Surgery: light, thermal, and electrical application inventions 04/08

20080097529 - Multi-electrode implantable stimulator device with a single current path decoupling capacitor: Disclosed herein are circuits and methods for a multi-electrode implantable stimulator device incorporating one decoupling capacitor in the current path established via at least one cathode electrode and at least one anode electrode. In one embodiment, the decoupling capacitor may be hard-wired to a dedicated anode on the device. The... Agent: Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherfor & Brucculer L.l.p

20080097531 - Implantable cardiac device with a shock lead: An implantable cardiac device includes a housing (2), pulse generator (7) therein to generate physiologically effective electrical pulses, a shock lead (3), externally of the housing (2), connectable to the pulse generator (7) and implantable into a patient's body to apply physiologically effective electrical pulses to the patient's body, a... Agent: Dalina Law Group, P.C.

20080097532 - Method and apparatus for preventing excessive power drain from an implantable device: A method and apparatus are provided for controlling interrogation of an implantable device such as a pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter, or a defibrillator utilizing an external device in a home environment. The method controls how frequently a patient can retrieve status information from the implantable device based on a time... Agent: Pacesetter, Inc.

20080097533 - External defibrillator with multiple language prompting: A multilingual defibrillator is capable of concurrently providing audible prompts for the operation of the defibrillator in multiple languages. The defibrillator includes a memory for storing data files representative of audible prompts in a plurality of languages. A controller is coupled to the memory and configured to select data files... Agent: Philips Medical Systems Philips Intellectual Property & Standards

20080097534 - Resuscitation system: A resuscitation system includes a chest compression device to repeatedly compress the chest of a patient and thereafter cause or allow the chest to expand. The resuscitation system also includes a defibrillator to apply electric impulses to the heart, a measuring device for measuring at least one characteristics of the... Agent: Dorsey & Whitney LLP Intellectual Property Department

20080097535 - Method and system for reducing cardiac low pressure states: Methods, systems and computer program products for reducing a risk of pulseless electrical activity (PEA) include detecting a first post-defibrillation blood flow of a subject and detecting a second post-defibrillation blood flow of the subject after the first post-defibrillation blood flow. If the first post-defibrillation blood flow of the subject... Agent: Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec

20080097539 - Method and apparatus for detecting fibrillation using cardiac local impedance: A cardiac rhythm management (CRM) system detects tachyarrhythmia using cardiac local impedance indicative of cardiac local wall motion. A cardiac local impedance signal indicative of an impedance of a cardiac region is sensed by using a pair of bipolar electrodes placed in that cardiac region. Tachyarrhythmia such as VF is... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097544 - Dynamic battery management in an implantable device: One aspect of this disclosure relates to a system for dynamic battery management in implantable medical devices. An embodiment of the system includes two or more devices for measuring battery capacity for an implantable medical device battery. The embodiment also includes a controller connected to the measuring devices. The controller... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097545 - Method and apparatus for preventing excessive power drain from an implantable device: A method and apparatus are provided for controlling interrogation of an implantable device such as a pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter, or a defibrillator utilizing an external device in a home environment. The method controls how frequently a patient can retrieve status information from the implantable device based on a time... Agent: Pacesetter, Inc.

20080097554 - Orientation-independent implantable pulse generator: An improved structure for an implantable medical device, such as an implantable pulse generator, is disclosed. The improved device includes a charging coil for wirelessly receiving energy via induction from an external charger. The charging coil in the device is located substantially equidistantly from the two planar sides of the... Agent: Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherfor & Brucculer L.l.p

20080097557 - Method and apparatus for carrying out the controlled heating of tissue in the region of dermis: Implant apparatus and method for effecting a controlled heating of tissue within the region of dermis of skin. The heater implants are configured with a thermally insulative generally flat support functioning as a thermal barrier. One surface of this thermal barrier carries one or more electrodes within a radiofrequency excitable... Agent: Mueller And Smith, Lpa Mueller-smith Building

20080097530 - System for tissue stimulation and regeneration: A system for stimulating tissue to relieve pain and repair and/or regenerate tissue comprising a garment that has an electrode, a programmable electrical stimulation device, a time varying electromagnetic field generator, and a source that provides an electrical current. Also provided is a method wherein the electrode provides the user... Agent: Ladas & Parry LLP

