A cannula comprising a hollow tube made of a biocompatible, thermoplastic polymer, memory shape material, tipped with an injection needle or an electrode at it distal end, assumes desired shapes as it distally emerges from a lumen or channel of an instrument such as an introducer or endoscope. The desires shapes include a curvature conforming to an inverse tangent function. The cannula may be supplied alone, with or without an injection needle or electrode, and in a sterile pouch, for use with a device of a user's choice that has a suitable lumen or channel to guide the cannula, of the cannula may be used without such an instrument. The injection needle can be shorter than conventional to thereby inject medication only or primarily in submucosa and can be sharpened only or mostly at it distal end while the remaining portion of a bevel is not sharp, to thereby reduce the size of an opening the needle makes in tissue and helps keep the medication from leaking out of the injection site.

The present invention is an inflatable balloon which is enclosed by an expandable cover which becomes increasingly porous/permeable during expansion. The balloon is coated or enclosed with a matrix which contains a pharmaceutically active agent. During expansion of the balloon, the pharmaceutically active agent is released or extruded through the expandable cover into a body cavity such as an artery or vein. The present invention also provides for a method of treating a disease or condition by delivering the inflatable balloon to a particular body cavity.

A method for removing fluid from a patient is provided, the method including: deploying a ureteral stent or ureteral catheter into a ureter of a patient to maintain patency of fluid flow between a kidney and a bladder of the patient; deploying a bladder catheter into the bladder of the patient, wherein the bladder catheter comprises a distal end configured to be positioned in a patient's bladder, a drainage lumen portion having a proximal end, and a sidewall extending therebetween; and applying negative pressure to the proximal end of the bladder catheter to induce negative pressure in a portion of the urinary tract of the patient to remove fluid from the patient. Systems and kits related thereto also are provided.

A Direct Sodium Removal method, apparatus and solution for treating patients in heart failure, and having a glomerular filtration rate greater than 15 mL/min/1.73 m.sup.2, or residual kidney function corresponding to normal to CKD Stage 4, is provided in which a no or low sodium DSR infusate is administered to the peritoneal cavity for a predetermined dwell period and then removed, thereby removing sodium from the body. The resulting elimination of fluid from the patient by i) functioning of the kidneys through urination and ii) direct removal of osmotic ultrafiltrate from the peritoneal cavity, restores serum sodium concentrations to healthy levels and thereby reduces fluid overload in the patient.

Disclosed herein are systems, devices, and methods for the removal of objects from the body. The device may be a urethral catheter configured to aspirate kidney stones from the urinary tract through one or more aspiration ports at the distal face or along a lateral side of the catheter. The catheter may include one or more irrigation ports at the distal face or along the lateral side of the catheter for dislodging kidney stones. The device may be steerable. The spatial arrangement of the one or more irrigation ports with respect to the one or more aspiration ports may vary. The device may include an irrigation tube and/or a shield member configured to spatially confine the kidney stones adjacent the catheter. Various temporal patterns of aspiration and irrigation are disclosed for optimizing removal of kidney stones.

A urinary catheter device having a means for unblocking the catheter includes a tube, which has a distal end that is closed. The tube is resilient and is configured to insert through a urethra of an animal to position the distal end in a bladder. A hole is positioned through a wall of the tube proximate to the distal end and is configured to drain urine from the bladder through a proximal end of the tube, which is open. A channel extends through the wall from a first valve that is coupled to the tube to a chamber that is positioned in the wall proximate to the hole. Introduction of a fluid via the first valve into the chamber expands the chamber and increases a circumference of the hole so that debris that is impeding a flow of the urine through the tube enters and passes through the tube.

A light treatment system includes: a probe configured to be inserted into a bladder, the probe including an optical fiber configured to propagate light, and a light emitter that is provided at a distal end of the optical fiber, the light emitter being configured to emit the light; and a balloon catheter into which the probe is inserted, the balloon catheter being configured to be inserted into the bladder, the balloon catheter including a distal end portion that is to be dilated in the bladder, a wall configured to divide inside of the distal end portion into two regions, and a reflector configured to reflect the light emitted by the light emitter, the reflector being provided on a surface of the wall, the surface facing a region of the two regions, the region being where the light emitter is positioned.

Devices that are placed within fluid filled organs, such as the bladder, which reduce the risk of bacterial infections using a combination of active agents and mechanical disruption of bacteria.

A urinary catheter having a sensor or indicator affixed therein in a location that will be in the flow of urine when catheter is in use. The indicator comprises an electrolytic wicking material having an anode and a cathode thereon separated across the gap. The wicking material may be paper. The indicator further includes an output transducer positioned and connected relative to the anode and cathode such that a circuit which energizes the output transducer is created when urine flows. The indicator is configured to generate an output signal received at a remote location so that a medical practitioner can monitor proper usage of the catheter. There may be multiple anode/cathode pairs connected in series or parallel to increase voltage or current. Also, a capacitor and/or an antenna may be provided for the output transducer to boost the output signal.

Various embodiments of the present invention provide a conduit device including an attaching device configured for defining a helical pathway through a tissue wall and complementary ring in cooperation for securing the device within an aperture defined in the tissue wall. Some embodiments of the present invention further provide a system for implanting a conduit device in a tissue wall. More specifically, some embodiments provide a system including a coring device for defining an aperture in a tissue by removing and retaining a tissue core and securely implanting a conduit device therein so as to provide fluid communication between a first and second surface of the tissue wall via the conduit device.