Smith + Nephew

Baronova, Inc.

Oratec Interventions, Inc.

The Wallace Enterprises, Inc.

Kobi Iki

Douglas M Lorang

Mathew Erle Mitchell

Karen Drucker

Mark D Markel

William M Ambrisco

Alan P Gannon

Richard Ranalli

Ryland B Edwards, Iii

Daniel Rogers Burnett

Alex T Roth

David Needleman

Jimmy Van Westenberg

Matthew E Mitchell

Hugh R Sharkey

John E Ashley

Yan Lu

Marshall Tsuruda

Marie Meyer

The present invention relates to gastric obstruction device deployment systems and a device for intermittently obstructing a bodily opening, such as a gastric opening, and includes a proximal occluding member connected to a distal occluding member by a tether. The proximal occluding member is formable from an elongated and narrower configuration to a contracted or expanded but wider configuration. When employed in the stomach, the gastric obstruction device may be arranged transluminally with the distal occluding member disposed in the duodenum and the proximal occluding member disposed against the pyloric valve, intermittently occluding the pyloric valve and preventing or delaying the flow of gastric contents through the pyloric valve.

Gastric obstruction device deployment assembly and methods of delivering and deploying a gastric obstruction device

The present invention relates to a device for intermittently obstructing a bodily opening, such as a gastric opening, and includes a proximal member connected to a distal member by a tether. The proximal member is formable from an elongated and narrower configuration to a contracted or expanded but wider configuration. When employed in the stomach, the device may be arranged transluminally with the distal member disposed in the duodenum and the proximal member disposed against the pyloric valve, intermittently occluding the pyloric valve and preventing or delaying the flow of gastric contents through the pyloric valve.

Locking gastric obstruction device and method of use

The present invention relates to a device for intermittently obstructing a bodily opening, such as a gastric opening, and includes a proximal member connected to a distal member by a tether. The proximal member is formable from an elongated and narrower configuration to a contracted or expanded but wider configuration. When employed in the stomach, the device may be arranged transluminally with the distal member disposed in the duodenum and the proximal member disposed against the pyloric valve, intermittently occluding the pyloric valve and preventing or delaying, the flow of gastric contents through the pyloric valve.

An electrosurgical instrument for ablating cartilage while limiting collateral damage includes a non-conducting head with a small electrically conductive surface. The head of the instrument is coupled to a shaft by a flexible portion. The flexible portion biases the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface. The head is pivotably coupled to the shaft such that the electrically conductive surface is oriented substantially parallel to the tissue surface as the head slides across the tissue surface. A method of performing electrosurgery includes positioning the electrically conductive surface adjacent to the tissue surface, and sliding the shaft across the tissue surface with the head pivoting such that the electrically conductive surface is oriented substantially parallel to the tissue surface.

Cartilage treatment probe

A method and apparatus include determining a value of a parameter associated with operation of an electrosurgical probe having a particular probe design, and determining whether the value of the parameter is within a range of values that has been predetermined for the particular probe design to indicate that the probe is treating tissue in a desired manner. Power is delivered to the probe according to an algorithm based upon a determination that the value of the parameter is outside the range of values The algorithm delivers power in a pulsed profile including portions of low power and portions of high power. In one embodiment, the tissue treatment is ablation, the parameter is impedance, and the method limits tissue necrosis to less than 200 microns. In another embodiment, the tissue treatment is shrinkage, the parameter is temperature, and the method limits power delivery when the probe is not shrinking tissue.

Electrosurgical power control

An electrosurgical instrument includes a shaft, a flexible portion, and a head coupled to the shaft through the flexible portion and pivotably coupled to the flexible portion. The head includes a non-conductive surface and an electrically conductive surface. The flexible portion is configured to bias the non-conductive surface and the electrically conductive surface towards a tissue surface, such as cartilage. The non-conductive surface may include a material having a thermal conductivity less than or equal to about 30 W/m*K and/or a volume resistivity greater than or equal to about 1&#xd7;10ohm*cm. The non-conductive surface may include a ceramic such as Macor&#xae; ceramic, ZTA ceramic, and/or 99.5% alumina ceramic.

A covered stent includes a generally tubular stent body having inner and outer stent body surfaces. A sleeve of porous material encloses the stent body and has inner and outer portions opposed to the inner and outer stent body surfaces. A therapeutic agent is located along the stent body, the agent being diffusible through the material. A diffusion barrier is located between the inner material portion and the agent along the stent. The diffusion barrier prevents passage of at least a significant amount the agent through the inner portion of the sleeve of porous material. A diffusion restrictor is located between the outer portion of the sleeve of porous material and the agent along the stent. The diffusion restrictor permits passage of the agent through the inner material portion at a therapeutic level.

Covered stent with controlled therapeutic agent diffusion

An electrosurgical instrument is provided, having a holding formation, an elongated probe, an electrode, and a conductor. The elongated probe is connected to and extends from the holding formation. The electrode is located on an end of the elongated probe opposing the holding formation, and has a leading edge and a face. The electrode is locatable so that the face is substantially in a horizontal plane and the leading edge is above the horizontal plane. The conductor extends along the elongated probe and has a portion connected to the electrode to provide RF power thereto. The electrode creates a temperature profile with a temperature adjacent to the leading edge being higher than a temperature adjacent to the face.

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San Carlos, CA, United States of America

Kobi Iki