A catheter for ultrasonic-driven bladder therapeutic agent delivery, including: a tube having a proximal expandable portion and a distal end, and at least one transducer sleeve accommodating at least one ultrasound transducer mounted on the tube between the proximal expandable portion and the distal end.

Balloon catheters with an elongate shaft defining a hollow body have an inflatable balloon at a distal end thereof. The balloon has a plurality of internal chambers that are inflatable to differing pressures. When inflated, the balloon has a generally hourglass shape having a neck between a distal end and a proximal end and a port at the neck that is in open communication the hollow body of the shaft and in open communication with an environment external to the balloon. The balloon catheter is inflated in a lumen of a patient to its hourglass shape with its proximal and distal ends in direct contact with normal endothelium juxtaposed to a target lesion with the neck of the balloon at the target lesion. A cutting tool is deployed through the port and an opening having a flap is cut into the target lesion and the plaque is removed thereof.

A device and method for intravascular treatment of atherosclerotic plaque prior to balloon angioplasty which microperforates the plaque with small sharp spikes acting as serrations for forming cleavage lines or planes in the plaque. The spikes may also be used to transport medication into the plaque. The plaque preparation treatment enables subsequent angioplasty to be performed at low balloon pressures of about 4 atmospheres or less, reduces dissections, and avoids injury to the arterial wall. The subsequent angioplasty may be performed with a drug-eluting balloon (DEB) or drug-coated balloon (DCB). The pre-angioplasty perforation procedure enables more drug to be absorbed during DEB or DCB angioplasty, and makes the need for a stent less likely. Alternatively, any local incidence of plaque dissection after balloon angioplasty may be treated by applying a thin, ring-shaped tack at the dissection site only, rather than applying a stent over the overall plaque site.

Various embodiments disclosed relate to drug-coated balloon catheters for treating strictures in body lumens and methods of using the same. A drug-coated balloon catheter for delivering a therapeutic agent to a target site of a body lumen stricture includes an elongated balloon having a main diameter. The balloon catheter includes a coating layer overlying an exterior surface of the balloon. The coating layer includes one or more water-soluble additives and an initial drug load of a therapeutic agent.

An expandable dilation member may include a proximally-tapered portion to dilate a stricture. The dilation member may be distally advanced in an unexpanded state over a wire guide through the stricture. The dilation member may then be configured in an expanded state, where the dilation member has a longitudinal profile that includes the proximally-tapered portion. A handle assembly proximally pulls the dilation member in the expanded state. In response, the proximally-tapered portion engages with and biases the stricture. When biasing the stricture, the proximally-tapered portion exerts a plurality of different types of forces, including a shearing force, a radial force, and in some procedures, a torsional force. In some embodiments, the proximally-tapered portion has a continuous taper from a smallest diameter to a largest diameter. In other embodiments, the proximally-tapered portion has at least one constant-diameter portion longitudinally disposed in between the smallest diameter and the largest diameter.

A balloon is provided for selectively moving an esophagus away from an ablation site. The balloon is received through an oral cavity and into the esophagus of a patient. A deflecting member is provided in the tube, the balloon, or both, to selectively distort to bend the balloon and/or the tube to move the esophagus away from the ablation site. The deflecting member may comprise at least one of a strip made of a shape memory material that is responsive to the receipt of a stimulus to deflect to a predetermined shape, a strip that is made of or contains a ferrous material and that deflects in response to the presence of a magnetic field, and a selectively tensionable cable, wire, or string. The deflecting member may be supplemented by a stiffening strip that is located in the balloon and that causes the balloon to expand circumferentially and asymmetrically when inflated.

A balloon comprising: a center portion having a proximal end, a distal end opposite the proximal end, and a length between the proximal end and the distal end. The center portion comprises: a first nominal diameter and a first radial modulus at the proximal end; a second nominal diameter and a second radial modulus at the distal end; further wherein, the first nominal diameter is equal to the second nominal diameter, such that, when the balloon is inflated to a nominal pressure, the center portion has a constant diameter over the length; and further wherein, the first radial modulus is smaller than the second radial modulus, such that, when the balloon is inflated above a nominal pressure, the center portion adopts a tapered shape in which the proximal end has a first stretched diameter and the distal end has a second stretched diameter, the first stretched diameter being larger than the second stretched diameter.

The invention relates to a balloon catheter, in particular for the widening of stents in fenestrations and for T-branch protheses, being provided with a balloon (4), a supply line in the catheter (2) leading to the balloon (4), which allows the balloon (4) to be pressurized, and a central lumen (3) for a guidewire, with the balloon (4) in the expanded state having at least two areas (P, D, M) of different diameter, with these areas merging into one another by forming a step.

An apparatus for performing a balloon dilation procedure at the site of a stenosis or for deploying a stent in a patient, the apparatus including a single lumen catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, and a high pressure balloon attached to the distal end of the catheter. The high pressure balloon is fabricated from a semi-compliant material that has an average rated burst pressure of between about 15 and about 27 atmospheres of pressure and exhibits a dumbbell-shaped outer periphery when inflated to a first atmospheric pressure and a substantially linear outer periphery when inflated to a second atmospheric pressure.

Everting balloon systems and methods for using the same are disclosed herein. The systems can be configured to access and dilate body lumen and cavities. For example, the systems can be used to dilate the cervix and access the uterine cavity. The systems can also be used to occlude the cervix. The systems can also be used to occlude the urethra.