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.

Devices for delivering and deploying a prosthesis are disclosed and comprise a sheath, a prosthesis disposed within a distal end portion of the sheath, and a wire having a first end coupled to the prosthesis and a second end coupled to the sheath. A body portion of the wire comprises a slack in the wire, and the sheath, prosthesis, and wire are configured so that a proximal movement of the sheath relative to the prosthesis reduces the slack in the wire, and a subsequent proximal movement of the sheath relative to the prosthesis decouples the wire from the prosthesis. Additional devices, systems, and methods are disclosed.

An implant device may include a body of a first material and defining a lumen and at least two arcuate rings of a second material embedded within the body. In one embodiment, the second material does not connect a first ring of the at least two arcuate rings to an adjacent second ring of the at least two arcuate rings.

The invention discloses a Zn—Ga series alloy and a preparation method and application thereof, belonging to the technical field of medical alloys. The Zn—Ga series alloy includes Zn and Ga, and Ga accounts for 0-30 wt % but not including 0. The preparation method is to mix Zn and Ga or Zn, Ga and trace elements, then to obtain a Zn—Ga series alloy by coating paint after smelting or sintering. The mechanical properties of the prepared Zn—Ga series alloy meet the requirements of the strength and toughness of medical implant materials, and it can be degraded in vivo. It has the dual characteristics of biological corrosion degradation and suitable corrosion rate to provide long-term effective mechanical support.

An endoprosthesis configured to shift between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration may include a tubular scaffold formed from a single filament knitted about a central longitudinal axis and defining a length from a proximal end to a distal end, the tubular scaffold including a plurality of rows of loops and a plurality of rows of rungs arranged around the central longitudinal axis in an alternating fashion; and a polymeric covering extending along the tubular scaffold. Each row of loops and each row of rungs extends longitudinally along the tubular scaffold between the proximal end and the distal end. The tubular scaffold includes a first cutout region extending along a majority of the length of the tubular scaffold and a second cutout region extending along a majority of the length of the tubular scaffold. The polymeric covering is uninterrupted along the first cutout region and the second cutout region.

Provided is a treatment method and medical apparatus for preventing an object that becomes a causative agent causing pathogenesis of aspiration pneumonitis from invading a lung The treatment method includes a disposing step of disposing a first instrument, which allows the object that becomes a causative agent of aspiration pneumonitis to move from an esophagus to a stomach and suppresses movement of the object from the stomach to a larynx, in the esophagus and disposing a second instrument, which suppresses the object from invading the lung, in at least the larynx.

Aspects of the disclosure relate methods and synthetic scaffolds for regenerating gastrointestinal tissue (e.g., esophageal tissue).

A stent includes a tubular body possessing a plurality of gaps. The tubular body includes a plurality of circumferentially extending linear struts. The stent includes a plurality of links connecting the linear struts. At least one of the links has first and second connection portions. The first connection portion is integrally formed with one strut, and the second connection portion is integrally formed with an adjacent strut. The stent includes a biodegradable material between the first connection portion and the second connection portion to connect the first and second connection portions to each other. The biodegradable material restrains the one strut and the adjacent strut from moving to their original shapes. The first and second connection portions move relative to one another in a separation direction when a connection by the biodegradable material is released so that the original shapes of the struts are restored.

Aspects of the disclosure relate methods and synthetic scaffolds for regenerating gastrointestinal tissue (e.g., esophageal tissue).

The present disclosure provides a kirigami-inspired injectable stent system. The stent systems and methods enable radial/circumferential and longitudinal delivery of an extended release of therapeutics within tubular structures of the body, such as the GI tract and trachea. According to some aspects, a kirigami-based injectable stent system is provided that can enable drug release through deposition of therapeutic-coated needles of the stent in the tubular mucosa, such as often found in the gastrointestinal tract or trachea.