Described here are devices, systems, and methods for treating conditions or diseases of the nose, ear, or throat with an expandable device having a drug coating. The expandable devices may be delivered to a body cavity in a low-profile configuration and expanded to contact surrounding tissue. The expandable devices may deliver or release the drug coating to the tissue. Multiple expansions of a single device may be employed during treatment. Various coating excipients and manufacturing parameters for the expandable devices may also be adjusted to enhance or slow transfer of the drug coating and/or release of the drug to the target tissue site. The drug transferred to the tissue may act as an in situ depot that enables maintenance of a therapeutic level of locally delivered drug for a desired time period after removal of the expandable devices.

Described here are devices, systems, and methods for treating conditions or diseases of the nose, ear, or throat with an expandable device having a drug coating. The expandable devices may be delivered to a body cavity in a low-profile configuration and expanded to contact surrounding tissue. The expandable devices may deliver or release the drug coating to the tissue. Multiple expansions of a single device may be employed during treatment. Various coating excipients and manufacturing parameters for the expandable devices may also be adjusted to enhance or slow transfer of the drug coating and/or release of the drug to the target tissue site. The drug transferred to the tissue may act as an in situ depot that enables maintenance of a therapeutic level of locally delivered drug for a desired time period after removal of the expandable devices.

A method of increasing eustachian tube patency in human patients is disclosed wherein a eustachian tube targeting nasal administration device is utilized to deliver a surfactant/propellant mixture to the nasopharyngeal stoma of the auditory tube. The targeting capability of the administration device obviates the need for a spreading agent that would otherwise be required to enable at least a portion of surfactant to reach the eustachian tube orifice. More specifically, the non-targeting, indiscriminate delivery provided by nasal administration devices of the past required surfactant to spread over non-targeted tissue it was inadvertently applied to in order to reach the eustachian tube stoma. In addition, a method for treatment of otitis media is disclosed utilizing, in some preferred embodiments, a therapeutically active agent.

A surgical system and method are used to position a guidewire within an anatomical passageway includes the guidewire, a dilator, a reference feature, and a marker. The guidewire has a guidewire body extending to a distal body end portion. The dilator is secured on the distal body end portion and configured to expand from a contracted state to an expanded state. The dilator in the contracted state is configured to pass through an isthmus of a Eustachian tube. The dilator in the expanded state is configured to dilate the Eustachian tube. The reference feature secured relative to the guidewire, and the marker is positioned on the guidewire a predetermined distance from the reference feature. Thereby, the marker is configured to indicate the predetermined distance to an operator for determining a depth of the reference feature in the anatomical passageway.

A rechargeable therapeutic system for treating conditions of a user's nasal cavities, sinuses or ear canals includes a therapeutic device having a housing that includes an inlet that allows air to enter the therapeutic device. An acoustic vibrator located within the housing provides an acoustic vibration to the user, and a power supply located within the housing provides power to the acoustic vibrator. A mask is connected to the housing and configured to be applied around the nose of the user. A valve of the mask is configured to allow the user to breathe through the inlet. The mask further includes a diaphragm and a nasal cavity in which the user's nose is located when the mask is applied around the nose of the user. A recharging station is configured to provide a charging current to the power supply.

A dilation catheter includes a catheter shaft, an expandable element, and a navigation sensor. The catheter shaft has a proximal shaft portion defining a proximal shaft end, a distal shaft portion defining a distal shaft end, and a working lumen extending between the proximal and distal shaft ends. The expandable element is disposed on the distal shaft portion proximally of the distal shaft end, and is configured to expand to dilate an anatomical passageway of a patient. The navigation sensor is arranged at the distal shaft portion, and is configured to generate a signal corresponding to a location of the distal shaft portion within the patient. In various examples, the dilation catheter may further include a bulbous distal tip, and the navigation sensor may be arranged within the bulbous distal tip.

Described here are systems and methods for delivering an active agent to target tissues of the ear, nose, or throat using an expandable member having drug crystals layered thereon, and methods for manufacturing such systems. The expandable member can be delivered to the target tissues in a low-profile configuration and expanded to contact and/or dilate surrounding tissue. Expansion of the expandable member transfers the drug crystals to the target tissues, which then act as an in situ depot that enables maintenance of a therapeutic level of an active agent for a desired time period after removal of the expandable member. Multiple expansions of a single expandable member can be employed during treatment. For example, the systems and methods can be useful when it is desired to treat multiple paranasal sinuses with a single expandable member.

A method is disclosed for clearing effusion from an ear. The method may include applying liquid to an ear canal, which is proximal to a perforated tympanic membrane, which is proximal to a middle ear containing effusion, applying an ear device to seal and pressurize the liquid inside the ear canal, the ear device regulating the amount of pressure inside the ear canal, and inducing a Eustachian tube, which is distal to the middle ear, to open, which causes the fluid to displace the effusion into the Eustachian tube.

A medical probe includes a hollow guidewire, a balloon, and a magnetic position sensor. The hollow guidewire is configured for insertion into a channel of an organ of a patient. The balloon is fixed to a distal end of the hollow guidewire, is configured to be inserted into the channel using the hollow guidewire, and is further configured to be inflated by pumping of fluid through the hollow guidewire. The magnetic position sensor is fitted at the distal end of the hollow guidewire.

A dilation catheter system comprises a guide member, a dilation catheter, and an image sensor. The guide member includes a shaft comprising a distal end and a proximal end. The shaft further defines a longitudinal axis. The dilation catheter is movable relative to the guide catheter member and comprises an expandable dilator. The expandable dilator is sized to fit within one or both of a Eustachian tube or a passageway associated with a paranasal sinus. The image sensor is configured to provide visualization within anatomy of a patient. The image sensor is integral with the guide member.