Dornier Medical Systems, Inc.

Other

Clemson University

Richard diMonda

Mark Tierney

Everette C Burdette

James Gouge

Matt Pursley

Ishmael Bentley

Integratable treatment devices, assemblies including a treatment device, at least one anchor, and a tether coupled thereto, and various methods and devices for inserting such devices and assemblies are disclosed herein. The treatment devices can be made of an integratable material that is not fully bioresorbable but promotes native tissue growth in and around the material. Certain methods involve first inserting at least one anchor and then advancing a treatment device via a tether coupled to the at least one anchor. Further various insertion devices that can be used to implant any of the treatment devices herein using any of the methods herein are disclosed.

Annulus repair devices, systems, and methods

A thermotherapy device for treatment of diseased biological tissues. The thermotherapy device includes a primary and at least one secondary cooling and/or radiation shielding lumen. The lumens are connected or disposed adjacent one another along their longitudinal exterior walls. An energy source is insertable into one or more of the cooling lumens to carry out a heating protocol to treat the diseased tissue while screening and/or cooling normal tissue. A transrectal ultrasound positioning and temperature sensing device can control the energy source for effective treatment.

Thermotherapy probe

A method and system for mapping temperature from image data. The method includes the steps of: receiving an image of tissue comprised of multiple pixels, segregating the image into groups of pixels (104), each group of pixels having a set of descriptors (106), establishing a baseline set of descriptors corresponding to initial conditions of the imaged tissue (108), measuring a differential in the set of descriptors for a group of pixels (114), the differential corresponding to a change in pixel values for the group of pixels, correlating said measured differential to a temperature change for the tissue corresponding to the group of pixels (118-124), and overlaying an indication of temperature over the tissue image in response to said correlated temperature change indicating a change in temperature range for the tissue (130-132). The system includes a digital processor implementing a neural network for evaluating a set of descriptors against baseline values learned by the neural network form the initial conditions of the tissue.

Method and system for non-invasive temperature mapping of tissue

A method of providing thermal therapy to prostate tissue of a patient. The method includes: inserting a mechanical separator or infusing a fluid to separate human tissue to be treated from nontarget tissue, thereby providing thermal insulation and other beneficial effects, and applying the thermal therapy to the target tissue.

Organ separation for thermal therapy

A method for performing thermotherapy treatment of patient prostate tissue, comprising the steps of inserting a thermotherapy probe in a urethral passageway, the probe having a fluid volume containing portion and an energy source inserted therein for generating radiation to heat the patient prostate tissue by the tissue absorbing the radiation; generating a pressurized fluid flow in the probe within the fluid volume containing portion and cooling the energy source by enveloping at least a portion of the energy source to direct the pressurized fluid flow to come into direct contact with and circulate around and over all energy radiating portions of the energy source simultaneously with energy radiation by the energy source, thereby preventing thereby preventing thermal damage to the energy source; and providing an inflatable nondistensible structure as part of the probe inserted into the urethral passageway and inflating the nondistensible structure with the pressurized fluid flow to cool tissue contacting the nondistensible structure simultaneously with energy radiation by the energy source, thereby controlling pain caused by heating localized areas of the tissue contacting the nondistensible structure, and the nondistensible structure upon inflating causing straightening along a longitudinal axis of the treated patient prostate tissue and the straightening enabling greater uniformity and effectiveness of treatment of the prostate tissue.

Thermotherapy method with tissue cooling

A thermotherapy method for treatment of prostate tissues. The thermotherapy method comprises the steps of locating a cylindrical ultrasound transducer substantially within an applicator housing, dimensioning the cylindrical ultrasound transducer to have a radius of curvature larger than a radius of curvature of the applicator housing, and providing a power source for the ultrasound transducer to produce a focused energy field.

Growing community of inventors

Marietta, GA, United States of America

Richard diMonda