A catheter assembly is disclosed, which includes a catheter, a catheter hub, a guide wire, and a guide wire hub. The guide wire has a guide wire rigidity changing portion that gradually decreases in rigidity from a proximal side toward a distal side, and the catheter has a catheter rigidity changing portion 85 that gradually decreases in rigidity from a proximal side toward a distal side. In the catheter assembly, the catheter hub and the guide wire hub are connected to each other in a state where the distal side of the guide wire is exposed from a distal end of a lumen of a shaft portion and a guide wire rigidity changing point and a catheter rigidity changing point are aligned with each other in an axial direction.

A neurovascular catheter is provided, such as for distal neurovascular access or aspiration. The catheter includes an elongate flexible tubular body, having a proximal end, a distal end and a side wall defining a central lumen. A distal zone of the tubular body includes a tubular inner liner, a tie layer separated from the lumen by the inner liner, a helical coil surrounding the tie layer, an outer jacket surrounding the helical coil, and an opening at the distal end. Adjacent windings of the helical coil are spaced progressively further apart in the distal direction. The opening at the distal end of the tubular body is enlargeable from a first inside diameter for transluminal navigation to a second, larger inside diameter to facilitate aspiration of thrombus into the lumen.

The present disclosure features, a kit, including a first compartment including a volatile fluorinated compound dissolved in a C.sub.1-6 alcohol; and a second compartment including water. When the contents of the first and second compartments are mixed, spontaneous nucleation of nanodroplets of the volatile fluorinated compound can form in the aqueous phase to provide a dispersion of nanodroplets in the aqueous phase. The nanodroplets can be used to generate nanobubbles or microbubbles in ultrasound imaging.

The disclosure concerns an apparatus for generating at least one injection parameter for a contrast agent injector. The apparatus includes a first data interface for receiving patient data and a second data interface for connection to a contrast agent injector. The apparatus also includes a data processing unit for generating at least one injection parameter in dependence on patient data received by way of the first data interface and for outputting the injection parameter at the second data interface. The disclosure further concerns a system comprising such an apparatus as well as a method therewith.

Various methods of performing ultrasound contrast assisted therapy are provided. One such method includes delivering a plurality of microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents to a target area and disrupting the microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents by delivering tone bursts of ultrasound to the target area. The oscillation of the microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents can be achieved by delivering ultrasound tone bursts of greater than 5 acoustic cycles with a pulse repetition frequency of between 0.01 and 20 Hz, with pressure greater than 0.3 MPa.

A catheter system can include a tubular body, and at least one of a targeting system coupled to the tubular body, an expandable member, or a fluid injection port. A method of identifying a bifurcation can include inserting a catheter system into a first vessel, positioning the catheter system at a first location, expanding an expandable member to occlude the first vessel, delivering contrast material so the contrast material pooling proximate to the expandable member, and reviewing a shape of the contrast material in the first vessel under fluoroscopy.

Microcatheter for delivering a substance (e.g., infusion agent including embolization material and/or contrast enhancing material) in a small blood vessel towards a target bodily part. Includes a single lumen surrounded by tubular wall having outer diameter and opened at both ends; tubular wall proximal portion is connectable to a pressure source and reservoir containing infusion agent, and tubular wall distal portion ends with a tip; the tubular wall distal portion includes an infusion agent flow disruption section configured to disrupt passage therethrough of incoming retrograded flow of infusion agent, during continuous delivery of infusion suspension from the reservoir to the tip. Disclosed are methods using the microcatheter for performing local embolization in a small blood vessel feeding a (for example, cancerous) target bodily part, and for delivering infusion agent in a small blood vessel towards such target bodily part. Also disclosed are devices and methods for filtering non-target infusion agent.

A uterine manipulator device includes: an elongated cannulated tube having proximal and distal ends, a cervical cup positioned on the elongated cannulated tube with a top distal portion of a first diameter and a base proximal portion of a second smaller diameter, and an occluder assembly comprising an occluder positioned proximally from the cervical cup on the elongated cannulated tube, the occluder having a body with at least one primary rib and at least two secondary ribs, wherein a diameter of at least one secondary rib is smaller than the diameter of the primary rib.

A rapid exchange type medical elongated body is disclosed in which an outer diameter of a distal portion of a tubular member is set smaller than an outer diameter of a proximal portion of the tubular member, which prevents an occurrence of a kink in a physical property change region of the medical elongated body which has a relatively large change in physical property. A tubular member forming a second region of a distal member of a medical elongated body is integrally formed with a shaft portion. The distal member has a reinforcement layer containing a metallic material and formed between an inner layer and an outer layer from a first region to the second region. The reinforcement layer is disposed inside the tubular member in the second region. An outer diameter of the first region is set smaller than an outer diameter of the second region.

Devices and methods for treating obesity are provided. More particularly, intragastric devices and methods of fabricating, deploying, inflating, locating, tracking, monitoring, deflating, and retrieving the same are provided.