A method of stabilizing a tube at a stoma of a patient includes providing a stabilizing device having a base portion and a tube holding portion that is attached at the base portion via at least two legs and that, with the base portion affixed to the patient, is spaced from the stoma of the patient. The tube holding portion has a passageway therethrough that is configured to receive the tube that passes through the stoma. The tube holding portion may be adjusted to position the tube in a free-flow orientation or a restricted-flow orientation. The tube holding portion may include a disinfecting wiping element. The stabilizing device may have pads coupled to respective legs via an elastomeric connecting element to allow for adjustment of the pads relative to the legs. The tube holding portion may include flexible tabs that deflect to enlarge an effective diameter of the passageway.

An implantable medical device is provided for controlled drug delivery within the bladder, or other body vesicle. The device may include at least one drug reservoir component comprising a drug; and a vesicle retention frame which comprises an elastic wire having a first end, an opposing second end, and an intermediate region therebetween, wherein the drug reservoir component is attached to the intermediate region of the vesicle retention frame. The retention frame prevents accidental voiding of the device from the bladder, and it preferably has a spring constant selected for the device to effectively stay in the bladder during urination while minimizing the irritation of the bladder.

An pressure attenuation device for use in a body can include a balloon comprising an outer wall and defining an interior chamber therein. The balloon can be configured to elastically deform up to at least to an internal pressure of 90 cm H2O. A high vapor pressure media having a vapor pressure of between 155 cm-185 cm H2O at 37 degrees Celsius can be positioned within the interior chamber. The balloon can have a minimum wall thickness of between 0.001 inches-0.00175 inches.

Intravesical drug delivery devices are provided which may include an elongated body formed of a matrix system of a drug dispersed in a silicone, wherein the elongated body has a first end, an opposed second end, and an intermediate portion between the first and second ends, and wherein the silicone of the matrix system is cured to bias the elongated body in a coiled retention shape, such that the device is elastically deformable between a relatively straightened shape suited for insertion of the device through a urethra and into the urinary bladder of a patient and the coiled retention shape which is suited to retain the device within the urinary bladder.

A medical syringe with at least three ports, in conjunction with a urinary catheter, can be used for closed manual irrigation of a bladder. The three syringe ports are located on a port body. Each of the three syringe ports can be manually selected by rotating a barrel that has a closed end located inside the cup-shaped port body. Rotation of the barrel inside the port body occurs about an axis that is aligned with the central axis of the hollow cylindrical barrel. The system is configured to selectively fill the syringe with an input fluid, irrigate the bladder by passing fluid into and out of the urinary catheter, and drain bladder contents into a drainage vessel without ever needing to remove the syringe from the catheter.

The present invention provides oxygenized nanobubbles and their uses in imaging and cancer treatment when combined with therapeutic drugs and precise ultrasound beam steering.

A method for increasing urine output rate from a patient having venous congestion is provided. The method includes: deploying a urinary catheter into the patient such that flow of urine from the ureter and/or kidney is transported within a drainage lumen of the catheter; applying negative pressure to the ureter and/or kidney through the drainage lumen of the catheter to extract urine from the patient; periodically measuring an edema value of the patient; and if the measured edema value is less than or equal to Grade 1 in which the depth of indentation is less than about 2 mm after about 10 seconds, ceasing the application of the negative pressure to the ureter and/or kidney.

An indwelling urethral device is described that includes an elongated tubular member extending along a longitudinal axis (L) from a distal inlet end portion, via an intermediate portion, to a proximal outlet end portion, the tubular member defining a lumen extending along the longitudinal axis between the distal inlet end portion and the proximal outlet end portion, the distal end portion of the elongated tubular member comprising a plurality of urine inlet openings, at least a part of the distal end portion being preconfigured to be reversibly transformable between a linear state for passage through the urethra when inserted there through and a preconfigured coiled state for anchored receipt within the bladder in the use position. The plurality of urine inlet openings is provided on the interior spiral section and urine inlet openings are absent on the exterior spiral section.

Provided is a urinary catheter capable of easily draining urine stored from an inner wall of a bladder up to the top of a balloon portion, while the balloon portion maintains a function for preventing falling-off of the catheter. There is provided a urinary catheter 1 which includes a catheter body 2, a urine draining lumen 11 which is formed inside the catheter body 2, a balloon 4 which has a first end portion 25 fixed so as to surround the catheter body 2 at a tip end portion side of the catheter body 2 and a second end portion 26 and also has a linear recessed portion 38 extending from the first end portion 25 toward the second end portion 26 along a circumferential surface 31 thereof in an expanded state, a first urine draining port 9 which is formed in the catheter body 2 so as to be closer to the tip end portion side than the balloon 4 to communicate with the urine draining lumen 11, and a second urine draining port 37 which is formed in the vicinity of the first end portion 25 of the balloon 4 in the catheter body 2 to communicate with the urine draining lumen 11.

A bladder catheter is provided. The bladder catheter includes: a proximal portion configured to be positioned in at least a portion of a patient's urethra; and a distal portion configured to be positioned in a patient's bladder, the distal portion including a retention portion, wherein the retention portion includes an inwardly facing side including one or more perforations and an outwardly facing side, and wherein, when negative pressure is applied through the bladder catheter, fluid is drawn into the bladder catheter through the one or more perforations while bladder walls are prevented from appreciably occluding the one or more perforations by contact with the outwardly facing side of the retention portion.