20080097536 - Method and apparatus for adjustment of sequential biventricular pacing parameters: A method and system are disclosed for setting the pacing parameters utilized by an implantable cardiac device in delivering cardiac resynchronization therapy. The system may, in different embodiments, be implemented in programming of the implantable device and an external programmer in communication therewith or in the programming of the implantable... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097537 - Method and system for cardiac signal decomposition: A method and system decomposes a cardiac signal, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal, into components. The components are then usable to assist in the detection of an abnormal heart condition. More particularly, a single lead sensor is used to generate a single lead cardiac signal. The cardiac signal is... Agent: William J. Kolegraff

20080097538 - Apparatus and method for spatially and temporally distributing cardiac electrical stimulation: A cardiac electro-stimulatory device and method for operating same in which stimulation pulses are distributed among a plurality of electrodes fixed at different sites of the myocardium in order to reduce myocardial hypertrophy brought about by repeated pacing at a single site and/or increase myocardial contractility. In order to spatially... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097540 - Ecg input to implantable pulse generator using carotid sinus leads: A monitoring device is provided to monitor a patient. The monitoring device includes at least one lead having an electrode. The lead is positioned proximate a location within the patient's body, and the lead is adapted to sense cardiac electrical activity. The monitoring device also includes a control system coupled... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP

20080097541 - Apparatus and method for spatially and temporally distributing cardiac electrical stimulation: A cardiac electro-stimulatory device and method for operating same in which stimulation pulses are distributed among a plurality of electrodes fixed at different sites of the myocardium in order to reduce myocardial hypertrophy brought about by repeated pacing at a single site and/or increase myocardial contractility. In order to spatially... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097542 - Method and apparatus for predicting acute response to cardiac resynchronization therapy: A method and apparatus for predicting acute response to cardiac resynchronization therapy is disclosed. The method can comprise measuring a first interval during an intrinsic systolic cycle and measuring a second interval during a stimulated systolic cycle. The acute response can be predicted by comparing the percent change in duration... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097543 - Cardiac rhythm management system and method: A system and method for cardiac rhythm management, which includes an electrode system having at least one electrode and control circuitry coupled to the electrode system from which a first cardiac signal is sensed. The control circuitry includes a pulse circuit to produce electrical pulses at a first value to... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080097546 - Electrode and enclosure for cardiac monitoring and treatment: A defibrillator electrode and enclosure are described in which the electrodes are sealed to the inside of a rigid enclosure. The enclosure is hinged to open and expose the electrodes for deployment. The electrode gel is sealed against moisture loss between the moisture impervious electrode backing and the inner surface... Agent: Philips Medical Systems Philips Intellectual Property & Standards

20080097547 - Apparatus and method for visual stimulation indication: Methods and devices for verifying that proper visual stimulation is applied to the visual prostheses are described. In one of the methods, a retinal stimulation system implanted on a subject is simulated externally. An external testing device is also discussed.... Agent: Tomas Lendvai, Ph.d. Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080097548 - Visual prosthesis: A visual prosthesis apparatus and a method for limiting power consumption in a visual prosthesis apparatus. The visual prosthesis apparatus comprises a camera for capturing a video image, a video processing unit associated with the camera, the video processing unit configured to convert the video image to stimulation patterns, and... Agent: Tomas Lendvai Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080097549 - Electrode assembly and method of using same: An electrode assembly for delivering electrical stimulation to a vestibular system of a user or monitoring a physiological parameter of the user. The apparatus includes a body member comprising an electrode support portion and a curved portion extending from the electrode support portion, and an electrode coupled to the electrode... Agent: Michael W. Haas Respironics, Inc.

