Provided is a pressure gauge capable of being effectively used for internal pressure measurement of a balloon catheter and capable of providing easy monitoring of a pressure value even when measuring internal pressure of an extracorporeal circulation circuit. The pressure gauge measures internal pressure of a balloon catheter used for treatment and diagnosis or pressure of a body lumen of a living body and includes a coil-shaped tube 2 to elastically deform. One end of the tube 2 is set as an open fixed end and the other end is set as a sealed free end and pressure introduced from the open fixed end can be measured based on a displacement position of the tube 2 due to the pressure.

Determining the progression of reflux disease in the esophagus of a patient includes identifying the location of an endoscopic gastroesophageal junction in the esophagus, removing a length of tissue of the esophagus that includes a portion of the endoscopic gastroesophageal junction, and identifying the proximal limit of tissue containing cardiac epithelium. Determining the length of the squamo-oxyntic gap of the biopsied tissue can involve measuring the length of tissue extending between the proximal limit of tissue containing gastric oxyntic epithelium to the proximal limit of tissue containing cardiac epithelium. A linear relationship can be determined from a slope of a line extending between a first data point and a second data point that can determine a target age of the patient when the lower esophageal sphincter will have a certain length.

Parameters extracted from high definition manometric measurements of the pharynx and upper esophagus at preidentified locations and times are applied to a supervised learning machine trained using x-ray fluoroscopy data to provide diagnostic information comparable to that of x-ray fluoroscopy without radiation exposure.

Provided is a catheter that is manufacturable in a simplified fashion. The catheter 1 includes: a catheter tube 11 including a tip-flexible part 11A that has an inner tube (first tube 61) and a plurality of divided tube members 620 to 625 that are disposed on outer circumference of the inner tube and independent of each other; one or a plurality of metal rings disposed in the tip-flexible part 11A; one or a plurality of temperature sensors disposed corresponding to the one or the plurality of metal rings; and a handle 12 attached at a base end of the catheter tube 11. A rate of a thickness of the metal ring to an outer diameter of the metal ring is 7.5% or greater. The metal ring and the plurality of divided tube members 621 to 625 are both so disposed in the tip-flexible part 11A as to be fitted on an outer circumferential surface of the inner tube side by side in an axial direction of the catheter tube 11.

A system and method is provided for measuring a mechanical property of a biological tube. The system and method operate to arrange a plurality of piezoelectric elements about the biological tube and apply a predetermined force or transduce an endogeneous or exogeneous force to the biological tube. The system and method also operate to receive a respective signal from each piezoelectric element in the plurality of piezoelectric elements responsive to the application of the predetermined force or a transduced endogenous or exogeneous force and calculate the mechanical property of the biological tube based on the signals received from the plurality of piezoelectric elements.

The present disclosure relates to compounds that are useful as near-infrared fluorescence probes, wherein the compounds include i) a pteroyl ligand that binds to a target receptor protein, ii) a dye molecule, and iii) a linker molecule that comprises an amino acid or derivative thereof. The disclosure further describes methods and compositions for incorporating the compounds as used for the targeted imaging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in human subjects. Conjugation of the amino acid linking groups increase specificity and detection of the compound. Methods and compositions for use thereof in diagnostic imaging are contemplated.

A catheter device is to be applied to a catheter and includes a tube member and a second handle. The tube member is configured to be inserted through a lumen provided in a catheter shaft of the catheter. The second handle is provided on a base end of the tube member, and includes a deformation operating member. The second handle is provided separately from a first handle provided on a base end of the catheter shaft. Upon bending deformation of a region in the vicinity of a tip end of the tube member in response to an operation of the deformation operating member, the tube member is configured to be pressed against a wall surface of the lumen of the catheter shaft to displace a region in the vicinity of a tip end of the catheter shaft. The second handle is configured to be integrated with the first handle.

A catheter device is to be applied to a catheter and includes a tube member and a handle. The tube member is configured to be inserted through a lumen provided in a catheter shaft of the catheter. The handle is provided on a base end of the tube member, and includes a deformation operating member configured to receive an operation that causes a region in the vicinity of a tip end of the tube member to be subjected to bending deformation. Upon the bending deformation of the region in the vicinity of the tip end of the tube member in response to the operation of the deformation operating member, the tube member to be subjected to the bending deformation is configured to be pressed against a wall surface of the lumen of the catheter shaft to displace a region in the vicinity of a tip end of the catheter shaft.

In some embodiments, a body cavity shape of a subject is reconstructed based on intrabody measurements of voltages by an intrabody probe (for example, a catheter probe) moving within a plurality of differently-oriented electromagnetic fields crossing the body cavity. In some embodiments, the method uses distances between electrodes as a spatially calibrated ruler. Positions of measurements made with the intrabody probe in different positions are optionally related by using spatial coherence of the measured electromagnetic fields as a constraint. Optionally, reconstruction is performed without using a detailed reference (image or simulation) describing the body cavity shape. Optionally, reconstruction uses further information to refine and/or constrain the reconstruction; for example: images, simulations, additional electromagnetic fields, and/or measurements characteristic of body cavity landmarks. Optionally, reconstruction accounts for time-dependent cavity shape changes, for example, phasic changes (e.g., heartbeat and/or respiration), and/or changes in states such as subject hydration, edema, and/or heart rate.

A gastrointestinal stimulation apparatus and methods with an electronic controller and a flexible and stretchable electrode array with a central branch and orthogonal bilateral branches that wrap around a section of the gastrointestinal tract and can accommodate repetitive contraction and relaxation movements of the tract. Array branches have a flexible spring structure, stimulation electrodes, recording electrodes, sensors controlled by a controller and adhesion nodes that fix the branches to the tissue. The electrode array can sense the normal peristalsis from upstream tissue and produce a stimulus signal to stimulate the incapable intestine section to generate stimulation-induced contractions. Electrodes on the incapable intestine section can be used for stimulation or recording, the recorded signal from the incapable intestine section can be sent back to the electronics to form a closed loop control system. An impedance measurement using current stimulation can be used to capture low frequency contraction signals.