A catheter may include electrodes for transvascular nerve stimulation. The electrodes may be positioned within lumens of the catheter and aligned with apertures in the outer wall of the catheter. The electrodes may produce focused electrical fields for stimulation of one or more nerves. In one embodiment, the catheter may include a set of proximal electrodes and a set of distal electrodes, and the proximal electrodes may stimulate a patient's left phrenic nerve and the distal electrodes may stimulate a patient's right phrenic nerve.

The present invention is a folding urethral catheter tube insertion device for women, abbreviated to: FUCID. The device facilitates easy finding of the location of the external urethral orifice in women and assists in the self insertion of a catheter tube into the urethra orifice while widening the orifice. Once inserted, user is able to disconnect the device from her body while maintaining the catheter tube in the urethra tract. The FUCID is typically produced as a single entity product and is typically produced by injection cast molding technology of a semi-rigid material. The FUCID folds to a compact, small size configuration, that is suitable and convenient to carry around in a small purse or small bag. The folded configuration of the FUCID is easily and simply unfolded to a ready-for-deployment configuration. The device is is constructed of: a vaginal insertion portion, abbreviated to VIP, a hollow funnel shaped tube guiding channel portion, abbreviated to TGCP, and a bridging plate between the two portions. The bridging plate is connected in a fixed connection of approximately 90 degrees to the widen side of TGCP and is connected to the VIP by a flexible hinge connection. Flexible wing curved bars protrude from the TGCP above the plain of the connected bridging plate. In its folded configuration of the FUCID, the VIP is folded to be in an approximate spatial parallel configuration with TGCP. In the FUCID unfolded configuration, the VIP is folded to be in an approximate aligned spatial configuration with FUCID. In deploying the FUCID, the TGCP aligned VIP is inserted into the vagina while positioning the opening of the wide side of TGCP over the uretheral orifice of the patient. The TGCP is pushed towards the body of the patient, causing the flexible wing curved bars to come into contact with the skin surrounding the uretheral orifice and to widen the orifice opening. With orifice openened the catheter tube is inserted through the TGCP.

The present invention is a folding urethral catheter tube insertion device for women, abbreviated to: FUCID. The device facilitates easy finding of the location of the external urethral orifice in women and assists in the self insertion of a catheter tube into the urethra orifice while widening the orifice. Once inserted, user is able to disconnect the device from her body while maintaining the catheter tube in the urethra tract. The FUCID is typically produced as a single entity product and is typically produced by injection cast molding technology of a semi-rigid material. The FUCID folds to a compact, small size configuration, that is suitable and convenient to carry around in a small purse or small bag. The folded configuration of the FUCID is easily and simply unfolded to a ready-for-deployment configuration. The device is is constructed of: a vaginal insertion portion, abbreviated to VIP, a hollow funnel shaped tube guiding channel portion, abbreviated to TGCP, and a bridging plate between the two portions. The bridging plate is connected in a fixed connection of approximately 90 degrees to the widen side of TGCP and is connected to the VIP by a flexible hinge connection. Flexible wing curved bars protrude from the TGCP above the plain of the connected bridging plate. In its folded configuration of the FUCID, the VIP is folded to be in an approximate spatial parallel configuration with TGCP. In the FUCID unfolded configuration, the VIP is folded to be in an approximate aligned spatial configuration with FUCID. In deploying the FUCID, the TGCP aligned VIP is inserted into the vagina while positioning the opening of the wide side of TGCP over the uretheral orifice of the patient. The TGCP is pushed towards the body of the patient, causing the flexible wing curved bars to come into contact with the skin surrounding the uretheral orifice and to widen the orifice opening. With orifice openened the catheter tube is inserted through the TGCP.

A medical catheter that includes an elongate main tube, the tube having an outer wall that surrounds an internal passage, branch tubes having an outer wall connected to the outer wall of the main tube which extend outward from the main tube in different respective directions and have one or more apertures passing through their outer wall to their internal passage to permit fluid to pass through the branch tubes and into the main tube in use. The branch tubes are arranged to be able to move towards each other to permit location of the catheter within the bore of a needle or needle-like apparatus and which return to their original outwards state when removed.

Devices for transferring fluid to or from a subject include a plunger assembly coupled to or coupleable to a cannula assembly to allow target fluid to be “front-loaded” into a distal end of the cannula assembly while the stylet is withdrawn a distance to create a vacuum and define a flow channel.

A catheter has a cooling distal section for freezing tissue to sub-zero temperatures with one or more miniature reverse thermoelectric or Peltier elements, also referred to herein as micro-Peltier cooling (MPC) units or electrodes. The MPC units may be on outer surface of an inflatable or balloon member or a tip electrode shell wall that has a fluid-containing interior cavity acting as a heat sink. Each MPC unit has a hot junction and a cold junction whose temperatures are regulated by the heat sink, and a voltage/current applied to the MPC units. A temperature differential of about 70 degrees Celsius may be achieved between the hot and cold junctions for extreme cooling, especially where the MPC units include semiconductor materials with high Peltier co-efficients. An outer coating of thermally-conductive but electrically-insulative material seals the MPC units to prevent unintended current paths through the MPC units.

Medical devices for accessing the central nervous system, as well as making and using medical devices, are disclosed. An example medical device may include an expandable access sheath having a proximal end region and a distal end region. The expandable access sheath may be designed to shift between a first configuration and an expanded configuration. The expandable access sheath may include a tubular body having one or more axial support members disposed along the tubular body. The medical device may include an expansion member designed to shift the expandable access sheath between the first configuration and the expanded configuration.

A catheter with a distal end that rotates through the conversion of linear motion to rotational motion, thus the distal end may be rotated without longitudinally advancing or retracting the distal end. The catheter includes a tube with a single helix or a dual chirality helix cut into the tube, a distal end segment, means for linear displacement of the helix, and means for coupling the junction point of the helix to the distal segment.

A device comprises a tubular member with a longitudinal axis having a proximal end and a distal end, at least one partial cut located at, along or near the distal end of the tubular member, the at least one partial cut comprising an orientation that is angled relative to both the longitudinal axis and an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis, a pusher member positioned within an interior of the tubular member and configured to selectively advance the distal end of the tubular member longitudinally, wherein the distal end of the tubular member is configured to at least partially rotate when the pusher member is advanced relative to the tubular member so at to facilitate placement of the distal end in a particular branch of a subject's intraluminal network, wherein the distal end of the tubular member is configured to longitudinally elongate along or near an area of the at least one partial cut.

Catheter-delivered endovascular medical devices are described. The devices may include a pull wire attached to a distal body. The distal body may be formed of a distal body outer body comprising a basket comprised of a plurality of cells defined by a plurality of basket strips and a distal body inner body located in the interior of the distal body outer body and comprising a plurality of distal braided mesh openings formed by a plurality of woven linear strands. The distal braided mesh openings may be smaller than the cells when the device is in the relaxed state. Methods of using and making the devices are also described.