Stephen J Hebert

US Patent:

6482221, Nov 19, 2002

Filed:

Oct 31, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/703468

Inventors:

Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA
Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA

Assignee:

Counter Clockwise, Inc. - San Francisco CA

International Classification:

A61M 2900

US Classification:

606194, 606200

Abstract:

This is in the general field of surgical instruments and is specifically a delivery catheter with a flexible, proximally-manipulated hinge or joint region. The inventive catheter may have a balloon region. The catheter may have a shaft of varying flexibility which contains several lumen. The inner, or delivery, lumen generally may be used with a guidewire to access target sites within the body via the flexible, small diameter vessels of the body. The delivery lumen may be also used for placement of occlusive materials, e. g. , in an aneurysm. Inflation of the micro-balloon, located near the distal tip of the catheter, is effected using the inflation lumen. The push/pull wire lumen contains a wire, which when manipulated, flexes the catheters distal tip. The push/pull wire tubing may have a variable thickness to aid in adjusting the degree of flexibility. Moreover, the delivery catheter may be capable of twisting in a helical or corkscrew-like manner for traversing certain vasculature.

US Patent:

6547779, Apr 15, 2003

Filed:

Jun 9, 1999

Appl. No.:

09/328514

Inventors:

Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA
Eduardo U. Sucgang - South San Francisco CA
Stephen J. Hebert - Berkeley CA
Estela D. Gatchalian - San Jose CA
Quang Q. Tran - Fremont CA
Victor C. Esch - San Francisco CA

Assignee:

Endovasix, Inc. - Belmont CA

International Classification:

A61B 1818

US Classification:

606 7, 606 13, 606 15, 606128, 128898, 607 89

Abstract:

Methods and apparatus for creating fluid flow from one location to another are disclosed. The fluid flow is created via the absorption of repetitive pulses of radiation in a fluid to generate bubbles that expand and collapse repetitively. This fluid mechanism, or pumping phenomenon, can be used to aid removal of a total or partial occlusion in a body passage by disrupting a surface of the occlusion with acoustic shock and pressure waves and/or by causing mechanical disruption of the occlusive material. Appropriate selection of materials and particular constructions improve apparatus flexibility.

US Patent:

6793667, Sep 21, 2004

Filed:

Jun 27, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/184561

Inventors:

Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA
Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA

Assignee:

Counter Clockwise, Inc. - San Francisco CA

International Classification:

A61M 2900

US Classification:

606200, 606194

Abstract:

This is in the general field of surgical instruments and is specifically a delivery catheter with a flexible, proximally-manipulated hinge or joint region. The inventive catheter may have a balloon region. The catheter may have a shaft of varying flexibility which contains several lumen. The inner, or delivery, lumen generally may be used with a guidewire to access target sites within the body via the flexible, small diameter vessels of the body. The delivery lumen may be also used for placement of occlusive materials, e. g. , in an aneurysm. Inflation of the micro-balloon, located near the distal tip of the catheter, is effected using the inflation lumen. The push/pull wire lumen contains a wire, which when manipulated, flexes the catheters distal tip. The push/pull wire tubing may have a variable thickness to aid in adjusting the degree of flexibility. Moreover, the delivery catheter may be capable of twisting in a helical or corkscrew-like manner for traversing certain vasculature.

US Patent:

6976991, Dec 20, 2005

Filed:

Mar 12, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/099367

Inventors:

Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA, US
Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA, US

International Classification:

A61M029/00

US Classification:

606194, 606200

Abstract:

This is in the general field of surgical instruments and is specifically a delivery catheter with a flexible, proximally-manipulated hinge or joint region. The inventive catheter may have a balloon region. The catheter may have a shaft of varying flexibility which contains several lumen. The inner, or delivery, lumen generally may be used with a guidewire to access target sites within the body via the flexible, small diameter vessels of the body. The delivery lumen may be also used for placement of occlusive materials, e. g. , in an aneurysm. Inflation of the micro-balloon, located near the distal tip of the catheter, is effected using the inflation lumen. The push/pull wire lumen contains a wire, which when manipulated, flexes the catheter's distal tip. The push/pull wire tubing may have a variable thickness to aid in adjusting the degree of flexibility. Moreover, the delivery catheter may be capable of twisting in a helical or corkscrew-like manner for traversing certain vasculature.

