Intravascular devices, systems, and methods are disclosed. In some embodiments, the intravascular devices are guide wires that include a capacitive pressure-sensing component disposed at a distal portion of the guide wire. Methods of making such intravascular devices, including various manufacturing and assembling techniques, are disclosed. Systems associated with such intravascular devices and methods of using such devices and systems are also disclosed.

Systems and methods and devices are provided for treating conditions such as heart failure and/or pulmonary hypertension by at least partially occluding flow through the superior vena cava for an interval spanning multiple cardiac cycles. A catheter with an occlusion device is provided along with a controller that actuates a drive mechanism to provide at least partial occlusion of the patient's superior vena cava, which reduces cardiac filling pressures, and induces a favorable shift in the patient's Frank-Starling curve towards healthy heart functionality and improved cardiac performance. The occlusion device may include a lumen obstructed by a relief valve that may permit fluid flow through the occlusion device to release an excessive build-up of pressure.

Various systems and methods are provided for reducing pressure at an outflow of a duct such as the thoracic duct or the lymphatic duct. A catheter system can include a catheter shaft configured to be at least partially implantable within a patient's vein, a flexible membrane attached to the catheter shaft, the flexible membrane being a collapsible, tube-like member having a lumen extending therethrough, and a single selectively deployable restriction member formed over a portion of the flexible membrane at substantially a midpoint between a proximal end of the flexible membrane and a distal end of the flexible membrane, the restriction member being configured to control a size of the lumen so as to direct a controlled volume of fluid from an upstream side of the restriction member to a downstream side the restriction member.

Various systems and methods are provided for reducing pressure at an outflow of a duct, such as the thoracic duct or the lymphatic duct, for example, the right lymphatic duct. A catheter system can be configured to be at least partially implanted within a vein of a patient in the vicinity of an outflow port of a duct of the lymphatic system. The catheter system includes first and second selectively deployable restriction members each configured to be activated to at least partially occlude the vein within which the catheter is implanted and to thus restrict fluid within a portion of the vein. The catheter system includes an impeller configured to be driven by a motor to induce a low pressure zone between the restriction members by causing blood to be pumped through the catheter when the restriction members occlude the vein.

A system and method for monitoring the blood pressure of a patient that allows for a device sensor to be recalibrated according to atmospheric pressure without removing the device sensor from inside the patient. This permits quickly monitoring the blood pressure of a patient if a re-zero is needed. The invention has a blood pressure monitor (BPM) that obtains an atmospheric pressure observation. The atmospheric pressure observation is adjusted and stored to memory as a zero value. The zero value is retrieved to recalibrate the system and method if a device sensor has been disconnected from and reconnected to the same or a different BPM, the patient has been moved such that the surroundings have been altered to make it necessary to recalibrate according to atmospheric pressure, and/or the device sensor has been connected to a different patient care monitor.

An endovascular device for providing at least partial occlusion in a blood vessel in a subject, e.g. for improving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. The device comprises a balloon catheter to be inserted in a blood vessel for inflation therein. To increase the flexibility and safety in use of the device and to enable use under controlled and less controlled environments, the device comprises a first interfacing means configured to connect to a first manually operated inflation means and being in fluid communication with a junction; a second interfacing means configured to connect to a second power controlled inflation means and also being in fluid communication with the junction, and an electronic control unit configured to receive the occlusion parameter from the sensor and to provide an instruction set for manually operated inflation or for automatically operated inflation based on the occlusion parameter.

The invention relates to a passive pressure sensor (501) for being introduced into the circulatory system of a human being and for being wirelessly read out by an outside reading system. The pressure sensor comprises a casing (502) with a diffusion blocking layer for maintaining a predetermined pressure within the casing and a magneto-mechanical oscillator with a magnetic object (508) providing a permanent magnetic moment. The magneto-mechanical oscillator transduces an external magnetic or electromagnetic excitation field into a mechanical oscillation of the magnetic object, wherein at least a part of the casing is flexible for allowing to transduce external pressure changes into changes of the mechanical oscillation of the magnetic object. The pressure sensor can be very small and nevertheless provide high quality pressure sensing.

A tracking system for tracking a marker device for being attached to a medical device is provided, whereby the marker device includes a sensing unit comprising a magnetic object which may be excited by an external magnetic or electromagnetic excitation field into a mechanical oscillation of the magnetic object, and the tracking system comprises a field generator for generating a predetermined magnetic or electromagnetic excitation field for inducing mechanical oscillations of the magnetic object, a transducer for transducing a magnetic or electromagnetic field generated by the induced mechanical oscillations of the magnetic object into one or more electrical response signals, and a position determination unit for determining the position of the marker device on the basis of the one or more electrical response signals.

The invention relates to a marker device and a tracking system for tracking the marker device, wherein the marker device comprises a rotationally oscillatable magnetic object and wherein the rotational oscillation is excitable by an external magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field which is generated by a magnetic field providing unit 20, 31 that is located outside of the marker device. The rotational oscillation of the magnetic object induces a current in coils, wherein based on these induced currents the position and optionally also the orientation of the marker device is determined. This wireless kind of tracking can be carried out with relatively small marker devices, which can be placed, for instance, in a guidewire, the marker devices can be read out over a relatively large distance and it is possible to use a single marker device for six degrees of freedom localization.

The invention relates to a measurement device 1 comprising a rotatable magnetic object 4 which can oscillate with a resonant frequency if excited by an external magnetic torque. The measurement device 1 is adapted such that the resonant frequency depends on the temperature or on another physical or chemical quantity like pressure, in order to allow for a wireless temperature measurement or measurement of the other physical or chemical quantity via an external magnetic field providing the external magnetic torque. This measurement device can be relatively small, can be read-out over a relatively larger distance and allows for a very accurate measurement.