Implantable digestive tract organ
First Claim
1. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
- an outer support structure;
at least one expandable member located within the outer support structure; and
a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expandable member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure wherein the outer support member has a length, and wherein the at least one expandable member comprises a plurality of expandable members located along the length of the outer support member, andwherein the plurality of expandable members comprise a plurality of opposing inflatable member pairs located along the length of the outer support member.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An implantable digestive organ is provided for the transport of materials through the digestive tract and in one particular application to an artificial large bowel for replacing all or part of a colon or large bowel. The prosthetic organ of one embodiment includes an outer support structure, an expandable member or members located within the outer support structure, and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the passage of material. The flexible inner member is located within the outer member and the expandable member or members are located between the inner member and the outer support structure. The expandable members are expanded and contracted, or inflated and deflated to provide a pumping action that pumps the material through the organ. The prosthesis may also include valves or sphincters at the entrance and/or exit points of the organ where material moves into and out of the prosthesis. An implantable pump unit may be included for inflating and deflating the expandable members according to a desired sequence.
54 Citations
47 Claims
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1. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; at least one expandable member located within the outer support structure; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expandable member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure wherein the outer support member has a length, and wherein the at least one expandable member comprises a plurality of expandable members located along the length of the outer support member, and wherein the plurality of expandable members comprise a plurality of opposing inflatable member pairs located along the length of the outer support member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ comprising a device adaptedfor moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; at least one expandable member located within the outer support structure; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expandable member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure wherein the outer support member has a length, and wherein the at least one expandable member comprises a plurality of expandable members located along the length of the outer support member, and wherein the plurality of expandable members are arranged to be expanded in a controlled sequence after the implantation of the digestive organ.
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6. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; at least one expandable member located within the outer support structure; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expandable member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure wherein the outer support member has a length, and wherein the at least one expandable member comprises a plurality of expandable members located along the length of the outer support member, and a controller configured to control the expansion of the plurality of expandable members according to a sequence. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; at least one expandable member located within the outer support structure; a flexible inner member forming a conduit for movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expandable member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure; and a valve comprising at least one valve member configured to control the movement of the material through the organ. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a digestive tract of a patient comprising:
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an outer support structure; at least one expandable member located within the outer support structure; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expandable member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein the prosthetic organ comprises an implantable bowel adapted for replacing a portion of the patient'"'"'s large bowel, and wherein the outer support structure comprises an outer support tube having a length.
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16. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer support structure; and a valve comprising at least one expandable member located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein expansion of the at least one expandable member moves the valve toward a closed position. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support member; at least one expanding member located within the outer support member; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expanding member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein the expanding member is configured to expand so as to push material through a portion of the implantable digestive organ. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support member; at least one expanding member located within the outer support member; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expanding member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein the expanding member is configured to expand to thereby move material through a portion of the implantable digestive organ, wherein the prosthetic organ comprises an implantable bowel for replacing a portion of the large bowel, wherein the outer support member comprises an outer support tube having a length.
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39. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer support structure; and a valve comprising at least one expandable member located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein the valve comprises a plurality of inflated members inflated to a threshold pressure to be met to permit movement of substance through the valve into the inner member.
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40. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving materials through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support structure; a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer support structure; and a valve comprising at least one expandable member located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein the prosthetic organ is an implantable bowel having an orad end and an aborad end, the implantable bowel further comprising a orad valve located at the orad end. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. An implantable prosthetic digestive organ adapted for moving material through a portion of a patient'"'"'s digestive tract comprising:
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an outer support member; at least one expanding member located within the outer support member; and a flexible inner member forming a conduit for the movement of material therethrough, the flexible inner member located within the outer member, wherein the least one expanding member is located between the inner member and the outer support structure, wherein the expanding member is configured to expand to thereby move material through a portion of the implantable digestive organ; and a valve comprising at least one valve member configured to cause movement of material through the organ. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification