Treatment of cardiac tissue via an implantable heart treatment device is described. A device embodiment includes, but is not limited to, a substrate configured for implantation within a body; an electromagnetic signal generator coupled to the substrate and configured to generate one or more electric signals configured to stimulate one or more tissues of a heart; and an oxygenator coupled to the substrate and configured to supply one or more oxygenated molecules to one or more tissues of the heart, the oxygenator including a blood inlet portion, a blood outlet portion, and an oxygen exchange portion positioned between the blood inlet portion and the blood outlet portion, the oxygen exchange portion including a high surface area oxygen exchanger configured to transfer one or more oxygenated molecules from the high surface area oxygen exchanger to blood passing from the blood inlet portion to the blood outlet portion.

Esophageal intubation assemblies, esophageal cardiac stimulation and gastric decompression assemblies, and methods for using and making the same are provided.

Certain aspects of this disclosure relate to uniquely constructed medical implants that incorporate an electronic or other medical device. Some illustrative pocket-like implants provide an interior space for receipt of an electronic medical device, and are implantable in a patient with the electronic medical device positioned in the interior space. In one form, an inventive construct includes a remodelable material component that is effective upon implantation to promote cellular invasion and ingrowth into the remodelable material so that it becomes replaced by new patient tissue and so that the electronic medical device becomes surrounded by a new pocket structure comprised of newly generated, functional patient tissue. The electronic medical device will be a pacing device or other cardiac rhythm management (CRM) device in select embodiments.

The present invention generally relates to heart treatment systems. In some aspects, methods and systems are provided for facilitating communication between implanted devices. For example, an implantable cardiac rhythm management device may be configured to communicate with an implantable blood pump. The implantable cardiac rhythm management device may deliver heart stimulation rate information in addition to information associated with any detected abnormalities in heart function. In response, the pump may be configured to adjust pumping by the pump to better accommodate a patient's particular needs.

High purity lithium and associated products are provided. In a general embodiment, the present disclosure provides a lithium metal product in which the lithium metal is obtained using a selective lithium ion conducting layer. The selective lithium ion conducting layer includes an active metal ion conducting glass or glass ceramic that conducts only lithium ions. The present lithium metal products produced using a selective lithium ion conducting layer advantageously provide for improved lithium purity when compared to commercial lithium metal. Pursuant to the present disclosure, lithium metal having a purity of at least 99.96 weight percent on a metals basis can be obtained.

A delivery device for installing a medical device in a patient comprising a body portion having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end having a chisel shaped tip, a receptacle disposed in the distal end of the body portion for receiving a medical device for implanting in the patient, a handle disposed at the proximal end of the body portion for facilitating advancement of the proximal end of the body portion into the patient.

Techniques for facilitating authorized telemetry with an implantable device are provided. In one embodiment, for example, a method includes comparing, by a first device having a processor, first electronic information with second electronic information. The first electronic information is indicative of a first motion of a second device external to a body in which the implantable device is located, and the second electronic information is indicative of a second motion of the implantable device. The method also includes determining whether a defined level of correlation exists between the first electronic information and the second electronic information, and initiating a telemetry session between the second device and the implantable device based on a determination that the defined level of correlation exists between the first electronic information and the second electronic information.

Described are a system and method that reads cancer tumors real time and custom delivers individualized bioelectric therapy to the patient. For example, the system reads a cancer tumor, and based upon this read, delivers to the subject a confounding signal to jam communication within that tumor. A cancer tumor may change its communication patterns and the therapy is designed to change with these patterns, attempting to always jam the relevant communication signaling pathway. The described system includes parameters not tied to communication jamming, which should also be customized to induce apoptosis to the cancer tumor. Such parameters include signals for starving a cancer tumor of blood supply and signals for changing the cancer tumor's surface proteins and/or charge so that the immune system attacks the cancer tumor.

Described is a low voltage, pulsed electrical stimulation device for reducing inflammation in a subject, which can be useful in the treatment of concussions, traumatic brain injury, cancer, and so forth.

Described are a system and method that utilize bioelectric signaling to balance electrical potentials in a subject's body via neuro-hormonal circuit loops, to increase elasticity of the subject's arteries to promote protein release to dampen arterial blood pressure, and to change arterial electrical charges to reduce narrowing of the arteries. The described system is designed to localize and stimulate the fibers inside the vagus nerve without inadvertent stimulation of non-baroreceptive fibers causing side effects like bradycardia and bradypnea. The system also controls release of specific proteins known to lower blood pressures including tropoelastin (known to increase elasticity in the aorta and other peripheral blood vessels).