrode(s) is/are pressed by the balloon against the mucosa and measure impedance of the mucosa.

There is provided a system for managing reflux during an enteral feeding, comprising: (i) a non-transitory memory having stored thereon a code for execution by at least one hardware processor of a computing device, the code comprising: code for receiving electrical signals outputted by at least one reflux event sensor disposed within a digestive system of a patient; code for determining a gastric reflux event based on an analysis of the electrical signals; code for outputting instructions to pause enteral feeding of the patient by a feeding controller that regulates enteral feeding of the patient using an enteral feeding tube positioned within the digestive system of the patient; and (ii) an evacuation controller that directs back-flow of digestive contents from the digestive system of the patient to an external evacuation reservoir through an evacuation tube.

According to one aspect, an implantable medical device may include an anchor assembly configured to anchor the medical device to a body lumen. The implantable medical device may also include a capsule. The capsule may include a pH sensor. The pH sensor may be configured to measure a pH of contents within the body lumen. The capsule may also include a power source, a controller, and an impedance sensor. The impedance sensor may be configured to measure an impedance within the body lumen.

The present disclose generally relates to systems and methods for active titration of one or more cranial or peripheral nerve stimulators to treat obstructive sleep apnea. The active titration can be accomplished in an automated fashion by a closed-loop process. The closed-loop process can be executed by a computing device that includes a non-transitory memory storing instructions and a processor to execute the instructions to perform operations. The operations can include defining initial parameters for the one or more cranial or peripheral nerve stimulators for a patient; receiving sensor data from sensors associated with the patient based on a stimulation with the one or more cranial or peripheral stimulators programmed according to the initial parameters; and adjusting the initial parameters based on the sensor data.

The invention relates to a calibration system for automatically setting an intended operational filling of an esophageal catheter with balloon probe, which can be inserted into the esophagus, for determining an esophageal pressure, in particular for a ventilation device, comprising a device for filling the balloon probe with a measuring fluid after placing the balloon probe in the esophagus, a pressure sensor for detecting the esophageal pressure prevailing in the balloon probe, and a calibration controller which is designed such that it incrementally changes the amount of measuring fluid in the balloon probe, the calibration controller recording an esophageal pressure detected by the pressure sensor for each amount of measuring fluid in the balloon probe set incrementally as a measuring point in this way and assigning said esophageal pressure to the respective set amount of measuring fluid in the balloon probe. The calibration controller is designed such that, in order to approach the respective measuring points, it monotonically changes the amount of measuring fluid in at least two steps, starting from a start value until an end value is reached.

The invention relates to a diagnostic system for the simultaneous long-term registration of heart rate variability as well as the pressure value and/or the impedance and, if so desired, further measured values of a patient with a measuring probe system suitable for deriving data for electrocardiogram generation, a catheter for insertion into the esophagus of the patient, the catheter being provided with several measuring probes each for pressure determination and/or for impedance measurement, and, if required, further measuring probes for determining further measured values, a recording apparatus having a voltage source and a plurality of channels for the registration and recording of the measurement data originating from the measuring probes, at least one memory for time-dependent storage of the measurement data and means for data transmission from the measuring probes to the recording apparatus for use in the diagnosis of motility disorders influenced by the autonomic nervous system and the use of this system in the differential diagnosis of motility disorders.

Provided herein is an enteral safe feeding catheter that allows for a higher rate of delivering liquid food and/or drugs to the stomach and/or duodenum of a mammal while simultaneously allowing for aspiration of any regurgitated reflux escaping the stomach into the esophagus. Systems incorporating the catheter and methods of use thereof are also provided herein.