20080097550 - Systems and methods for remote patient monitoring and command execution: A method according to one aspect of the present invention includes receiving patient information, analyzing the patient information to identify a condition for the patient, formatting a report based on the patient information and the patient condition, and transmitting a command. Commands can be used for the authentication, configuration, and... Agent: Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP

20080097553 - Methods and systems for semi-automatic adjustment of medical monitoring and treatment: Systems and methods are described for adjusting the operation of implantable stimulation devices used to provide medical monitoring and treatment. Several hierarchical algorithms are described which operate according to conditionally obtaining a patient response to an alert signal. In one such strategy semi-automatic therapy adjustment occurs by automatically issuing patient... Agent: John, Michael Sasha

20080097552 - Systems and methods for medical data interchange using mobile computing devices: A method according to the present invention includes receiving data through a wired connection from a medical device by a mobile computing device, where the wired connection includes an adapter that communicates with the mobile computing device using a first communication format and the medical device using a second communication... Agent: Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP

20080097551 - Systems and methods for storage and forwarding of medical data: A method according to an aspect of the present invention includes receiving data through a wired connection from a medical device, storing the data, transmitting the data to an intermediary device, and formatting a message including the received data for transmission to a medical data server. This method can be... Agent: Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP

20080097555 - Inductive repeater coil for an implantable device: The present invention is a power and data transmission system for an implantable device. In particular, it is an inductive system with a passive repeater coil pair to improve efficiency of the device.... Agent: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080097556 - Sensory system: A device for sensing and communicating nerve cell endings and neural signals, the device comprising: at least one neural bridge device; at least one neural bridge switch, wherein each neural bridge switch is an implanted integrated circuit and is connected to at least one neural bridge device; at least one... Agent: Meredith & Keyhani, PLLC

20080097558 - Method and apparatus for carrying out the controlled heating of dermis and vascular tissue: Method, system and apparatus for carrying out a controlled heating of tissue in the region of skin dermis. A quasi-bipolar arrangement of wands or implants carrying multi-segmented active electrodes, temperature sensing and wand location LEDs as combined with a return electrode and heat sink function. Radiofrequency energization of the active... Agent: Mueller And Smith, Lpa Mueller-smith Building

20080097559 - Method and apparatus for carrying out the controlled heating of dermis and vascular tissue: Method for effecting a controlled heating of tissue within the region of dermis which employs heater implants which are configured with a thermally insulative generally flat support functioning as a thermal barrier. From the surface of this thermal barrier are supported one or more electrodes within a radiofrequency excitable circuit... Agent: Mueller And Smith, Lpa Mueller-smith Building

20080097560 - Adjustable thermal cap: A thermal cap that can fit a variety of head sizes is disclosed. The cap can include a shell having a fluid inlet and outlet, a sealing mechanism and removable sizing layers disposed within the shell. Depending upon the size of a patient's head, sizing layers can either be added... Agent: Nutter Mcclennen & Fish LLP

20080097561 - Dual cycle thermal system and method of use: Various types of body heating or cooling devices are described in the present disclosure. Such devices, and associated methods, can utilize two separated thermal transfer fluids to promote heating or cooling of a body part. For example, a cooling cap can include a rigid shell and a flexible seal that... Agent: Nutter Mcclennen & Fish LLP

20080097563 - Device for circulating heated fluid: A system for ablating tissue includes a reusable control unit including a processor monitoring and controlling ablation and a control interface receiving input to and output from the processor in combination with a disposable procedure set releasably connectable to the control unit to couple to the control interface for communication... Agent: Fay Kaplun & Marcin, LLP

20080097562 - System for chemohyperthermia treatment: The present invention provides a system for chemohyperthermia treatment. The chemohyperthermia treatment system comprises a reservoir for storing fluid; a heating/cooling system coupled to the reservoir so that the fluid can be transferred from the reservoir to the heating system, wherein the heating/cooling system comprises a heating/cooling exchange module having... Agent: Lawrence Y.d. Ho & Associates Pte Ltd

20080097564 - Electrotherapeutic device: This invention relates to an electrotherapeutic device useful for treating a variety of aspects associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The device is a TENS-like unit that is miniaturized, comfortable and unobtrusive, thereby allowing for unencumbered performance of daily activities. The device houses an electronic circuit comprising optimally placed electrodes and... Agent: Catalyst Law Group, Apc

20080097565 - Neural bridge gateway and calibrator: A device for communicating data between at least one of nerve cell endings, transducers and attachments the device comprising: at least one programmable neural bridge device; at least one programmable neural bridge switch, wherein each programmable neural bridge switch is an implanted integrated circuit and is connected to at least... Agent: Meredith & Keyhani, PLLC

