Apparatus and methods are described including a catheter, a first pump disposed on the catheter, and a second pump disposed on the catheter, proximally to the first pump. A control unit is configured to control activation of the first and second pumps. The first and second pumps are configured, when activated, to pump fluid in opposite directions from one another. Other applications are also described.

A method of visually locating a vessel within a body lumen comprises displacing an opaque fluid with an inflatable member contained within an open area of a barrier or membrane. The method also comprises positioning the inflatable member against or adjacent to a tissue region at a first location and visually assessing the tissue region at the first location through the inflatable member. The method also comprises repositioning the inflatable member against or adjacent to the tissue region at a second location.

Assist device (10) for sclerosing treatment of varicose veins, aimed at being partially inserted into a blood vessel (20), including a tubular element (11), which has at least three ways (13, 14, 15), at least two of which (13, 14) are connected to at least one related inflatable balloon element (12, 12, 16) by at least one through hole (30, 31), and at least one remaining way (15) of said three ways (13, 14, 15) has at least one hole (32) for the passage of a sclerosing substance (17), aimed at reaching a wall (18) of said blood vessel (20), in which at least one (16) of said at least two balloon elements (12, 12, 16) has an elongated shape extending toward at least another balloon element (12, 12) and a volume comprised in the range of 30% to 99% of the space inside said blood vessel.

Coronary sinus cannulation apparatus and methods relating to tissue visualization catheters that can locate and/or cannulate a morphological feature within a body lumen, such as the coronary sinus, are described. Such devices can also perform a variety of therapeutic tissue treatments under direct in vivo visualization thereafter. Moreover, such apparatus and methods may also be utilized with guidewires to facilitate delivery into the coronary sinus to eliminate repositioning of the device and/or repeating an entire sequence of operations, consequently improving procedure effectiveness and reducing procedure time.

A fistula management device for preventing enteric contents from leaking out of a bowel via a fistula opening in the bowel. The device comprises a tubular body that defines a main fluidic passageway extending from a first axial end to a second axial end of the tubular body. Inflatable cuffs are located at each of the first and second axial ends of the tubular body for creating a fluid seal between the first and second axial ends of the tubular body and inner walls of a bowel.

A system for use in prevention of stroke is provided that has a shaft that carries an occluding balloon. The occluding balloon is inflated to occlude blood flow through at least one of a right carotid artery and a left carotid artery. An actuation device for causing inflation of the occluding balloon is present. The inflation is applied in a cyclical nature based upon a cardiac cycle. The cyclical inflation of the occluding balloon in turn causes a resulting cyclical occlusion.

Interventional procedures on the carotid arteries are performed through a transcervical access while retrograde blood flow is established from the internal carotid artery to a venous or external location. A system for use in accessing and treating a carotid artery includes an arterial access device, a shunt fluidly connected to the arterial access device, and a flow control assembly coupled to the shunt and adapted to regulate blood flow through the shunt between at least a first blood flow state and at least a second blood flow state. The flow control assembly includes one or more components that interact with the blood flow through the shunt.

A balloon dilation assembly for use in balloon valvuloplasty is disclosed, which includes at least three outer balloons arranged around a central balloon and fixed to the central balloon, wherein each balloon has a supply tube for inflation and flow channels are provided between each adjacent pair of outer balloons, whereby at least one of the outer balloons is shorter in length than the remaining outer balloons and the central balloon.

Assist device (10) for sclerosing treatment of varicose veins, aimed at being partially inserted into a blood vessel (20), including a tubular element (11), which has at least three ways (13, 14, 15), at least two of which (13, 14) are connected to at least one related inflatable balloon element (12, 12, 16) by at least one through hole (30, 31), and at least one remaining way (15) of said three ways (13, 14, 15) has at least one hole (32) for the passage of a sclerosing substance (17), aimed at reaching a wall (18) of said blood vessel (20), in which at least one (16) of said at least two balloon elements (12, 12, 16) has an elongated shape extending toward at least another balloon element (12, 12) and a volume comprised in the range of 30% to 99% of the space inside said blood vessel.

Exemplary embodiments of devices and method for affecting at least one anatomical tissue can be provided. A configuration can be provided that includes a structure which is expandable (i) having and/or (ii) forming at least one opening or a working space through which the anatomical tissue(s) is placed in the structure. For example, the structure, prior to being expanding, can have at least one partially rigid portion. In addition, or as an alternative, upon a partial or complete expansion thereof, the structure can be controllable to have a plurality of shapes. Further, the structure can be controllable to provide the working space with multiple shapes and/or multiple sizes.