An inflation device includes a balloon and a shaft coupled to one another via an overmold that includes a shut-off ridge. The shaft is in pressure communication with the balloon. Therefore, when fluid pressure is increased in the shaft the balloon may inflate. The use of shut-offs to form the overmold including shaping the shut-off ridge should result in an overmold with no flash and few or no bubbles within its structure.

Inflatable medical devices and methods for making and using the same are disclosed. The devices can be medical invasive balloons, such as those used for transcutaneous heart valve implantation, such as balloons used for transcatheter aortic-valve implantation. The balloons can have high strength, fiber-reinforced walls.

Medical devices including balloons and balloons are provided that include an elongate body and an inflatable balloon defining a longitudinal axis, the inflatable balloon being attached to and partially surrounding at least a section of the elongate body. The medical device further includes a plurality of protrusions extending from the inflatable balloon. When the inflatable balloon is in an unstrained state, each of the plurality of protrusions extends in a first transverse direction relative to the longitudinal axis. In certain implementations, the inflatable balloon may also be configured to collapse such that, when in a collapsed state, an untextured portion of the inflatable balloon extends to a radius and the plurality of protrusions does not extend beyond the radius.

The invention relates to a method for filling an inflatable catheter balloon of a device for transanally introducing an infusion into the rectum or colon of a patient by means of a filling device, wherein a fill volume or a filling pressure prevailing in the catheter balloon is increased in two or more steps until there occurs a gradual, user-controllable, pneumatically initiated expansion of portions of the bowel wall, thus triggering a coordinated defecation reflex, wherein the timing and intensity of the triggering stimulus can be determined to the greatest possible extent by the user.

Systems (1100) for treating a blood flow passage are discloses herein. In one example, a treatment device includes an expandable element (1104) configured to be positioned within the passage and a reinforcing element (1102). The expandable element may have an expanded configuration in which the expandable element defines a lumen (1108) therethrough. The reinforcing element may be positioned within the lumen of the expandable element. The reinforcing element may be coupled to the expandable element such that expansion of the expandable element causes the reinforcing element to radially expand, thereby creating a perfusion lumen through the device.

Providing a method for producing a balloon catheter, that is capable of uniformly heating and cooling the entire mold and less likely to cause temperature unevenness. A method for producing a balloon catheter which comprises a shaft extending in a longitudinal direction and a medical resin balloon provided at a distal end portion of the shaft, comprising the steps of inserting a resin tubular body (10) into a mold (20), and placing the mold (20) inside a thermal jacket (30) wherein a porous metal body (50) is disposed outside the mold (20) and inside the thermal jacket (30).

Provided are a drug-loaded implantable medical instrument and a manufacturing method therefor. The drug-loaded implantable medical instrument (10) comprises an instrument body (100), a microporous membrane (200) fixed on the instrument body (100), and a nanocrystal medicament (300) loaded on the microporous membrane (200). A method for preparing a drug-loaded implantable medical device includes: providing a microporous membrane; loading a nanocrystalline drug on the microporous membrane; and fixing the microporous membrane loaded with the nanocrystalline drug to the device body.

What is disclosed are medical devices comprising a rounded, thin-walled, expandable metal structure (“ballstent”) and a flexible, elongated delivery device (“delivery catheter”) and systems and methods of use for treating saccular vascular aneurysms with the medical devices. Ballstents comprised of gold, platinum, or silver that can be compressed, positioned in the lumen of an aneurysm, and expanded to conform to the shape of the aneurysm are disclosed. The external surface of ballstents can be configured to promote local thrombosis and to promote the growth of tissue into and around the wall of the ballstent in order to seal the aneurysm and fix the ballstent in place in the aneurysm. The wall of the ballstent can also be configured to release drugs or pharmacologically active molecules, such as those that promote thrombosis, cell proliferation, extracellular matrix deposition, and tissue growth.

One aspect of the invention provides a balloon catheter having a distal tip that does not extend distally beyond the distal end of the catheter balloon when the catheter balloon is inflated. In one embodiment, the distal end of the catheter balloon has a substantially flat profile when inflated. Other aspects of the invention provide methods of manufacturing and of using the balloon catheter. In one embodiment, the balloon catheter is used in the treatment of kidney stones.

A medical balloon with a variable diameter that is reinforced with continuous fibers woven to form a fabric with a varying number of layers and fiber densities. Portions of the balloon having a relatively smaller diameter are reinforced with a fabric having a reduced fiber density and an increased number of layers to facilitate the placement of the layers. The fabric also includes a braiding pattern that facilitates the transition from a single layer fabric to a multiple layer fabric. Also described is a manufacturing method for the braiding and layering.