US Patent:

6989024, Jan 24, 2006

Filed:

Feb 28, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/087127

Inventors:

Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA, US
Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA, US

Assignee:

Counter Clockwise, Inc. - Palo Alto CA

International Classification:

A61F 2/06

US Classification:

623 111, 604264, 606194

Abstract:

A guidewire loaded stent for delivery through a catheter is described herein. The stent delivery assembly can deliver and place a stent within tortuous regions of the body which are accessible to guidewires but inaccessible to stenting catheters. The assembly comprises a guidewire covered in part by a retractable sheath and a radially expandable stent near or at the distal end of the guidewire. The whole assembly is advanced through conventional catheters or it may be used alone. In either case, when the stent is adjacent to a treatment site within the body, the sheath is retracted proximally to expose the stent for radial expansion into contact with the vessel wall. Radio-opaque marker bands are optionally located on either side or both sides of the stent on the guidewire body to aid in visual placement. The assembly can optionally include an expandable balloon on the guidewire for different treatment modalities.

US Patent:

7137990, Nov 21, 2006

Filed:

Sep 20, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/945825

Inventors:

Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA, US
Marc-Alan Levine - Pottstown PA, US

Assignee:

Micrus Endovascular Corporation - San Jose CA

International Classification:

A61M 29/00

US Classification:

606194, 604 9601

Abstract:

This is in the general field of surgical instruments and is specifically a delivery catheter with a flexible, proximally-manipulated hinge or joint region. The inventive catheter may have a balloon region. The catheter may have a shaft of varying flexibility which contains several lumen. The inner, or delivery, lumen generally may be used with a guidewire to access target sites within the body via the flexible, small diameter vessels of the body. The delivery lumen may be also used for placement of occlusive materials, e. g. , in an aneurysm. Inflation of the micro-balloon, located near the distal tip of the catheter, is effected using the inflation lumen. The push/pull wire lumen contains a wire, which when manipulated, flexes the catheter's distal tip. The push/pull wire tubing may have a variable thickness to aid in adjusting the degree of flexibility. Moreover, the delivery catheter may be capable of twisting in a helical or corkscrew-like manner for traversing certain vasculature.

US Patent:

7169172, Jan 30, 2007

Filed:

Nov 1, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/286109

Inventors:

Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA, US
Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA, US

Assignee:

Counter Clockwise, Inc. - San Francisco CA

International Classification:

A61F 2/06

US Classification:

623 111

Abstract:

A method and apparatus for caged stent delivery is provided herein. The device can be used to position and deliver any type of stent to a preselected treatment site within an intraluminal cavity. The device comprises a tubular portion, a plurality of arms attached to the distal end of the tubular portion, and a mechanism to open the arms. In operation, the caged device carries a stent in a constricted form to the treatment site for deployment. The arms of the cage are then opened, the stent released and deployed, and the device withdrawn. Several methods are provided to open the arms, including various pullwires, a piston, an electrolytic joint, and an activator. The arms may be constructed of a shape memory alloy and opened when shape memory behavior is effected. The device may be used with conventional catheters or used with a stent-loaded guidewire.

US Patent:

7300460, Nov 27, 2007

Filed:

Dec 31, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/335034

Inventors:

Marc-Alan Levine - San Francisco CA, US
Stephen Hebert - Berkeley CA, US

Assignee:

Counter Clockwise, Inc. - San Francisco CA

International Classification:

A61F 2/06

US Classification:

623 135

Abstract:

Described herein are methods and devices that may be useful, for instance, in thrombectomy and embolectomy procedures, stent delivery procedures, and procedures for bridging the neck of an aneurysm. The bifurcated guidewire device described herein comprises a proximal end, a distal end, a length therebetween, and at least one bifurcation branching the guidewire into at least two arms. The arms are controllable, which may be accomplished, e. g. , by providing arms constructed of a shape memory material, or by providing mechanical methods to control the arms. The guidewire may have any number of bifurcations branching the guidewire into any number of arms as practicable. The arms may or may not have radio-opaque markers thereon or be constructed of a radio-opaque material. The arms may have webbing or a semi-permeable sac disposed between them to help capture natural or foreign matter therein. The guidewire may be used with or without a catheter.