In intervertebral operative spinal procedures, using separate or pre-attached spreader blocks to control the directional growth of a distracting balloon.

A balloon system includes a balloon catheter extending from a proximal end portion to a distal end portion. The balloon catheter includes an inflation lumen therein. A balloon assembly is coupled with the distal end portion of the balloon catheter. The balloon assembly includes a balloon having distal and proximal balloon ends, has inflated and folded deflated configurations. One or more deflation guides are coupled with the balloon. The one or more deflation guides are configured to bias the balloon toward the folded deflated configuration.

Provided is a catheter system for intraluminal passages, including blood vessels, which includes a guidewire incorporating a work element, and an inflatable balloon enveloping the work element. The work element includes a lesion-smoothing member which in a work configuration projects radially from a longitudinal axis of the balloon. The work element may be configured to allow for controllable rotation about the longitudinal axis, such that the rotation thereby substantially defines a closed ellipsoid-like surface. When the balloon is inflated with a fluid and is inside an intraluminal passage, rotation of the work element causes the lesion-smoothing member to rotate along a surface of the balloon and simultaneously push against the balloon surface. The pushing against the balloon surface exerts force against the walls of the intraluminal passage, thereby allowing for smoothing lesion material located on the walls of the intraluminal passage.

Methods, devices, systems of resuscitating a patient including accessing an arterial vessel positioning a catheter into the arterial vessel advancing the catheter through the arterial vessel to position it below a vessel supplying blood to a heart and a brain expanding an expandable portion of the catheter to prevent blood from flowing past the expanded portion and infusing a substance retrograde into the artery within the arterial section between the bean and the expanded portion of the catheter.

Provided is a catheter system for intraluminal passages, including blood vessels, which includes a guidewire incorporating a work element, and an inflatable balloon enveloping the work element. The work element includes a lesion-smoothing member, which in a work configuration projects radially from a longitudinal axis of the balloon. The work element may be configured to allow for controllable rotation about the longitudinal axis, such that the rotation thereby substantially defines a closed ellipsoid-like surface. When the balloon is inflated with a fluid and is inside an intraluminal passage, rotation of the work element causes the lesion-smoothing member to rotate along a surface of the balloon and simultaneously push against the balloon surface. The pushing against the balloon surface exerts force against the walls of the intraluminal passage, thereby allowing for smoothing lesion material located on the walls of the intraluminal passage.

An apparatus for treating a treatment area in the vasculature using a catheter, such as one designed to deliver a payload (such as a therapeutic agent (e.g., a drug, such as paclitaxel, rapamycin, heparin and the like), a stent, a stent graft, or a combination thereof) or a working element (such as a cutter, focused force wire, or the like) to a specified location within the vasculature. The catheter may include at least one first radiopaque marking. A guidewire (26) for guiding the catheter to the treatment area includes an anchor (26a) for selectively anchoring the guidewire to the vasculature, and at least one second radiopaque marking (26b) for corresponding to the at least one first radiopaque marking of the catheter when positioned at the treatment area.

The disclosed invention is in the field of medical devices, namely injectable angioplasty balloon catheters. The embodiments provide an injectable angioplasty balloon catheter that has favorable features of unequal angioplasty balloon proximal and distal neck diameters.

Methods, devices, systems of resuscitating a patient including accessing an arterial vessel positioning a catheter into the arterial vessel advancing the catheter through the arterial vessel to position it below a vessel supplying blood to a heart and a brain expanding an expandable portion of the catheter to prevent blood from flowing past the expanded portion and infusing a substance retrograde into the artery within the arterial section between the heart and the expanded portion of the catheter.

Devices and methods for minimally invasive disc space distraction and implantation are provided. For example, in intervertebral operative spinal procedures, separate or pre-attached spreader blocks can be used to control the directional growth of a distracting balloon. The spreader blocks can provide an initial distraction of the disc space while the distracting balloon provides further distraction of the disc space. When distraction is achieved, an intervertebral implant may be inserted into the distracted disc space. After the implant is firmly implanted, the balloon and spreader block may be removed.

In some examples, a catheter includes an elongated member including at least one balloon connected to the elongated member, the at least one balloon being configured to inflate to an expanded state. In the expanded state, the at least one balloon forms at least a portion of a cavity with a wall of a vessel of the patient. The catheter including at least one electrode carried by the elongated member and having at least one surface exposed to the cavity formed by the at least one balloon. The electrode is configured to connect to an energy source that is configured to deliver, via the electrode, an electrical signal to a fluid contained in the cavity and in contact with the electrode to cause the fluid to undergo cavitation to generate a pressure pulse wave within the fluid.