20080097566 - Focused segmented electrode: The present invention provides significantly improved electrode structures, including segmented electrode structures, which are able to deliver highly focused energy to tissue when implanted into a patient. Embodiments of the invention include focused segmented electrodes. Also provided are leads that include the focused segmented electrodes, implantable pulse generators that include... Agent: Bozicevic, Field & Francis LLP (proteus Biomedical, Inc)

20080097567 - Cardiac lead having self-expanding fixation features: A cardiac lead for placement in the vicinity of a patient's heart is described. The lead includes a self-expanding fixation mechanism, which in a retracted position, is contained within a cavity disposed at a distal end of the lead. In an expanded position, the fixation mechanism extends axially from the... Agent: Faegre & Benson, LLP Boston Scientific Patent Dock

20080091238 - Electrochemical compensation oscillator for the biological protection of living organism: P

20080091239 - Cardiac assist device and method using epicardially placed microphone: In a cardiac assist device and method, a microphone is placed in contact with the epicardium of the heart of a patient, and heart and lung sounds are simultaneously detected at the placement location of the microphone. The heart and lung sounds are automatically analyzed to set an appropriate cardiac... Agent: Schiff Hardin, LLP Patent Department

20080091243 - Electrical energy delivery tissue site validation: Electrical energy delivery tissue site validation systems and methods can determine an indication of a tissue type at a tissue site. This information can be used to enable or inhibit electrical energy delivery to the tissue site. The tissue type at the tissue site can be determined such as by... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080091244 - Pacemaker: A system for pacing a heart includes an implantable pulse generator configured to generate electrical impulses for stimulating contraction of cardiac tissue; first, second, third, and fourth leads configured to deliver the electrical impulses to activation sites within the cardiac tissue and to detect electrical activity of the activation sites;... Agent: Trego, Hines & Ladenheim, PLLC

20080091246 - Implantable pulse generator with a stacked capacitor, battery, and electronics: One embodiment of the present subject matter includes an implantable medical device which includes a first power source comprising a first plurality of substantially planar electrodes, the first power source including at least a first power source face, an electronics module including a first substantially planar electronics face, and a... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080091248 - Percutaneous neurostimulator for modulating cardiovascular function: A neurostimulation device includes an external neurostimulator worn by a patient using a bracing element that braces a portion of the patient's body. The external neurostimulator delivers neurostimulation to modulate a cardiovascular function of the patient. In one embodiment, the external stimulator delivers neurostimulation percutaneously to a stimulation target in... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080091249 - Photobiomodulation apparatus with enhanced performance and safety features: A photobiomodulation apparatus providing precise light intensity, light dosage, and tissue temperature control so as to enhance the safety of the photobiomodulation treatment process and improve the comfort level of the patient.... Agent: Bwt Property, Inc.

20080091240 - Parasympathetic stimulation for treating ventricular arrhythmia: Apparatus is provided including an implantable sensor, adapted to sense an electrical parameter of a heart of a subject, and a first control unit, adapted to apply pulses to the heart responsively to the sensed parameter, the pulses selected from the list consisting of: pacing pulses and anti-arrhythmic energy. The... Agent: Cooper & Dunham, LLP

20080091241 - Vagal stimulation for cardioversion of atrial fibrillation: Apparatus (20) for treating a subject (30) suffering from spontaneous atrial fibrillation includes an electrode device (22), adapted to be coupled to a site of the subject (30) selected from the list consisting of: a vagus nerve (24) of the subject (30), an epicardial fat pad of the subject (30),... Agent: Cooper & Dunham, LLP

20080091242 - Subcutaneous cardiac sensing and stimulation system employing blood sensor: Cardiac systems and methods using ECG and blood information for arrhythmia detection and discrimination. Detection circuitry is configured to produce an ECG. An implantable blood sensor configured to produce a blood sensor signal is coupled to a processor. The processor is coupled to the detection and energy delivery circuitry, and... Agent: Hollingsworth & Funk, LLC

