A catheter for removing tissue from a body lumen and for providing information relating to the body lumen. The catheter includes a tissue cutting element that rotates relative to the catheter body and is mounted to the drive shaft for imparting rotation to the tissue cutting element. An energy emitting element of the catheter rotates relative to the catheter body and is rotatable independently of the tissue cutting element.

A surgical atherectomy apparatus for removing particles such as plaque from an interior of a vessel having a motor housing slidable axially between a proximal position and a distal position. An axially fixed sheath extends from the outer housing and a catheter is connected to the motor housing and is positioned within the sheath. A rotatable shaft is positioned within the lumen of the catheter and is operatively connected to the motor for rotational movement, the rotatable shaft and catheter movable by movement of the motor housing between the proximal and distal positions. The rotatable shaft has an atherectomy bit extending therefrom for dislodgement of particles when rotated by the motor and dislodged particles are aspirated in the lumen of the catheter.

A tissue removing catheter includes an apposition mechanism that selectively imparts an axially compressive load on the catheter body to bend the catheter and urge a tissue-removing element toward a blood vessel wall. The apposition mechanism can include one or more adjustment lines and an adjustment mechanism for selectively tensioning one of the adjustment lines to impart the compressive load on the catheter body. Two adjustment lines can have diametrically opposed positions and be wound onto a spool of the adjustment mechanism in opposite directions so that rotation of the spool simultaneously shortens one adjustment line and lengthens the other. The catheter body can have a more flexible bending segment adjacent the tissue-removing element to promote bending near the tissue-removing element operative to urge the tissue-removing element in apposition with the blood vessel.

A method of removing material from a blood flow lumen includes providing a device having a cutting element and an opening, the cutting element being movable relative to the opening. The method then includes advancing the device through a patient's vascular system to the blood flow lumen. Finally, the method involves moving the cutting element and the opening relative to the blood flow lumen so that a continuous piece of material is severed by the cutting element and directed into the opening as the cutting element and opening move through the blood flow lumen, the continuous piece of severed material being directed into the device for removal from the patient. The method may include providing a device having a rotatable cutter that, in some embodiments, is not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the device, is movable, has retracted and deployed positions, or any combination thereof. The method may further include forcing the opening toward the wall of the vascular site after the advancing step and before the moving step.

Devices and methods for resecting tissue from the interior of a patient's body with a motor-driven rotating tubular cutter and multiple cutting windows located at a working end of the resecting device.

A uterine fibroid tissue removal device includes an inner tube disposed within an outer tube and configured to be translated and rotated relative to the outer tube, and a separately formed unitary distal tip member attached to a distal end of the inner tube, such that the distal tip member translates and rotates relative to the outer tube along with the inner tube, wherein a distal facing open cutting end of the distal tip member in fluid communication with an axial lumen of the distal tip member translates across a tissue resection window in a sidewall of the outer tube so as to sever tissue extending therethrough, the distal tip member axial lumen being in fluid communication with an axial lumen of the inner tube, wherein an outer diameter of the distal tip member is greater than an outer diameter of the inner tube.

A medical device designed to be inserted into a lumen of a living body so as to block a flow of fluid in the lumen of the living body. The medical device includes: a long shaft part; an expandable part; and a covering part. The expandable part is an elastically deformable cylindrical body, and the cylindrical body having a proximal part connected to the shaft part. The covering part takes on a cylindrical shape and is flexible and deformable independently of the expandable part, and the cylindrical shape has a proximal part connected to a proximal part of the expandable part or connected to the shaft part located at a proximal side with respect to the expandable part. The covering part defines a space in the radial direction between a distal side end part of the cylindrical shape and the expandable part.

Provided is a medical device designed to be inserted into a lumen of a living body, the medical device including: a long shaft part; and a cylindrical hollow body. The shaft part has a center axis at position which differs from a center axis of the hollow body on a cross section perpendicular to the center axis of the shaft part. The hollow body has a housing part extending along the center axis of the hollow body, the hollow body being a groove depressed from an outer peripheral surface to an inner peripheral surface or a slit penetrating from an outer peripheral surface to an inner peripheral surface. The shaft part is positioned between inner surfaces facing from the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface in such a way that at least a portion of the shaft part constitutes the slit or the groove of the housing part.

A surgical method of removing tissue of a patient includes grasping a surgical cutting instrument. The instrument includes an outer blade including a tubular body, an end cap, and a cutting window defined by an edge on at least the end cap, and an inner blade including a cutting tip, the inner blade co-axially disposed within the outer blade, the cutting tip including a cutting edge extending toward the end cap of the outer blade, wherein the cutting tip is rotatably exposed at the cutting window. The method further includes positioning the cutting window and cutting tip to a target site, supplying fluid through an irrigation pathway to the cutting window and the target site, rotating the cutting tip of the inner blade to selectively cut the tissue, and aspirating fluid and cut tissue.

A tissue-removing catheter for removing tissue from a body lumen during a cutting operation includes an elongate catheter body configured for insertion into the body lumen and a tissue-removing element. A motor is operably connected to the tissue-removing element for rotating the tissue-removing element. A sensor is configured to detect a parameter of the catheter body during the cutting operation. A motor control circuit is in electrical communication with the sensor and the motor. During an operational control function, the motor control circuit is configured to receive a signal from the sensor based at least in part on the detected parameter, determine whether the received signal is indicative of inefficient movement of the tissue-removing element, and adjust a rotational speed of the tissue-removing element to increase efficiency of the tissue-removing element if the received signal is indicative of inefficient movement of the tissue-removing element.