Nextern, Inc.

Nextern Innovation, LLC

Verilux, Inc.

Dennis Berke

Ryan J Douglas

Casey R Carlson

David Bontrager

Richard Farrell

Davis Flanagan

Brian Loushine

Jonathan T Lawson

Courtland Farrell

Ken Vojacek

Joseph Cameron

Apparatus and associated methods relate to a catheter manipulation handle with user interface controls for steering a catheter in situ while providing an augmented (e.g., motorized, powered and tunable precision steering, and perforation safeguards) control and feedback user experience. In an illustrative example, the catheter manipulation handle may provide motor assisted operation to automatically rotate and/or deflect a distal tip of the catheter to steer and guide the distal tip to a target location in the patient's vasculature system. The augmented feedback may include, for example, haptic feedback via the handle. Haptic, audible, and/or visual feedback via the handle may indicate, for example, proximity or engagement of the distal tip with sensitive tissue. In some examples, the handle's augmented operation may advantageously amplify feedback signals to enhance the user's perception of the patient's safety with respect to the safe passage of the distal tip through the patient's vasculature.

Robotically augmented catheter manipulation handle

Apparatus and associated methods relate to a solenoid assisted valve including a split collar and a precision sealing valve seat surface with tight dimensional tolerances and substantial performance repeatability. In an illustrative example, the split collar may concentrically mate around a cylindrical bobbin. In some examples, the split collar may include ferromagnetic material alone or in combination with various thermoplastic materials. The placement of the split collar may be adjusted by manufacturing to fine tune placement of a magnetic pole and to customize valve performance, for example. The valve seat may include, for example, an orifice sealed with an elastic stopper. The valve seat may be configured, for example, with specific ratiometric dimensional relationships and flatness specifications. Various solenoid valves may allow manufacturers to tune the location of a solenoid generated magnetic pole, for example, to tailor the valve plunger performance for a wide variety of applications.

Solenoid operated valve with flux density concentration ring and molded-in valve seat

Apparatus and associated methods relate to a pneumatic distribution system having pneumatic pump that exhausts into a common plenum that is in fluid communication with a plurality of flow controllers. In an illustrative embodiment, a system controller may coordinate the operation of the one or more pneumatic pumps and the plurality of flow controllers to provide air pressure control to a system of pneumatic chambers. In some embodiments, one of the plurality of flow controllers may be configured to provide fluid communication with an ambient atmosphere so as to permit a fluid path from a pneumatic chamber connected to another flow controller to the ambient atmosphere via both flow controllers and the common plenum. In an exemplary embodiment, the system controller may advantageously control the air pressures in a plurality of pneumatic chambers independently of one another using coordinated control of the pump and flow controllers.

Pneumatic distribution system using shared pump plenum

Apparatus and associated methods relate to nutating a piston drive linkage oriented around a longitudinal axis in response to the rotation of a drive shaft about a drive axis of rotation, said longitudinal axis being offset and canted with respect to said drive axis of rotation. In an illustrative example, the piston drive linkage may be formed as an umbrella shape with multiple arm members extending radially from the longitudinal axis. The distal ends of each of the radial arm members may attach to a stationary piston crank. The nutating motion of the piston drive linkage may impart a substantially linear motion profile substantially parallel to the drive axis of rotation. A shaft extending along the longitudinal axis from the piston linkage may advantageously freely insert into and rotate within a receptacle of a spinner body being rotated around the drive axis of rotation.

Canted off-axis driver for quiet pneumatic pumping

Luminaire for light treatments

Apparatus and associated methods relate to nutating a piston drive linkage oriented around a longitudinal axis in response to the rotation of a drive shaft about a drive axis, said longitudinal axis being offset and canted with respect to said drive axis. In an illustrative example, the piston drive linkage may be formed as a wobble plate extending radially from the longitudinal axis. Near a periphery, the wobble plate may attach to a plurality of stationary piston cranks. The nutating motion of the piston drive linkage may impart a substantially linear motion profile substantially parallel to the drive axis of rotation. A bearing oriented around the longitudinal axis may advantageously be freely inserted into and removed from an aperture in the wobble plate. An inner race of the bearing may freely rotate about the longitudinal axis in response to rotation about the drive axis.

Durable canted off-axis driver for quiet pneumatic pumping

Growing community of inventors

River Falls, WI, United States of America

Dennis Berke