20080091245 - Combined parasympathetic stimulation and cardiac pacing: Apparatus for treating a subject suffering from spontaneous atrial fibrillation includes an electrode device, adapted to be coupled to a vagus nerve of the subject, and a control unit, adapted to drive the electrode device to apply an electrical current to the vagus nerve, and to configure the current to... Agent: Cooper & Dunham, LLP

20080091247 - System, apparatus, and method for facilitating interface with laryngeal structures: A system and method of positioning an interface element for interfacing with laryngeal structures in a subject such as for diagnosis or treatment of a laryngeal impairment is presented. Illustratively, a curved hollow needle system is inserted into a subperichondral space beneath posterior cricoarytenoid muscle from the larynx. The curved... Agent: Bromberg & Sunstein LLP

20080091250 - Light therapy desk lamp: A light emitting diode (LED) light therapy desk lamp device is disclosed. The light therapy desk lamp device may be used in the treatment of various conditions. The light therapy device may include multi-color LEDs for emitting a broad-spectrum non-therapeutic light and at least one narrow-spectrum therapeutic light. The light... Agent: Stoel Rives LLP - Slc

20080091251 - Methods and apparatus for providing a skin treatment device on a pay-per-use basis: Methods and apparatus for providing a skin treatment device on a pay-per-use basis are disclosed. Generally, a wholesaler supplies an LED skin treatment device to a retailer. The retailer pays the wholesaler on a per use basis, which is regulated by a digital key, such as a smart card attached... Agent: Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, LLP

20080091252 - Method for treating intervertebral disc: A device is described that may be positioned at a location in an intervertebral disc for diagnosis or treatment of the disc. Treatment may include, for example, applying energy or removing material, and may decrease intradiscal pressure. Radiofrequency energy may be applied. A percutaneous method of repairing a fissure in... Agent: Fish & Richardson P.C. Smith & Nephew, Inc.

20080091253 - Catheter system with on-board temperature probe: A catheter system for controlling the body temperature of a patient by modifying the temperature of blood flowing within a blood vessel of the patient. The catheter system comprises a catheter body having a heat exchange region in contact with the blood; and a temperature probe having a distal end... Agent: Stout, Uxa, Buyan & Mullins LLP

20080091254 - Healthcare device: Apparatus and method for addressing and alleviating health problems by applying pulse stimulation via electrode attached to the hand at specific point located along the second metacarpal bone of the hand linking with the index finger. The method includes an apparatus, a system and a scheme to identify the treatment... Agent: Mayback & Hoffman, P.A.

20080091255 - Implantable neurostimulator for modulating cardiovascular function: An implantable medical device includes an implantable capsule housing a circuit that delivers neurostimulation to modulate one or more cardiovascular functions. To limit displacement after implantation, a fixation device is coupled to the implantable capsule to fix the miniature implantable medical device to a position in the body of a... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080091256 - Transcutaneous neurostimulator for modulating cardiovascular function: A neurostimulation device includes an external neurostimulator worn by a patient using a bracing element that braces a portion of the patient's body. The external neurostimulator delivers neurostimulation to modulate a cardiovascular function of the patient. In one embodiment, the external stimulator delivers the neurostimulation transcutaneously to a stimulation target... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080086175 - Method and apparatus for reducing defibrillation threshold: An antitachyarrhythmia system uses vagal nerve stimulation in combination with one or more additional techniques to lower the defibrillation threshold (DFT). Examples of such additional techniques include using electrical shock waveforms each including a plurality of pulses and using defibrillation electrode configurations each including an electrode placed in the coronary... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.a.

20080086174 - System for neurally-mediated anti-arrhythmic therapy: According to an embodiment of a method, a predetermined cardiac activity indicated for an antitachycardia shock is detected. Neural stimulation is applied to lower a defibrillation threshold in preparation for the shock, and the shock is subcutaneously delivered. According to one embodiment, neural stimulation is applied as part of a... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.a.

20080086176 - Method and apparatus for control of pacemakers: A cardiac pacemaker device is in signal communication with a patient interface unit (PIU). The patient has the option of controlling various functions of the pacemaker via the PIU. In one embodiment, the pacemaker has an automatic means to detect a need for a change in pace rate, as well... Agent: Edward S. Sherman, Esq.

