A medical device for providing direct port-like endoscopic access to the urinary bladder, or other orifice, of a patient and a method of utilizing and inserting the medical device. The medical device can include a hollow tube with a main channel and a separate channel, a cap with an inflation port and a hollow flexible stem fluidly connecting the inflation port and the separate channel. A method can include inserting a needle above the pubic symphysis of a mammal, threading a guide wire through the needle, removing the needle and inserting the medical device. The method can optionally include determining measuring the depth between the skin surface of the patient's suprapubic region and urinary bladder.

An apparatus for guiding cannulation with a dialysis needle of an arteriovenous dialysis access graft subcutaneously implanted in a body of a subject. The guiding apparatus comprises an elongated body member comprising a base portion terminating in longitudinal edges, a distance between the longitudinal edges of the base portion being substantially equal to a lateral dimension of the aces graft, and an elongated tubular sleeve defining an pocket having a longitudinal dimension and a lateral dimension configured to receive the body member. The body member is adapted to be received in the pocket of the sleeve for securing adjacent the subcutaneous access graft such that the inner surface of the base portion is aligned with a cannulation point of the graft for guiding location of a needle insertion.

Methods and devices for eradicating biofilms and planktonic bacteria are provided. In on embodiment, a therapeutic delivery device comprised of at least a port and a antimicrobial releasing pouch and one or more therapeutic agents is provided to the mammal. In one aspect of at least one embodiment the releasing pouch has an internal reservoir comprised of a membrane that is configured to contain the one or more therapeutic agents that is to be administered to the mammal and the port is in fluid communication with the pouch and configured such that the pouch can be refilled with one or more therapeutic agents via the port. In other aspect of at least one embodiment the method is able to fully eradicate 10.sup.9 colony forming units (CFU) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) within a 24 hr period.

A therapeutic delivery device that provides a controlled release of high doses of a therapeutic agent in a local area, sustains the high dose controlled release with a percutaneous port for refilling the device, and is versatile for use with multiple types of therapeutic agents and/or implant systems. A rate determining/controlled release membrane is used to decrease the molecular mobility of the therapeutic compounds thereby controlling the therapeutic release profile. The therapeutic delivery device includes a body defining an internal reservoir for receiving a therapeutic agent and including a first membrane for providing a controlled release of the therapeutic agent to the surgical site, a port in fluid communication with the reservoir, a sleeve configured to encapsulate the body, and a rigid housing configured to support the body and a portion of the sleeve, the rigid housing configured to release the body and the sleeve after the body and the sleeve are anchored position relative to the surgical site.

An indwelling pleural catheter system comprises an indwelling catheter device (2) comprising a catheter tube (7) with a fenestrated distal end (7A) configured to reside in the pleural cavity of a subject and a connection hub (10) fluidically coupled to a proximal end (7B) of the catheter tube, a skin anchoring member (3) to anchor the connection hub (10) to the skin of the subject, and optionally a detachable ambulatory suction module (4) configured for detachable attachment to the connection hub (10). The suction module (4) comprises a fluid inlet (19) configured for fluidic coupling to the catheter tube (7) through the connection hub (10) and a fluid outlet (20) configured for detachable fluidic coupling to a pleural fluid drainage system (5) to drain pleural fluid through the detachable ambulatory suction module. The detachable ambulatory suction module is configured to exert a negative pressure in the catheter tube upon detachment of the pleural fluid drainage system from the suction module. Treatment of pleural effusion using the system of the invention is described. An indwelling catheter system for draining fluid from the peritoneal cavity, and methods of treating ascites, is also described.

Implantable devices and associated devices, systems, and methods are disclosed herein. The devices and systems of the present technology may be equipped with electronic components that provide a platform for remote patient and/or device monitoring. Operation of an implantable devices and/or one or more components thereof can be modulated over time depending on certain conditions. This modulation can include limiting wireless data communication with external devices to certain time intervals, varying parameters of data collection by sensing elements, and/or controlling power supplied to electronic components, for example. In some examples, an implantable device may operate in a low-power standby state in which data is obtained via sensing elements and stored in local data storage, but the data is not wirelessly transmitted to an external device until a modulation signal is received by the implantable device, causing the implantable device to change to a more active power state.

A therapeutic delivery device that provides a controlled release of high doses of a therapeutic agent in a local area, sustains the high dose controlled release with a percutaneous port for refilling the device, and is versatile for use with multiple types of therapeutic agents and/or implant systems. A rate determining/controlled release membrane is used to decrease the molecular mobility of the therapeutic compounds thereby controlling the therapeutic release profile. The therapeutic delivery device includes a body defining an internal reservoir for receiving a therapeutic agent and including a first membrane for providing a controlled release of the therapeutic agent to the surgical site, a port in fluid communication with the reservoir, a sleeve configured to encapsulate the body, and a rigid housing configured to support the body and a portion of the sleeve, the rigid housing configured to release the body and the sleeve after the body and the sleeve are anchored position relative to the surgical site.

A therapeutic delivery device that provides a controlled release of high doses of a therapeutic agent in a local area, sustains the high dose controlled release with a percutaneous port for refilling the device, and is versatile for use with multiple types of therapeutic agents and/or implant systems. A rate determining/controlled release membrane is used to decrease the molecular mobility of the therapeutic compounds thereby controlling the therapeutic release profile. The therapeutic delivery device includes a body defining an internal reservoir for receiving a therapeutic agent and including a first membrane for providing a controlled release of the therapeutic agent to the surgical site, a port in fluid communication with the reservoir, a sleeve configured to encapsulate the body, and a rigid housing configured to support the body and a portion of the sleeve, the rigid housing configured to release the body and the sleeve after the body and the sleeve are anchored position relative to the surgical site.

An apparatus for guiding the migration of cancer and other cells includes a reservoir device, a cover, a tube, a nanofiber structure, and a lock device. The reservoir device defines a reservoir having an open top. The cover is configured for removable installation over the open top of the reservoir. The tube has a proximal end portion reaching into the reservoir. The nanofiber structure communicates an inlet port in the tube with the reservoir. The lock device interlocks the tube with the reservoir device, and also interlocks the nanofiber structure with the reservoir device.

Disclosed is a biliary stent having a winding and fixing member around which a pulling string is wound, and the biliary stent includes a stent having a cylindrical body having space parts and bent ends formed on both ends thereof and configured such that the pulling string is woven with the space parts in zigzags into a circular band, a knot part is formed firmly so as not to be easily loosened, and a medical procedure is performed to expose the pulling string to an outside of a human body so as to prevent the cylindrical body from slipping inside a biliary tract; the winding and fixing member having a main body including an adhesive part so as to be adhered and fixed to a skin surface; and a cover gauze member configured to cover an entirety of the winding and fixing member and the skin surface.