The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 19, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 27, 2000
Gene W. Kammerer, East Brunswick, NJ (US);
Dorothy Dion, West Orange, NJ (US);
Martin Nohilly, Hoboken, NJ (US);
Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, NJ (US);
Abstract
A surgical balloon for insertion into a body cavity with a major chamber having a first volume and an annexed minor chamber communicating therewith and having a second volume less than the first volume has a continuous outer wall which defines the exterior surface of the balloon on a first side and the interior hollow of the balloon on a second side. The wall is formed from a stretchable elastic material permitting the interior hollow of the balloon to accommodate a variable volume of fluid ranging from a minimum deflated volume associated with a relaxed state of the wall to a maximum inflated volume associated with a stretched state of the wall. The wall has selected areas of varying expansibility attributable to varying wall thickness, heat or chemical treatment. The wall provides the balloon with an inflated shape within the cavity approximating the interior shape of the body cavity, including a first portion approximating the major chamber and a second portion approximating the minor chamber. As applied to balloons for insertion into the uterus for endometrial ablation therapy, the balloon has a pair of projections for inserting into the uterine cornua. The balloon may be preformed to mimic the uterine shape in the deflated state, and may be formed from polyurethane promoting conformance of the inflated balloon to the uterine cavity.