20080086177 - System and related methods for monitoring cardiac disease using pacing latency measurements: A system and related methods for monitoring cardiac disease. The system includes an implantable medical device having a microcontroller that is configured to measure a pacing latency value for a region of a heart, compare the measured pacing latency value to a previously measured pacing latency value for the region... Agent: Pacesetter, Inc.

20080086179 - Method and apparatus for treatment of the gastrointestinal tract: A method and device for electrically stimulating one or more structures in the gastrointestinal tract as described. The one or more structures are preferably selected from the upper esophageal sphincter, the esophagus and gastric fundus. The method may involve the step of arranging a plurality of stimulating electrodes adjacent one... Agent: Fisher Adams Kelly

20080086180 - Techniques for gall bladder stimulation: Apparatus for treating a patient is provided, including an electrode device, which is configured to be placed in a vicinity of at least one gall bladder site of the patient selected from the group consisting of: a gall bladder, a neck of the gall bladder, a cystic duct, a hepatic... Agent: Cooper & Dunham, LLP

20080086181 - Implantable device for responsive neural stimulation therapy: Described herein are methods and devices that utilize electrical neural stimulation to treat heart failure by modulating a patient's autonomic balance in a manner that inhibits sympathetic activity and/or augments parasympathetic activity. In one embodiment, the duty cycle for delivering neural stimulation is adjusted in accordance with one or more... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.a.

20080086185 - Distributed neuromodulation system for treatment of cardiovascular disease: A distributed system is described that employs electrical neural stimulation to modulate autonomic activity and which allows titration of the neural stimulation therapy in accordance with physiological measurements reflective of autonomic activity and/or physiological variables affected by the neural stimulation. Such a system may include a plurality of implantable neuromodulation... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.a.

20080086173 - Package for an implantable neural stimulation device: The present invention is an improved hermetic package for implantation in the human body. The implantable device comprises an electrically non-conductive substrate; a plurality of electrically conductive vias through said electrically non-conductive substrate; a flip-chip circuit attached to said electrically non-conductive substrate using conductive bumps and electrically connected to a... Agent: Scott B. Dunbar Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080086178 - Detecting atrial evoked response: A method for sensing cardiac activity in an atrium of a patient's heart includes delivering a pulse to the atrium using an electrode configuration that includes at least a cathode electrode; sensing cardiac activity in the atrium using a unipolar electrode configuration to provide a sensed signal wherein the unipolar... Agent: Pacesetter, Inc.

20080086182 - Treatment for disorders by parasympathetic stimulation: A treatment method is provided, including identifying a subject as one who is selected to undergo an interventional medical procedure, and, in response to the identifying, reducing a likelihood of a potential adverse effect of the procedure by applying an electrical current to a parasympathetic site of the subject selected... Agent: Cooper & Dunham, LLP

20080086183 - Trans-retinal flexible circuit electrode array: Applicant has proposed a combination of the subretinal and epiretinal methods by placing the electronics external to the eye, entering the eye through the pars plana and the piercing the retina (retinotomy) from inside the eye to stimulate subreintally. The present invention is an improved electrode array for subretinal stimulation.... Agent: Scott B. Dunbar Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080086184 - Middle ear fixation structure: An implantable fixation structure includes at least one implantable holding element. The holding element is connected to an implantable cochlear implant element and maintains the cochlear implant element in a desired position relative to the middle ear of a patient user.... Agent: Bromberg & Sunstein LLP

20080086186 - Brain cooling apparatus and fluid injection apparatus used therefor: A brain cooling apparatus includes a tube body 2 which can maintain an airway in the respiratory tract of living body; a pharyngeal cuff 5 which is provided in the peripheral part of this tube body 2 and can store a cooled fluid; and an injection and discharge portion 6... Agent: Osha Liang L.l.p.

