Medical devices for use along the biliary and/or pancreatic tract. An example system for treating a stricture, for example along the biliary and/or pancreatic tract, may include a guidewire for antegrade stricture crossing along the biliary and/or pancreatic tract. The guidewire may have a distal end region and a proximal end region. A hub may be coupled to the proximal end region. A tubular sheath may be slidably disposed along the guidewire. The tubular sheath may have a plurality of slots formed therein. The hub may be configured to secure the axial position of the tubular sheath relative to the guidewire.

Systems and methods for treating a stricture, for example along the biliary and/or pancreatic tract, are disclosed. An example system may include a handle having a base, a first carriage translatable relative to the base, and a second carriage translatable relative to the base. A sheath may be coupled to the first carriage. The system may also include a catheter shaft having a proximal end region and a steerable distal end region. The proximal end region may be coupled to the second carriage. A needle may be releasably coupled to the handle. The needle may be configured to pass through tissue into a position along the biliary and/or pancreatic tract. The system may also include a steering member having a first end coupled to the steerable distal end region of the catheter shaft and a second end disposed adjacent to the handle.

A method for performing a medical procedure in an intestine of a patient is provided. The method comprises providing a system comprising: a catheter for insertion into the intestine, the catheter comprising: an elongate shaft comprising a distal portion; and a functional assembly positioned on the shaft distal portion and comprising at least one treatment element. The catheter is introduced into the patient, and target tissue is treated with the at least one treatment element. The target tissue comprises mucosal tissue of the small intestine, and the medical procedure can be configured to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

A catheter for a hepatic artery introduced from an arm of a patient includes a first bent portion, a second bent portion distal of the first bent portion and bent to the same side as the first bent portion, a third bent portion disposed on a distal side of the second bent portion and bent to an opposite side from the second bent portion, and a most distal end portion disposed distal of the third bent portion, in which a minimum radius of curvature of the first bent portion is larger than a minimum radius of curvature of the second bent portion. The most distal end portion is directed to a common hepatic artery and the first bent portion comes into contact with an aorta wall on an opposite side from a celiac artery when the second bent portion contacts a blood vessel wall of the celiac artery.

The present invention provides for a method and apparatus for inserting and using dermal interstitial sensors in, for example, an analyte monitoring system, and for injecting active pharmaceutical ingredients, a bio-artificial organ device, and detection of a protein biomarker.

A device may include a catheter and a support tube. The catheter includes a lumen extending therethrough. The catheter is sized and shaped to extend through an endoscopic shaft to a target tissue within a living body. The lumen is sized and shaped for receiving a puncturing device therethrough. The catheter includes a first catheter portion distal to a second catheter portion. The first and second catheter portions are formed from different materials. The first catheter portion has a flexible curved distal end. The tube is fixed about an outer surface of a proximal end of the first catheter portion and an outer surface of a distal end of the second catheter portion.

A diametrically adjustable endoprosthesis includes a controlled expansion element extending along at least a portion of a graft and is supported by a stent. The controlled expansion element diametrically constrains and limits expansion of the endoprosthesis. Upon deployment from a smaller, delivery configuration, the endoprosthesis can expand to the initial diameter set by the controlled expansion element. Thereafter, the endoprosthesis can be further diametrically expanded (e.g., using balloon dilation) by mechanically altering the controlled expansion element.

The dilator includes a hollow shaft and a spirally-arranged protruding portion, and the shaft is either a shaft that has a tapered portion, a distal end portion, and a main body, or a shaft that does not have the distal end portion but has the tapered portion and the main body. When the shaft does not have the distal end portion, the spirally-arranged protruding portion is formed on outer peripheral surfaces of the tapered portion and the main body and has gaps between adjacent sections of the spirally-arranged protruding portion, and when the shaft has the distal end portion, the spirally-arranged protruding portion is formed on outer peripheral surfaces of the tapered portion, and the distal end portion and/or the main body and has gaps between adjacent sections of the spirally-arranged protruding portion.

The dilator includes a hollow shaft and a spirally-arranged protruding portion. The shaft has a tapered portion, a distal end portion positioned on a distal end of the tapered portion, and a main body positioned on a proximal end of the tapered portion, or alternatively the shaft does not have the distal end portion but has the tapered portion and the main body. When the shaft has no distal end portion, a height of a spirally-arranged protruding portion formed on the tapered portion is larger than a height of a spirally-arranged protruding portion formed on the main body. When the shaft has the distal end portion, the height of the spirally-arranged protruding portion on the tapered portion is larger than of spirally-arranged protruding portions on the distal end portion and/or the main body.

A catheter for a hepatic artery introduced from an arm of a patient includes a first bent portion, a second bent portion distal of the first bent portion and bent to the same side as the first bent portion, a third bent portion disposed on a distal side of the second bent portion and bent to an opposite side from the second bent portion, and a most distal end portion disposed distal of the third bent portion, in which a minimum radius of curvature of the first bent portion is larger than a minimum radius of curvature of the second bent portion. The most distal end portion is directed to a common hepatic artery and the first bent portion comes into contact with an aorta wall on an opposite side from a celiac artery when the second bent portion contacts a blood vessel wall of the celiac artery.