Occlusion resistant hydrocephalic shunt
AssigneeMedtronic, Inc.
InventorsEdouard Koullick, Marc Hendriks, William Bertrand
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An occlusion resistant medical shunt, particularly a hydrocephalic shunt, is provided for implantation into a mammal. The shunt has an elongate wall structure configured as a tube having a lumen therethrough and a proximal end for receipt of bodily fluids. The bodily fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid, flows through the shunt to a distal end for discharge of the bodily fluids. The wall structure of the shunt generally includes a biocompatible medical device material. The shunts of the present invention further include one or more occlusion resistant materials to resist occlusion of the lumenal passage in the shunt.
Claims60
An occlusion resistant medical shunt for at least partial implantation into a patient, said shunt comprising an elongated conduit having a lumen therethrough, a proximal end for receipt of bodily fluids for flow through said shunt and a distal end for discharge of said bodily fluids from said shunt, a plurality of apertures at the proximal end of said shunt, said shunt further including one or more occlusion-resistant materials distributed in one or more separate agent delivery device(s) contained within the lumen of said shunt;
- wherein said agent delivery device is not coated on, or impregnated in, the shunt wall, and
- wherein said agent delivery device(s) is selected from the group consisting of spheres, inserts, eluting plugs, seeds, elongated members and combinations thereof, and
- wherein the one or more occlusion-resistant materials are released internally from said agent delivery devices to resist occlusion of the lumen of the shunt.
An occlusion resistant medical cannula for at least partial implantation into a patient, said cannula comprising an elongated conduit having a lumen therethrough, a proximal end for receipt of bodily fluids for flow through said cannula and a distal end for discharge of said bodily fluids from said cannula, a plurality of apertures at the proximal end of said cannula, said cannula further including one or more occlusion-resistant materials distributed in one or more separate agent delivery device(s) that is not coated on or impregnated in the shunt wall and is contained within the lumen of said cannula, wherein said agent delivery device(s) is selected from the group consisting of spheres, inserts, eluting plugs, seeds, elongated members and combinations thereof, wherein the one or more occlusion-resistant materials are released internally from one or more agent delivery devices that provide occlusion resistance of the lumen of the cannula.
A method of preparing an occlusion resistant shunt comprising:
- providing an elongated conduit having a lumen therethrough and including a proximal end for receipt of bodily fluids for flow through said shunt and a distal end for discharge of said bodily fluids from said shunt, said conduit having plurality of apertures at the proximal said shunt, administering to said shunt one or more occlusion-resistant materials distributed in one or more separate agent delivery devices that is not coated on, or impregnated in, the shunt wall and is contained within the lumen of said shunt, wherein said agent delivery device(s) is selected from the group consisting of spheres, inserts, eluting plugs, seeds, elongated members and combinations thereof, wherein the one or more occlusion-resistant materials are released internally from said agent delivery devices to resist occlusion of the lumen of said shunt.
A method of inhibiting the occlusion of an at least partially implanted shunt comprising:
- implanting a shunt including an elongated conduit having a lumen therethrough, a proximal end for receipt of bodily fluids for flow through said shunt and a distal end for discharge of said bodily fluids from said shunt, said shunt having a plurality of apertures at the proximal of said shunt, said shunt further including one or more occlusion-resistant materials distributed in one or more separate agent delivery device(s) that is not coated on, or impregnated in, the shunt wall and is contained within the lumen of said shunt, wherein said agent delivery device(s) is selected from the group consisting of spheres, inserts, eluting plugs, seeds, elongated members, and combinations thereof;
- and releasing from said agent delivery devices the one or more occlusion-resistant materials to inhibit the occlusion of the lumen of said shunt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.