A tubular structure fabricated by additive manufacturing from non-biological building material formulations, and featuring an elongated core, a shell encapsulating the core and an intermediate shell between the core and the shell. Each of the core, the shell and the intermediate shell is made of a different material or a different combination of materials. Both the core and the intermediate shell are sacrificial. Additive manufacturing of the tubular structure is usable for fabricating an object featuring properties of a blood vessel.

Additive manufacturing techniques are used to form an artificial intra-ocular lens (IOL) directly inside the human eye. Small openings are formed in the cornea and lens capsule of the eye, and the crystalline lens is broken up and removed through the openings; then, a material is injected into the lens capsule through the openings, and the focal spot of a pulse laser beam is scanned in a defined pattern in the lens capsule, to transform the material in the vicinity of the lase focal spot to form the IOL in a layer-by-layer manner. In one embodiment, stereolithography techniques are used where a pulse UV laser source is used to photosolidify a photopolymer resin. The liquefied resin is injected into the eye through the openings, after which only part of the resin, having the shape of the desired IOL, is selectively cured with the UV laser beam, via progressive layer formation.

The invention relates to a suction stent for introduction into a hollow organ of the human or animal body, preferably into the gastrointestinal tract, in particular the intestine, comprising a tubular hollow body which is open in the longitudinal direction and made of biocompatible material, the tubular hollow body having a fixed diameter at least in its central portion; and a porous shapeable material, preferably a sponge material, which is biocompatible and shapeable in the radial direction, the porous shapeable material radially sheathing the tubular hollow body at least in a section of the tubular hollow body. Further, the invention relates to a method for sealing a leakage, especially an anastomosis, of the hollow organ.

A selectively expanding spine cage has a minimized cross section in its unexpanded state that is smaller than the diameter of the neuroforamen through which it passes in the distracted spine. The cage conformably engages between the endplates of the adjacent vertebrae to effectively distract the anterior disc space, stabilize the motion segments and eliminate pathologic spine motion. Expanding selectively (anteriorly, along the vertical axis of the spine) rather than uniformly, the cage height increases and holds the vertebrae with fixation forces greater than adjacent bone and soft tissue failure forces in natural lordosis. Stability is thus achieved immediately, enabling patient function by eliminating painful motion. The cage shape intends to rest proximate to the anterior column cortices securing the desired spread and fixation, allowing for bone graft in, around, and through the implant for arthrodesis whereas for arthroplasty it fixes to endpoints but cushions the spine naturally.

A delivery catheter and a method for deploying a cardiovascular prosthetic implant using a minimally invasive procedure are disclosed. The delivery catheter comprises an elongate, flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the distal end has an outer diameter of 18 French or less, a cardiovascular prosthetic implant at the distal end of the catheter body, wherein the cardiovascular prosthetic implant comprises an inflatable cuff and a tissue valve coupled to the inflatable cuff, and at least one link between the catheter body and the cardiovascular prosthetic implant.

A stent graft system includes a stent graft, a radially expandable scaffold, and an inflatable fill structure. The stent graft includes a body portion with a plurality of pleated sections that are configured to be extended from a telescopically compressed state to a longitudinally extended state. The radially expandable scaffold is attached to a top of the body portion, and has one or more fixation elements for penetrating into an aortic wall. The inflatable fill structure is attached at a top of the body portion and is configured to expand in a longitudinal direction as the body portion is extended in the longitudinal direction. The inflatable fill structure is also configured to expand in a radial direction to contact an inner surface of a blood vessel.

A device for percutaneous transpedicular fusion includes at least two straight pedicular cannulas arranged respectively on the upper or lower vertebra, or on the two vertebrae of the spinal segment, at least one guide pin with a curved profile, which is implanted in the endplate of the corresponding vertebra through the corresponding pedicular cannula, of a flexible cannulated drill bit guided around the corresponding guide pin and driven in back and forth movements by a cannulated drive system to nibble out gradually slots in the lower and upper endplate of each vertebra and reduce to flaps the nucleic tissues of an intervertebral disk for the production of the intersomatic space, of an injection device connected to one of the straight pedicular cannulas for the injection of the graft into the intersomatic space, and closing devices that are screwed into the holes left free after retraction of the straight pedicular cannulas.

A system includes a filling structure deployable at least partially in a common iliac artery and an external iliac artery, and a scaffold positioned within a first lumen of the filling structure. The scaffold has a fenestration in a side of the scaffold that is positionable toward an internal iliac artery. The filling structure has a second lumen extending from the first lumen and positionable toward the internal iliac artery. A method includes deploying a filling structure at least partially in a common iliac artery and an external iliac artery and positioning a scaffold within a lumen of the filling structure such that a fenestration in a side of the scaffold is positioned toward an internal iliac artery.

A method for treating hyperopia or presbyopia in a patient, the method comprising making a cut deep in the patient's cornea to create a two-dimensional slit adjacent to and generally parallel to an anterior surface of the cornea and injecting a liquid or semi-solid transparent filler material into the deep cut in an amount sufficient to flatten the posterior surface of the cornea to increase the refractive power of the cornea by a predetermined correction of up to about 5 diopters due to the physical flattening of the posterior surface of the cornea, wherein the transparent filler material comprises a refractive index of about 1.3 to about 1.6, and forms a corneal implant with a lenticular shape within the cornea.

An expansible, multi-chambered implant for use in a tissue prosthesis receiving cavity including an expansible envelope having a plurality of chambers, wherein the expansible envelope includes a first member, a second member and at least one collapsible partition extending in an interior of the expansible envelope between the first member and the second member, and a filler tube operatively connected to the expansible envelope such that the filler tube includes a plurality of delivery tubes, wherein one of the plurality of delivery tubes is operatively connected to one of the plurality of chambers and another of the plurality of delivery tubes is operatively connected to another of the plurality of chambers in order to independently fill each of the plurality of chambers.