Described are methods, systems, devices for facilitation of intraluminal medical procedures within the neurovasculature. A catheter advancement device includes a flexible elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a single lumen extending therebetween. The flexible elongate body has a proximal segment, an intermediate segment, and a tip segment. The proximal segment includes a hypotube coated with a polymer. The intermediate segment includes an unreinforced polymer having a durometer of no more than 72D. The tip segment is formed of a polymer different from the intermediate segment and has a durometer of no more than about 35D and a length of at least 5 cm. The tip segment has a tapered portion that tapers distally from a first outer diameter to a second outer diameter over a length of between 1 and 3 cm.

Methods for improving luminal gain when performing angioplasty at a zone of attention located at a blood vessel in a person's vascular system is provided. An intravascular device including an expandable portion secured to a distal portion of a catheter tube is provided. An incising element is provided on the expandable portion. The expandable portion is positioned at a first end of the zone of attention, placed in an expanded position, and moved along at least a portion of the zone of attention such that the incising element contacts at least a portion of atherosclerotic material located therein. An angioplasty device is positioned at the zone of attention and expanded.

The invention relates to an assembly for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures, including bone implant fixation procedures. The assembly is configured to provide a faster and more accurate measurement of depth of holes for placement of bone screws and fasteners. The assembly includes a guidewire having a deployable distal hook member configured to securely anchor into a desired position relative to a hole drilled in a bone and thereby provide an accurate datum for a measuring instrument for determining a depth of the hole for subsequent screw placement. The assembly further includes a surgical depth instrument to cooperatively function with the guidewire and obtain one or more measurements while operably coupled to the guidewire.

An intravascular device is provided having an expandable portion including a plurality of struts capable of being moved between an open and a closed position. A grating tool is provided on at least one of the struts. The grating tool is configured to remove atherosclerotic material or other substances located within the blood vessel when the expandable portion is in the opened position and moved axially through the blood vessel.

The present invention provides transseptal puncture devices configured to access structures on the left side of the heart from the right side of the heart without requiring open-heart surgery. The devices have adjustable stiffness to enter the vasculature in a flexible, atraumatic fashion, then become rigid once in place to provide a stable platform for penetration of the fossa ovalis. The devices are further configured to controllably and stably extend a needle to puncture the FO. The devices include an indwelling blunt stylus that can extend perpendicularly from the device to increase the accuracy of placement near the fossa ovalis.

The present disclosure provides a catheter assembly including a catheter tube and an expandable unit attached to the catheter tube. The expandable unit is configurable in a collapsed configuration for facilitating delivery of the catheter assembly through a body lumen and a fully expanded configuration for contacting an interior wall of the body lumen to cover a perforation. The expandable unit defines a longitudinal channel extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the expandable unit when in the fully expanded configuration, permitting blood flow past the expandable unit. The disclosure further provides a method of treating a perforation by delivering a catheter assembly with an expandable unit to a perforation site, expanding the expandable unit to contact an interior wall of a body lumen to cover the perforation, and permitting blood flow past the expandable unit while in contact with the interior wall covering the perforation.

A guide wire system configured to guide a medical device (e.g., a medical lead) to a target area within a patient. The guide wire system may be configured to penetrate and pass through a tissue wall in the patient to guide the medical device to the target area. The guide wire system includes a support section configured to expand to substantially maintain a position relative to the tissue wall. The guide wire system includes a pull wire configured to cause the support portion to expand. The expanded support section may provide counter-traction to a distal force on the tissue wall exerted by a medical device during, for example, fixation of the medical device to the target area, or other stages of an implantation. The support section is configured to re-establish an initial configuration for proximal withdrawal from the tissue wall.

An intravascular catheter device and methods for using the same are provided. An expandable portion is provided at a distal end of a flexible catheter tube and includes struts operable between a first position and a second position where the struts are moved outward from the first position. An incising member is provided at, and extends along a lengthwise dimension of, and outward from, at least one of the struts. An embolic protection device is provided which is configured for movement between a first position and a second position where the embolic protection device is enlarged relative to said first position.

An apparatus includes a body, a shaft, and a stapling head assembly. The shaft extends distally from the body and includes a coupling feature. The coupling feature includes threading or at least one barb. The stapling head assembly is configured to cut and staple tissue. The stapling head assembly is positioned at a distal end of the shaft. The stapling head assembly includes a knife member and a body member. The knife member includes a circular cutting edge configured to cut through tissue. The body member is configured to house the knife member. The body member includes a coupling feature that is configured to mechanically couple with the coupling feature of the shaft. The coupling feature of the body member includes threading or at least one barb.

Disclosed herein is a device for disrupting material in a body vessel and a method for making such a device. The device includes a plurality of arms disposed circumferentially about an axis. Each arm includes two blades; one sharper, and one blunter. The sharper blades are all oriented in the same direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, such that when the device is rotated in a first direction, the sharper blades engage the material, and in the other, the duller blades engage the material.