The invention relates to a balloon catheter (1), which allows esophageal injuries to be prevented by the displacement of the esophagus of a patient during catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmias. For this purpose, three balloons (7, 9, 11) are provided along a catheter shaft (3), which are arranged at a distance from each other and can each be alternately expanded in opposite directions.

The present invention is directed to systems, devices and methods for trans-septally delivering carbon dioxide through a minimally invasive catheter to create a gaseous pocket or emphysema between the posterior wall of the left atrium and the esophagus during cardiac ablation of the left atrium. This pocket of gas expanded tissue serves to thermally insulate and separate the esophagus from the left atrium during ablation to prevent the formation of an atrial-esophageal fistula. The system comprises a control system to precisely deliver the gas to a desired location through a needle-based catheter assembly.

The present disclosure relates to a method for automatic evaluation of a filling volume of an oesophageal balloon catheter (26) inserted into a mechanically ventilated patient (3). The method comprises obtaining (S3-S4) samples of an airway pressure, P.sub.aw, and an oesophageal pressure, P.sub.es, of the patient during an occlusion period in which respiration of the patient is prevented, evaluating (S5) the filling volume of the oesophageal balloon catheter by determining a ratio, ΔP.sub.es/ΔP.sub.aw, between P.sub.es and P.sub.aw from a regression analysis of the P.sub.es and P.sub.aw samples, and communicating (S6) a result of the evaluation to a user.

Systems and methods related to reconfigurable medical devices are described. In some embodiments, a reconfigurable medical device may include a central core and a plurality of arms. The arms may be rotatably coupled to the central core such that the plurality of arms may rotate outwards away from the central core to selectively reconfigure the reconfigurable device between a retracted configuration and an expanded configuration. In an initial state, the arms may be biased outwards away from the central core into the expanded configuration. When the reconfigurable device is exposed to a temperature greater than a threshold temperature, the arms may be biased towards the central core into the retracted configuration. In some embodiments, a reconfigurable medical device may include therapeutic compound-loaded needles coupled to distal portions of the arms.

This disclosure provides methods for treating dysphagia in a patient in need of esophageal dilation of his/her esophageal stricture. The methods according to this disclosure comprise: i. injecting circumferentially into the esophageal stricture area a sterile pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable fluid carrier and tissue matrix allograft particles composed of human amnion and chorion membranes, wherein the amnion membrane is de-epithelized; and ii. performing pneumatic dilation of the esophageal stricture with a balloon dilator.

The methods of this disclosure are particularly suitable for treating a complex and scarred cervical esophageal stricture, including reoccurring cervical esophageal strictures. The present methods may be particularly beneficial for cancer patients, including head and neck cancer patients, who were previously treated with external beam radiation and/or chemotherapy and/or a surgery for his/her cancer.

An apparatus for dilating an upper esophageal sphincter. The apparatus includes an elongated expandable member having a cross-section shaped to support a natural shape of an upper esophageal sphincter. A catheter extends from the elongated inflatable member.

A process and unit for determining an estimate for a respiratory signal. Measured values are received, and a sum signal is generated, which is a superimposition of the respiratory signal to a cardiogenic signal. The unit detects heartbeats, and a respective heartbeat time period for each. An intermediate signal is calculated by compensating the influence of the cardiac activity on the sum signal. The unit determines an attenuation signal, which is an indicator of the average time curve of the contribution of the cardiogenic signal to the intermediate signal in a predefined reference heartbeat time period. An intermediate signal section is generated as a section of the intermediate signal in a heartbeat time period and intermediate signal sections are mapped to the reference heartbeat time period. The estimated respiratory signal is calculated with the use of the mapped intermediate signal sections and of the attenuation signal.

A process and unit for determining an estimate for a respiratory signal. Measured values are received, and a sum signal is generated, which is a superimposition of the respiratory signal to a cardiogenic signal. The unit detects heartbeats, and a respective heartbeat time period for each. An intermediate signal is calculated by compensating the influence of the cardiac activity on the sum signal. The unit determines an attenuation signal, which is an indicator of the average time curve of the contribution of the cardiogenic signal to the intermediate signal in a predefined reference heartbeat time period. An intermediate signal section is generated as a section of the intermediate signal in a heartbeat time period and intermediate signal sections are mapped to the reference heartbeat time period. The estimated respiratory signal is calculated with the use of the mapped intermediate signal sections and of the attenuation signal.

The present disclosure relates to airway devices. It is applicable to supraglottic devices including laryngeal airway devices and to their methods of manufacture. The present disclosure is particularly applicable to laryngeal airway devices for human and veterinary use. The device includes an airway tube having a distal end and a proximal end, the distal end of the airway tube is provided with a pre-formed and non-inflatable peri-pharyngeal bowl. The peri-pharyngeal bowl includes a posterior bowl portion having a back dorsal portion and a side wall extending around and depending from the periphery of the back dorsal portion to define an internal space, and further includes a resiliently deformable flange extending laterally from the side wall of the back dorsal portion which defines an extended internal space, the resiliently deformable flange has inner and outer surfaces that extend to a circumferential edge.

Various embodiments disclosed relate to drug-coated balloon catheters for treating, preventing, or reducing the recurrence of a stricture and/or cancer, or for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), in a non-vascular body lumen 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. In some embodiments, the balloon catheter includes a length-control mechanism which stretches and elongates the balloon when it is in a deflated state, giving the balloon a smaller cross-sectional deflated profile for tracking through the body lumen and for removal after treatment.