Methods and devices for increasing endothelialization on a surface of a medical device are provided. The methods include delivering the medical device to an intravascular site and the medical device has an α-gal epitope attached to the surface of the medical device.

Intravesical devices are provided that are wholly deployable within the bladder of a patient in need of treatment and are well tolerated by the patient. The device may include an elastic body having a retention shape having (i) dimensions that provide intravesical mobility and that prevent voiding of the medical device through the urethra, and (ii) dimensions, buoyancy, or both, that exclude the medical device from entering the orifices of the ureters. The elastic body may exert a maximum acting force less than 1N when compressed to a shape with a maximum dimension in any dimension of 3 cm. The device may include a drug for controlled release within the bladder, for treatment of the bladder or a regional tissue. Methods of treatment are also provided that include selecting a patient in need of treatment in the bladder where tolerability of the treatment is a primary concern.

Tubular prostheses are provided for use in airways, upper digestive, and urinary tracts. Each of these uses has its own specific sets of biological specifications, based on what it must contain and exclude and the physical and chemical pressures and stresses to which it is subjected. The prostheses may be made from allogeneic cells. Thus they can be manufactured and stored prior to an individual's personal need arising.

Intravesical devices are provided that are wholly deployable within the bladder of a patient in need of treatment and are well tolerated by the patient. The device may include an elastic body having a retention shape having (i) dimensions that provide intravesical mobility and that prevent voiding of the medical device through the urethra, and (ii) dimensions, buoyancy, or both, that exclude the medical device from entering the orifices of the ureters. The elastic body may exert a maximum acting force less than 1N when compressed to a shape with a maximum dimension in any dimension of 3 cm. The device may include a drug for controlled release within the bladder, for treatment of the bladder or a regional tissue. Methods of treatment are also provided that include selecting a patient in need of treatment in the bladder where tolerability of the treatment is a primary concern.

Methods are disclosed for dissecting a mucosa and a submucosa from a muscularis propria from a region of an esophagus of a subject. These methods include injecting submucosally into the esophagus of the subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising an extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogel to form a cushion between the submucosa and the underlying muscularis propria at the region of the esophagus, wherein the ECM hydrogel has the following characteristics: a) a time to 50% gelation of less than 30 minutes at a temperature of about 37° C.; b) a flow viscosity suitable for infusion into the esophagus; and c) a stiffness of about 10 to about 400 Pascal (Pa). The ECM hydrogel is not a urinary bladder ECM hydrogel.

The present invention is directed to guides for use in anastomotic procedures, and in particular in small intestine anastomosis. An anastomotic guide of the invention preferably comprises a tubular body comprising a wall having an abluminal surface, a luminal surface and two ends; the wall comprising at least one sheet of a biocompatible material in a laminate structure having two or more layers, the layers of the laminate structure being joined by a water soluble adhesive polymer, the tubular body being insertable into the lumen of an organ having a luminal surface so that the abluminal surface of the anastomotic guide contacts the luminal surface of the organ.

Medical devices, such as implants, having a high-modulus alloy. The alloy includes a biocompatible refractory-metal-based alloy having multiple refractory metals. The alloy in various embodiments has an elastic modulus above about 300 GPa, and includes tungsten, molybdenum, and tungsten.

The technology described herein is directed to compositions comprising at least a first porous biomaterial layer and a second impermeable biomaterial layer and methods relating thereto. In some embodiments, the compositions and methods described herein relate to wound healing, e.g. repair of wounds and/or tissue defects.

A method for producing enteric neural precursors, comprising the steps of: (1) providing enteric neural precursors; and (2) culturing the enteric neural precursors in a medium comprising an ERBB3 agonist and/or an ERBB4 agonist is provided as a technique for allowing enteric neural precursors to proliferate by culture while maintaining their differentiation capacity into enteric nerve cells and glial cells.

A collagen-based or gelatin-based formulation that is compliant yet strong and has a high suture-strength value is disclosed. This material is simple to synthesize, behaves like a rubbery material, and is the first type of solely collagen-based compliant material without using elastin. The formulation maintains the strength of collagen, but can be stretched to several times its initial dimension and can be sutured without leaking. The suture retention strength can reach up to 350-grams force. The presently disclosed collagen-based formulation can be used in variety of applications where high strength, compliance, or stretchability is required, such as in urinary tissues, intestinal tissues, heart tissues, and skin.