20080086187 - Device and method for the reduction of pain associated with needle sticks: A device that is used to reduce the pain of a needle stick to a person, the device having a casing containing a vibratory device and a temperature reducing device, and a method for using the device to reduce the pain of a needle stick by applying both thermal and... Agent: Powell Goldstein LLP

20080086188 - Neural bridge switch: A system for communicating between at least two neural bridge devices for reviving and maintaining a severed nerve tissue or a bundle of nerves of a body, the system comprising: at least two neural bridge devices; at least one neural bridge switch, wherein each at least one neural bridge switch... Agent: Meredith & Keyhani, Pllc

20080086189 - Mouth cleaning device: A mouth cleaning device includes a head portion provided with bristles and an electrode; and a grip portion provided with an electrode. Further, the mouth cleaning device includes a boosting circuit for boosting an output voltage of a battery serving as a power source and applying the boosted voltage to... Agent: Bacon & Thomas, Pllc

20080082131 - Facial nerve stimulator (fns): The Facial Nerve Stimulator (FNS) is a headset type device used to treat patients with mild or severe Bell's Palsy and other facial nerve problems. The Facial Nerve Stimulator (FNS) is worn comfortably by resting one end on the ear lobe and inserting the Oral Electrode casing inside the mouth.... Agent: Myriam Ivette Llanos

20080082132 - Signal transmitting and lesion excluding heart implants for pacing defibrillating and/or sensing of heart beat: Devices, systems, and methods for treating a heart of a patient may make use of structures which limit a size of a chamber of the heart, such as by deploying a tensile member to bring a wall of the heart toward (optionally into contact with) a septum of the heart.... Agent: Chf Technologies, Inc.

20080082134 - Biventricular heart stimulator: A biventricular heart stimulator is adapted to optimize an interventricular delay interval duration by minimizing a mechanical asynchrony between right and left ventricle. Mechanical asynchrony between right and left ventricle is determined by measuring right ventricular and left ventricular intracardiac impedance or conductivity.... Agent: Intellectual Property Dept. Dewitt Ross & Stevens Sc

20080082135 - Method and apparatus for identification of ischemic/infarcted regions and therapy optimization: A method and apparatus is described for detecting and localizing areas of myocardial infarction or ischemia. By pacing sites in proximity to the infarcted or ischemic region with appropriately timed pacing pulses, the region is pre-excited in a manner that lessens the mechanical stress to which it is subjected, thus... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080082133 - Method and apparatus for induced t-wave alternans assessment: An implantable medical device and associated method assesses T-wave alternans. The method includes sensing a cardiac signal from implanted electrodes subsequent to a premature contraction; measuring a T-wave parameter from the sensed cardiac signal for a plurality of cardiac cycles; and determining a T-wave alternans metric corresponding to the measured... Agent: Medtronic, Inc.

20080082137 - Electrode array structures and methods of use for cardiovascular reflex control: A tissue stimulation device includes an electrode array having at least four independently switchable electrodes. In one embodiment, the electrode array comprises a flexible base to which the electrodes are fixed that flexes to encompass at least a portion of an artery or other elongate biological structure. The electrodes are... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP

20080082138 - Floating adapter for use with auxiliary lead assembly: A floating adapter is configured to electrically couple an auxiliary lead assembly to an implantable medical device including a canister. The floating adapter comprises a connector configured to receive an end of the auxiliary lead assembly, and a conductor having a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end... Agent: Medtronic, Inc.

20080082139 - Inhalation therapy using audiovisual stimuli: A method of improvement of inhalation therapy including presenting audiovisual stimuli to a patient, where content of the audiovisual stimuli promotes a physiological response, such as an involuntary breathing response, such as a yawn. Also, an apparatus for improvement of inhalation therapy including an audiovisual stimuli presentation system, where the... Agent: Michael Ries

20080082140 - Method for measuring stable and reproducible electrode-tissue impedance: The present invention is a method for measuring stable and reproducible electrode-tissue impedance, comprising preconditioning an electrode-tissue interface. Further aspect of the invention is a stimulation system for a visual prosthesis generating a stimulation signal to precondition the electrode-tissue interface, comprising a computer; software, loaded in the computer, adapted to... Agent: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080082141 - Electrode assembly for a stimulating medical device: An electrode assembly comprising a low-profile, low-volume elongate electrode carrier and a corresponding guide tube for introducing the carrier into the cochlea to place electrodes disposed at the distal end of the carrier at desired locations along the tonotopically-mapped cochlea. The electrode assembly facilitates intra- and extra-cochlea atraumatic implantation of... Agent: Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP

