摘要:
Disclosed is a multiple electrode, closed-loop, responsive system for the treatment of certain neurological diseases such as epilepsy, migraine headaches and Parkinson's disease. Brain electrodes would be placed in close proximity to the brain or deep within brain tissue. When a neurological event such as the onset of an epileptic seizure occurs, EEG signals from the electrodes are processed by signal conditioning in a control module that can be placed beneath the patient's scalp, within the patient's chest, or situated externally on the patient. Neurological event detection means in the control module will then cause a response to be generated for stopping the neurological event. The response could be an electrical signal to brain electrodes or to electrodes located remotely in the patient's body. The response could also be the release of medication or the application of a sensory input such as sound, light or mechanical vibration or electrical stimulation of the skin. The response to the neurological event can originate from devices either internal or external to the patient. The system also has the capability for multi-channel recording of EEG related signals that occur both before and after the detection of a neurological event. Programmability of many different operating parameters of the system by means of external equipment provides adaptability for treating patients who manifest different symptoms and who respond differently to the response generated by the system.
摘要:
An implantable device incorporating an acoustic transducer allows information and alerts to be communicated from the device to a patient. Sounds, including but not limited to buzzes, tones, sequences of tones, combinations of tones, complex sounds, and segments of reproduced or simulated human speech, are transmitted from an intracranially implanted portion of the device via bone conduction to the patient's ears, particularly the inner ears. In the disclosed embodiment, the acoustic transducer is used in cooperation with an implantable closed-loop system for the treatment of certain neurological disorders such as epilepsy, migraine headaches and Parkinson's disease, to warn the patient of an imminent seizure or other episode, to provide information to the patient on the state of the implantable apparatus, and to provide reminders and other information to the patient.
摘要:
Disclosed is a novel wound dressing which applies ionizing radiation to the surface of the wound as soon after the wound is created as is possible. Optimally, the radiation has a range which extends to the bottom surface of the skin but not significantly beyond that depth. An example of a radioactive source that can apply this type of radiation dosing is a beta particle emitting radioisotope such as phosphorous-32 which has a range of approximately 3.5 mm for 90% of the electrons that it emits. Even very small amounts of phosphorous-32 can provide a sufficiently high level of irradiation to significantly diminish scar tissue formation. The radioactive bandage would typically be an elongated flexible structure which can be applied along a wound or surgical incision. Typically, the radioactive bandage would extend for approximately 1 to 5 mm beyond the cut in all directions. The radioactive bandage would include a shield structure which surrounds the thin, elongated radioactive portion thus disallowing stray radiation outward from the patient's skin. A radiation dose applied to the top of the incision of between 500 and 2000 cGy can substantially reduce scar tissue formation for most patients.
摘要:
Disclosed is a system for detecting a myocardial infarction (i.e., a heart attack) at the earliest possible time and promptly warning the patient that he should immediately seek medical care. Specifically, a first embodiment of the present invention has an implantable electronic system that can sense a change in the patient's electrogram that is indicative of a myocardial infarction. If a myocardial infarction is sensed, the device would then cause an implantable or externally located alarm means such as an audio sound to be actuated to warn the patient of his condition. The patient could then promptly seek medical care, for example, at a hospital emergency room. Having been trained to recognize such an alarm, most patient would neither fail to recognize such an indication of a myocardial infarction nor would they ignore such an alarm signal if it were to occur. Since an implantable heart pacemaker or defibrillator already has within its structure many of the elements required for the device to recognize a myocardial infarction, it would be expeditious to add a capability to these existing devices to detect a myocardial infarction and provide an implantable or external alarm means to inform the patient to take appropriate action.
摘要:
The disclosed invention is an integrated system for EEG monitoring and electrical stimulation from a multiplicity of scalp or intracranial implanted electrodes. The system integrates EEG monitoring and brain stimulation, supports remote electrode selection for stimulation and provides a wireless connection between the patient's brain electrodes and the EEG analysis workstation used to collect EEG data, analyze EEG signals and control system functionality.
摘要:
Disclosed is a balloon on a distal portion of a balloon angioplasty catheter. The section of the balloon onto which a stent can be mounted has a central segment that is substantially cylindrical in shape that is centered between two segments each having the shape of a sector of a prolate spheroid. This shape for a balloon for a stent delivery catheter provides a more cylindrical shape for the stent after it is implanted in an artery that has a typical distribution of plaque in an arterial stenosis, which distribution of plaque is greatest for some limited length at a central region of the stenosis and then decreases somewhat uniformly as one approaches the edges of the stenosis. Another embodiment of the invention utilizes two segments that are frustums of a cone instead of sectors of a prolate spheroid, which conical segments surround the central cylindrical segment. Also disclosed is a balloon whose compliance decreases continuously as a function of the distance away from either end of the central segment. Any of these embodiments can employ dual conical end segments at each end of the balloon which consist of two adjacent frustums of a cone making different half-angles with the longitudinal axis of the balloon.
