Vascular Control Systems, Inc.

The General Hospital Corporation

Jill Uyeno

Michael L Jones

Fred H Burbank

Greig E Altieri

R J Serra

William P Wiesmann

Adrian F Prokop

Yu-Tung Wong

Randy Werneth

Adrian Richard Urias

Jason Milne

Kristopher Jarka

Farbod Ghassemi

The invention provides devices, systems and methods for clamping arteries which are useful in reducing or abolishing blood flow in an artery, and may be used to control hemorrhage following a caesarian delivery. A clamping device embodying features of the invention includes a pair of clamping members with opposed pressure-applying members having facing pressure-applying surfaces, at least one of which is a yieldable pressure-applying surface. The yieldable pressure-applying surface is preferably resilient. The clamping members are configured to adjust the distance between pressure-applying surfaces, and a blood flow sensor is disposed on at least one of the pressure-applying members to aid in locating the target artery and also to monitor blood flow through the artery. The clamping device is particularly suitable for occluding uterine arteries by compressing the broad ligament which contains the uterine artery and which is connected to the patient's uterus with the arterial clamp.

Vascular clamp for caesarian section

The invention provides a devices, methods and systems to measure and record uterine tissue environment components such as pH during the course of uterine artery occlusion. The uterus becomes ischemic due to the occlusion thereof, and its pH drops sharply within minutes of uterine artery occlusion and remains relatively low for a period of time. The return of normal pH is an indicator of return of blood to the ischemic tissue. In use, a catheter with a pH measuring tip is advanced through the patient's vaginal canal and into the patient's uterine cavity until the pH measuring active electrode on the distal end of the catheter contacts or penetrates the uterine fundus. The active electrode detects the pH and a signal representing pH is transmitted to a pH recording and monitoring device which preferably displays the pH. The signal may be transmitted through a conductor or by a radio transmitter. Components other than pH may be monitored such a pCO, and pO.

Uterine tissue monitoring device and method

The invention is directed to instruments and procedures using such instruments for temporarily reducing or terminating blood flow through a female patient's uterine artery to treat post partum hemorrhage (PPH). The uterine artery is occluded by a clamping device which includes a pair of pivotally connected clamping members, with each of the clamping members having a handle and a clamping element at the distal end of the handle. The clamping elements are inclined with respect to the longitudinal axes of the handles at an included obtuse angle between about 120&#xb0; and about 170&#xb0;, preferably between about 130&#xb0; and 160&#xb0;. An artery locating sensor is provided on the distal end of at least one of the clamping elements. Preferably, the artery locating sensor is a Doppler ultrasound blood flow sensor. After birth, the clamping device is inserted into the female patient's post partum vaginal canal and advanced therein until one of the clamping elements Is in the patient's uterine cervix and the other clamping element is on the exterior of the uterine cervix. The clamping element on the exterior of the patient's uterine cervix is pressed against the patient's vaginal fornix and the clamping device closed so as to occlude the uterine artery disposed within tissue grasped by the clamping device. The clamping device is locked in the closed configuration and maintained in the condition until the patient's uterus is sufficiently clotted up to ensure termination of the hemorrhaging, typically about 5 minutes to about 7 hours.

Treatment for post partum hemorrhage

The invention provides devices, systems and methods for occluding arteries without puncturing skin or vessel walls. The devices, systems and methods for occluding arteries are configured to be applied to arteries externally of the arteries. Occlusion may be temporary or permanent, and may be partial or complete. Clamping a device to tissue near to an artery is effective to compress tissue around the artery and to indirectly compress the artery. The methods, devices and systems of the invention find use in, for example, treatment of uterine disorders and conditions which may be treated by occlusion of the uterine arteries. A uterine artery may be accessed via a patient's vagina by compressing a portion of the vaginal wall around a portion of a uterine artery to occlude a uterine artery. Clamping of an artery may also be performed by clamping a device directly onto an artery.

Method and apparatus for the detection and ligation of uterine arteries

Exemplary embodiments are directed to providing a method of preparing an anatomical vessel contained within a tissue bundle for ligation, including positioning a cannula adjacent to the tissue bundle, wherein the positioning is non-penetrating, the cannula including a first extendable member, a second extendable member, a Doppler wand, and a distal end, transmitting ultrasound signals toward the vessel through the tissue bundle with the Doppler wand, receiving ultrasound signals reflected by the vessel through the tissue bundle with the Doppler wand, invaginating the tissue bundle with the first extendable member on a first side of the tissue bundle, invaginating the tissue bundle with the second extendable member on a second side of the bundle opposite the first side, and interpenetrating a length of ligation material between the first and second extendable members on a side of the vessel opposite the cannula distal end.

Doppler directed suture ligation device and method

A ligation device includes a cannula having first and second extendable members and a Doppler wand. The Doppler wand permits an anatomical vessel, such as a blood vessel, to be located in close proximity to the distal end of the cannula. The extendable members are extendable on two opposite sides of the vessel. A length of ligation material, such as suture material, extends through the first extendable member, and is attached to a detachable element mounted to the distalmost end of the extendable member. The second extendable member includes a snare. The first extendable member includes curved portions which, when the member is extended distally, extend the detachable element into position for the snare so that the snare can grab the loop. Once ensnared, the detachable element is released from the first extendable member, which pulls the ligation material around the vessel. The ligation device does not require prior visualization or dissection of the area around the vessel.

A system for assessing organ function couples light emitters into an optical fiber delivery assembly of which the tip extends to or into an internal organ and illuminates tissue; the device senses temperature at the tip, and a collection fiber collects light scattered, reflected or emitted by the surrounding tissue. Control and processing modules drive the laser diodes and process return spectral signals, e.g., to assess metabolic activity and detect onset of shock. A prototype uses four laser diodes with peaks at 735, 760, 805 and 890 nm, with a front end splitter providing a reference beam to a photo detector for normalizing detection output and correcting the signal samples. The device may include a plurality of laser diodes and may select subsets of the sources to tailor spectral illumination to different target enzymes, metabolites or other compounds. The processor may include heuristic correlators for interpreting the physiological state or detecting the onset of shock based on magnitudes of multiple different measured parameters.

Minimally invasive system for assessment of organ function

Medical devices that are coated with an echogenic material that includes an electrically insulative base layer and an echogenic layer demonstrate both improved ultrasonic imaging and protection against RF electrical breakdown. The echogenic layer includes a polymeric matrix that (i) defines a plurality of void spaces, (ii) includes glass microsphere particles, or (iii) both defines a plurality of void spaces and includes glass microsphere particles. Medical instruments exhibit enhanced ultrasonic imaging even when viewed along their lengths.

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Mission Viejo, CA, United States of America

Jill Uyeno