A method for treating a patient may include establishing an anastomosis between a pulmonary artery and an aorta; and pumping blood from the pulmonary artery to the aorta when the pulmonary artery has a pressure lower than or equal to a pressure of the aorta.

Systems and methods are provided for removing air from a medical device, such as a stent-graft and/or its delivery device. In an exemplary embodiment, the stent-graft or its delivery system or both are exposed to perfluorocarbon, by immersing the stent-graft or flushing the delivery device to remove air from the stent-graft. Optionally, the stent-graft and/or delivery system may be flushed multiple times, e.g., with perfluorocarbon before or after flushing with carbon dioxide, saline, a bio-inert gas, and the like. Thereafter, the stent-graft may be introduced into a patient's body and deployed at a target location, such as the site of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Methods, devices and systems for delivering a device assembly using a shaped body allowing for ease of ingestion of a gastric device into a gastric space, allowing the gastric device to expand to occupy volume within the gastric space and, after an effective period of time release from the body.

An occlusion apparatus comprises inner and outer sheaths and an expandable flexible tubular sleeve. The occlusion apparatus is advanced to a target site in the blood vessel. A dilator having a soft, compressible tip may be advanced through a lumen of the inner sheath to facilitate the advancement of the occlusion apparatus. The sheaths are translated relative to one another to expand the flexible tubular sleeve to a funnel shape with a distal flush portion contacting the blood vessel inner wall and a proximal tapered portion. The proximal portion is fluid permeable so that blood can pass through to apply pressure on the vessel wall through the distal portion. A capture or traction device can be advanced out of the inner sheath lumen and retracted back therein to capture thrombus. The distal portion of the device may comprise an expandable mesh braid with a memory characteristic to limit expansion.

A catheter is provided which includes an outer catheter and an extendable inner catheter. A sealing feature is positioned between the inner catheter and the outer catheter to seal the annular gap between the two while allowing axial translation. The seal may be a compliant protrusion surrounding the inner catheter and may have a chevron-shape for facilitating axial translation. The seal may be a one-way valve configured to allow antegrade flushing but prevent retrograde flow. The seal may be squeegee-like flange on the distal tip of the outer catheter. The seal may be an expandable bulge, which may be mechanically expandable or inflatable or which may be a photosensitive or electrosensitive hydrogel. The seal may include a spring that is radially compressed upon translation or rotation of the inner catheter to transiently break the seal. Also provided is a seal for sealing between the catheter and the vasculature.

The present invention introduces a material, i.e. a device, which is insertable into a vein of a outer parts of a sheath, two-sidedly adhesive tubular material with a supporting material and protrusions, either a balong or an inner protective film, and a control cable for the insertion and extraction of the device along the vein. The supporting material may be compressed initially, and after removal of the outer part of the sheath, the supporting material with protrusions will expand towards the vein walls. After removal of the inner part of the sheath and the control cable, the treated vein area can be manually pressed on top of the skin, thus closing the vein through inner and outer adherence of the material. The protrusions may have a barbed shape.

A method for treating a genetically associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At least one implant is advanced into an airway of a lung having a genetically associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The at least one implant is delivered into the lung to increase tension of the lung and thereby improve breathing function of the lung.

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for delivering embolic devices into a body lumen of a patient. These embolic devices are applicable to a variety of neurological and/or peripheral applications. In particular, the embolic devices may be used to occlude a vessel within a patient, and/or to treat aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, traumatic fistulas, uterine fibroids or cancer.

The invention relates to an aneurysm coil that is made up of a single wire of a noncircular cross-sectional shape. The wire is coiled in a helical configuration to have an outer surface and an inner surface. The outer surface of the wire does not have a round outer surface. The aneurysm coil of the present invention is designed to encourage cellular adhesion and tissue growth along the coil surface by employing a wire having a substantially non-circular cross sectional area, such as a T shape, a triangle, square, rectangle, oval, pentagon, hexagon, septagon, octagon, star, rhombus, as well as a variety of non-geometric shapes. The use of a wire having such a cross sectional shape promotes endothelial cells to adhere and grow within the gaps created by the juxtaposition of the wire forming a coil, thus anchoring the coil to its intended location, promoting thrombosis, endothelial growth across the opening of the aneurysm, and eventual healing of the aneurysm.

A lung volume reduction system is disclosed comprising an implantable device adapted to be delivered to a lung airway of a patient in a delivery configuration and to change to a deployed configuration to bend the lung airway. The invention also discloses a method of bending a lung airway of a patient comprising inserting a device into the airway in a delivery configuration and bending the device into a deployed configuration, thereby bending the airway.