20080082143 - External coil assembly for implantable medical prostheses: Methods and devices for inductively coupled implants on the human or animal body are disclosed. An external coil assembly to be used with the implant has a transmitting coil and one or more receiving coils. The number of the receiving coils, their distance from the transmitting coil and their shape... Agent: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080082142 - Technique for automatically configuring a communication network element: An automatically provisioned network element (26) has the ability to detect a heartbeat message interval used by a remote network element (22, 24) and to automatically adjust a heartbeat interval timer value that it uses for sending subsequent heartbeat messages. The adjustment is responsive to the interval used by the... Agent: Carlson, Gaskey & Olds, P.C./alcatel-lucent

20080082144 - Universal usb-based telemetry rf head: A telemetry module connects to a computing device in order to perform functions related to programming and interaction with an implantable medical device (IMD). The telemetry module manages communication between the computing device and the IMD, and ensures that instructions provided by the computing device for programming the IMD are... Agent: Medtronic, Inc.

20080082145 - User interface for ablation therapy: The disclosure describes a user interface that may be used to control ablation therapy and monitor ablation therapy progress in systems that utilize wet electrode ablation techniques. The user interface presents a virtual electrode depth icon to a user that indicates the size of a lesion that may be created... Agent: Shumaker & Sieffert, P. A.

20080082147 - External coil assembly for implantable medical prostheses: Methods and devices for inductively coupled implants on the human or animal body are disclosed. An external coil assembly to be used with the implant has a transmitting coil and one or more receiving coils. The number of the receiving coils, their distance from the transmitting coil and their shape... Agent: Scott B. Dunbar Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

20080082150 - Apparatus for altering the body temperature of a patient: Apparatus for altering the body temperature of a patient comprises an enclosure defining an interior space for receiving at least a portion of a patient's body therein. The enclosure has at least one gusset that is resiliently deformable for accommodating patients of various sizes. A supply conduit fluidly connects an... Agent: Patrick W. Rasche Armstrong Teasdale LLP

20080082151 - Warming product: A warming product that contains an exothermic composition configured to generate heat in the presence of oxygen and moisture is provided. The exothermic composition is applied to a thermal composite containing two or more fibrous layers, which are structured to provide enhanced distribution of the exothermic composition through the thermal... Agent: Dority & Manning, P.A.

20080082136 - Transcoronary sinus pacing system, lv summit pacing, early mitral closure pacing, and methods therefor: A transcoronary sinus pacing system comprising a sheath having a lumen, a pacing catheter having a pacing needle, wherein the catheter can be advanced within the lumen and placed in the LV summit, and a right ventricular pacing device. A LV summit pacing device. An early mitral valve closure pacing... Agent: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

20080082146 - Temperature compensation for analog circuits in implantable medical device: Temperate compensation is provided to analog circuits used in implantable medical devices. In various embodiments, temperature compensation is applied to improve calculation of battery characteristics, improve telemetry, and/or reduce battery self-discharge.... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.

20080082148 - Laser treatment for skin tightening: The present disclosure relates to laser treatment of skin imperfections, such as sagging skin. In particular, there is disclosed a method for improving skin laxity of a mammal, by administering to the skin, in a pulsed, scanned, or continuous administration manner, light having a wavelength ranging from 520 to 610... Agent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

20080082149 - Laser treatment of pigmented lesions on the skin: The present invention relates in general to laser treatment of skin imperfections. The invention specifically relates to treatment of unwanted vasculature and pigmentation with the same device using two or more specific wavelengths of laser light.... Agent: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

20080082152 - Method of designing a multi-channel micro-electrical stimulation with an equivalent current source that works with an adiabatic baseband based on direct-carrier energy extraction: A method of designing a multi-channel micro-electrical stimulation structure with an equivalent current source that works with an adiabatic baseband based on direct-carrier energy extraction matches with a baseband circuitry designed for energy recovery with the equivalent current source. A controllable pulse width modulation signal at the operating rate near... Agent: Nikolai & Mersereau, P.A.

20080082153 - Medical electrode: A medical electrode, and a method of making a medical electrode. The electrode comprises an electrode member having a top face and a bottom face; disconnected regions of electrically conductive material in electrical contact with the top face of the electrode member, patient contacting layer and an electrical connector in... Agent: Kendall (cdfs)