1. A medical device comprising:
a coating comprising an ionic polymer; and
a therapeutic agent retained by the coating;
wherein the therapeutic agent is released from the medical device when the medical device is exposed to an electromagnetic field.
2. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the ionic polymer undergoes an electrochemical change when exposed to the electromagnetic field.
3. The medical device of claim 2, wherein the electrochemical change is reversible.
4. The medical device of claim 2, wherein the ionic polymer has an electrostatic charge, and wherein the electrostatic charge is neutralized or reversed upon exposure to the electromagnetic field.
5. The medical device of claim 4, wherein the therapeutic agent is dispersed within the coating, and wherein the therapeutic agent has an electrostatic charge opposite to that of the ionic polymer.
6. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the coating is disposed over the therapeutic agent, and wherein the coating serves as a selectively permeable membrane for the therapeutic agent.
7. The medical device of claim 6, wherein the coating becomes permeable to the therapeutic agent when the medical device is exposed the electromagnetic field.
8. The medical device of claim 6, wherein the ionic polymer undergoes an electrochemical change when exposed to the electromagnetic field.
9. The medical device of claim 6, wherein the coating has a plurality of ion-conducting channels, and wherein the therapeutic agent is transported through the ion-conducting channels when the medical device is exposed to the electromagnetic field.
10. The medical device of claim 6, wherein the therapeutic agent is anionic or cationic.
11. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the coating undergoes a structural change when the medical device is exposed to the electromagnetic field.
12. The medical device of claim 11, wherein the structural change is swelling of the coating.
13. The medical device of claim 12, wherein the therapeutic agent forms lamellae sheets within the coating, and wherein the lamellae sheets break apart and release the therapeutic agent when the coating swells.
14. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the ionic polymers are sensitive to a magnetic field, and wherein the electromagnetic field is a magnetic field.
15. The medical device of claim 14, wherein the ionic polymers are non-uniformly oriented, and wherein at least some of the ionic polymers, upon exposure to the magnetic field, become aligned with the magnetic field.
16. The medical device of claim 14, wherein the ionic polymers undergo motion when exposed to the magnetic field.
17. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the medical device is a vascular stent.
18. A method for delivering a therapeutic agent, comprising:
providing a medical device comprising:
(a) a coating comprising an ionic polymer; and
(b) a therapeutic agent retained by the coating;
positioning the medical device at a site in a patient’s body; and
applying an electromagnetic field to the medical device, wherein the application of the electromagnetic field causes the release of the therapeutic agent from the medical device.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of applying an electromagnetic field comprises applying a time-varying electromagnetic field to the medical device.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the time-varying electromagnetic field is an oscillating electromagnetic field.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of applying an electromagnetic field comprises applying a static electromagnetic field to the medical device.
22. The method of claim 18, wherein the source of the electromagnetic field is external to the patient’s body.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An expandable bore trocarcannula, comprising:
A composite needle forming a cannula shaft and a puncture tip; and
The composite needle comprising at least one rigid element, and flexible material connected to the at least one rigid element, wherein the rigid elements and the flexible material together form the cannula shaft, and the rigid elements form the puncture tip.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the rigid elements comprise a material selected from the group consisting of plastics, ceramics, metals, and combinations and composites thereof.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of natural or synthetic elastic material, silicon, rubber, elastomeric neoprene, latex, and elastomeric plastics.
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the cannula shaft comprises a diameter, wherein the diameter is smaller at a proximal end proximate the puncture tip than at a distal end distal from the puncture tip.
5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the composite needle comprises four rigid elements.
6. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a fitting into which a distal end of composite needle is inserted, wherein the distal end is distal from the puncture tip, and the fitting includes an access bore that corresponds with a cannula bore formed by the cannula shaft.
7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the fitting comprises an insertion recess, wherein the insertion recess is configured to connect to fluid-insertion devices.
8. An expandable bore trocarcannula, comprising:
An expandable cannula body, wherein the cannula body has an interior channel with a diameter, wherein the cannula body is capable of flexing so as to increase or decrease the diameter of the cannula body; and
Means for inserting the cannula body into a patient.
9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the cannula body comprises a composite needle having at least one rigid element, and flexible material connected to the at least one rigid element, wherein the rigid element and the flexible material together form the cannula body, and the inserting means comprise the rigid elements, which form a puncture tip.
10. The device according to claim 8, wherein inserting means comprises a stylet configured for insertion into and withdrawal from the interior channel of the cannula body.
11. An expandable bore trocarcannula, comprising:
An expandable cannula body, wherein the cannula body has an interior channel with a diameter, wherein the cannula body is capable of flexing so as to increase or decrease the diameter of the cannula body; and
A stylet configured for insertion into, and withdrawal from the interior channel.
12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the cannula body comprises a composite needle having at least one rigid element, and flexible material connected to the at least one rigid element, wherein the rigid element and the flexible material together form the cannula body.
13. The device according to claim 11, wherein the cannula body comprises at least two rigid elements.
14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the cannula body comprises four rigid elements.
15. The device according to claim 11, wherein the cannula body comprises an expandable spring cannula, the spring cannula comprising at least one rigid element formed in the shape of a helix and having a center channel, and a flexible material attached to the rigid element to form at least a portion of a cylinder surrounding the center channel.
16. The device according to claim 11, wherein the cannula body comprises a rotating cannula, the rotating cannula having at least a first and a second rigid element which comprise a portion of a cylinder arc, the first and second rigid elements being concentric to a center line of the rotating cannula, with the second rigid element being capable of rotating around the center line.
17. The device according to claim 11, wherein the cannula body comprises a ribbon spring, the ribbon spring comprising at least one rigid element formed in the shape of a helix and having a center channel.
18. The device according to claim 11, wherein the cannula body comprises a rolled cannula, the rolled cannula comprising at least one sheet of rigid material having a first longitudinal side and a second longitudinal side, the sheet being formed into the shape of a cylinder and having a center channel with a diameter, the sheet overlapping at the first and second longitudinal sides so as to allow the diameter to be varied.
19. A medical insertion device for use with one of a trocar and a cannula, comprising:
A delivery apparatus having a delivery shell configured to be grasped by a user;
Wherein the delivery shell includes a channel, and a nose extending outward from the shell, the nose having a bore therethrough aligned with the channel, wherein the channel and bore are configured for insertion of the trocar or cannula therethrough; and
The delivery apparatus further comprising a withdrawal mechanism proximate the channel, which is configured to cooperate with a retraction head of the trocar or cannula, and which includes at least one handle, wherein the handle facilitates the passage of the trocar or cannula through the channel and bore, and out of the delivery apparatus through the nose.