摘要:
Disclosed is a multiple electrode, closed-loop, responsive system for the treatment of certain neurological diseases such as epilepsy, migraine headaches and Parkinson's disease. Brain electrodes would be placed in close proximity to the brain or deep within brain tissue. When a neurological event such as the onset of an epileptic seizure occurs, EEG signals from the electrodes are processed by signal conditioning means in a control module that can be placed beneath the patient's scalp, within the patient's chest, or situated externally on the patient. Neurological event detection means in the control module will then cause a response to be generated for stopping the neurological event. The response could be an electrical signal to brain electrodes or to electrodes located remotely in the patient's body. The response could also be the release of medication or the application of a sensory input such as sound, light or mechanical vibration or electrical stimulation of the skin. The response to the neurological event can originate from devices either internal or external to the patient. The system also has the capability for multi-channel recording of EEG related signals that occur both before and after the detection of a neurological event. Programmability of many different operating parameters of the system by means of external equipment provides adaptability for treating patients who manifest different symptoms and who respond differently to the response generated by the system.
摘要:
Disclosed is a needle assembly to be used with a pen-type injector and a percutaneously placed catheter device for intravenous infusion or a subcutaneously inserted cannula that is part of an injection set. Unlike all prior art needle assemblies which have a sharp point at the needle's distal end, the needle assembly described herein has a blunt tip so as to avoid any inadvertent needle sticks. This invention envisions using such a blunt tipped needle assembly connected to a pen-type injector and used with an injection set that has a cannula placed in the subcutaneous tissue. This invention also envisions using such a blunt tipped needle assembly with a pen-type injector for intravenous injections of medication through any intravenous catheter that has a septum through which the blunt needle of the pen-type injector can be placed.
摘要:
The present invention is an injection port assembly for subcutaneous delivery of medication. A single molded body has a soft cannula extending downward from a generally flat bottom surface and a self-sealing septum mounted at the center of a top surface which is generally of a concave shape sloping downward towards its outer perimeter at which point the single body is very thin. The single body also has a tubular extension which is directed outward parallel to the skin's surface. A metal needle which penetrates through the septum and through the lumen of the soft cannula is used for inserting the cannula through the skin. Once the soft cannula is placed subcutaneously, the needle is removed and an adhesive tape is placed over the single body and onto the skin beyond the body's outer perimeter. By having a distal section of the needle which is smaller in diameter as compared to most of the needle's length, and by having the soft cannula fit tightly onto the needle, most of the cannula's length will be in tension during insertion thereby preventing an accordion-like compressional failure of the cannula. A quick-release connector on the proximal end of the tubular extension or mounted directly on the injection port assembly allows the tubing connecting the injection port assembly to a portable medication pump to be disconnected when the patient showers or performs some similar activity.
摘要:
A stent (10) is plated with a high density, radiopaque metal (or alloy) such as gold or tantalum. Specifically, the stent (10) is plated to a sufficient thickness (15) on its longitudinal wires (12) to make it clearly radiopaque in fluoroscopy, but the generally circumferential wires (11) are plated to a much lesser thickness (14) so that they are not distinctly radiopaque. Before the stent (10) is deployed radially outward in a vessel of the human body, the longitudinal wires (12) are very close together so the implanting physician can easily discern the proximal and distal extremities of the stent (10). Furthermore, the physician can readily discern that the stent (10) has been deployed because the longitudinals (12) will separate to an increased distance from each other after proper deployment. Still further, if the stent does not properly deploy, fluoroscopy will indicate that there is an indentation (12A) or (12C) in one or more longitudinal hence informing the physician that he should inflate a high pressure balloon at the end of a balloon angioplasty catheter to further deploy the stent (10) radially outward against the inner wall of the vessel. Proper stent deployment is characterized by a generally parallel relationship between opposite longitudinal wires (12). Because the stent (10) has a single metal outer coating (albeit of varying thickness) on all stent outer surfaces, electrolytic corrosion of the stent (10) is avoided. Furthermore, there may be other advantages associated with plating a stent (10) with a greater thickness on some wires and a lesser thickness on others. Still further, a stent (10) that is gold plated over all its surfaces would provide a most attractive appearance.