Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8715243B2/en
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 21:32:26+00:00

Document:
2010-05-27 Assigned to ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC. reassignment ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: UTH, JOSHUA R., BYRUM, RANDAL T., CONLON, SEAN P.
2011-07-19 Assigned to SCHIFF NUTRITION GROUP, INC. reassignment SCHIFF NUTRITION GROUP, INC. LICENSE (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: GANEDEN BIOTECH, INC.
An injection port applier is configured to engage an injection port that has integral fasteners that are movable from a non-deployed position to a deployed position. The applier comprises a shaft, a port engagement portion, and a handle. The port engagement portion is includes a fastener deployment member that is operable to move the fasteners to the deployed position. The handle comprises a first handle portion and a second handle portion. The second handle portion is movable distally relative to the first handle portion in order to actuate the fastener deployment member, to thereby move the fasteners to the deployed position. An elongate actuating member couples the second handle portion with the fastener deployment member. One part of the elongate actuating member translates longitudinally in response to the second handle being moved distally; while another part of the elongate actuating member rotates in response to the first portion translating.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/166,625, filed Jun. 24, 2005, entitled “Implantable Medical Device with Reversible Attachment Mechanism and Method,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,474, which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/741,875, filed Dec. 19, 2003, entitled “Subcutaneous Self Attaching Injection Port with Integral Moveable Retention Members,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,546, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/478,763, filed Jun. 16, 2003, entitled “Fluid Injection Port for Adjustable Gastric Band.” The disclosure of each of those three patent applications is incorporated by reference herein.
This application also incorporates by reference the following U.S. patent applications, both of which were filed on Dec. 19, 2003: application Ser. No. 10/741,127, entitled “Subcutaneous Injection Port for Applied Fasteners,” published as U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0131352; now abandoned; and application Ser. No. 10/741,868, entitled “Subcutaneous Self Attaching Injection Port with Integral Fasteners,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,557.
FIG. 31 depicts a block diagram of components of an exemplary modified version of the injection port of FIG. 1.
FIG. 31 depicts a schematic diagram of an exemplary alternative port 1100 that is operable to provide haptic feedback in response to palpation and/or other types of stimulus as will be described in greater detail below. Port 1100 of this example includes a feedback interface ring 1202, a processor 1204, an interface sensor 1206, a power source 1208, a vibration generator 1210, a storage device 1212, a telemetry transceiver coil 1214, and a pressure sensor 1216. Port 1100 of this example is otherwise configured identically to port 2 described above.
In the present example, haptic feedback interface ring 1202 is positioned between actuator 12 and port body 8. Haptic feedback interface ring 1202 is operable to sense when actuator 12 is being pushed downwardly toward port body 8. Furthermore, and as will be described in greater detail below, port 1100 may provide a vibratory response when interface ring 1202 senses that actuator 12 is being pushed downwardly toward port body 8. This vibratory response may assist a physician in locating port 1100 through external palpation after port 1100 has been implanted in a patient. Interface ring 1202 may comprise or form a switch that is in communication with a processor 1204 (e.g., via wire, etc.) as will be described in greater detail below. Actuation of interface ring 1202 by pushing downward on actuator 12 (e.g., by a physician palpating a patient, etc.) may thus actuate the corresponding switch, which may cause processor 1204 to trigger the vibratory response.
In some versions, port 1100 comprises one or more resilient members (not shown) that are configured to bias actuator 12 to an upper position. By way of example only, interface ring 1202 may itself be configured to bias actuator 12 to an upper position. For instance, interface ring 1202 may be resilient and may have a “wavy” configuration. Other ways in which actuator 12 may be biased to an upper position (regardless of whether actuator 12 is also rotatable) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Similarly, other suitable variations, components, features, and configurations of interface ring 1202 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. By way of example only, interface ring 1202 may be substituted with one or more switches positioned between actuator 12 and port body 8, without a ring-shaped member being used to form a vibratory response activation interface between actuator 12 and port body 8. Such discrete switches may be equidistantly positioned about a circumference or be positioned in any other suitable locations/arrangement. As another merely illustrative example, port 1100 may be configured such that interface ring 1202 does not move up and down relative to port body 8. In some such versions, one or more strain gauges or other types of sensors may be used to determine whether a downward force is being exerted on actuator 12, with such sensors being configured to trigger a vibratory response as described in greater detail below. Alternatively, interface ring 1202 may be omitted in some versions, including but not limited to those versions described in greater detail below.
In addition to providing some degree of axial play of actuator 12, port 1100 may provide some degree of axial play for plate 28. In other words, plate 28 may slightly move up or down along the same axis about which actuator 12 rotates. Such axial play may be provided without sacrificing a hermetic seal between plate 28 and septum retainer 4 or between plate 28 and port body 8. In some versions, haptic feedback interface sensor 1206 is positioned beneath plate 28. Interface sensor 1206 is operable to sense when plate 28 is being pushed downwardly. Furthermore, and as will be described in greater detail below, port 1100 may provide a vibratory response when interface sensor 1206 senses that plate 28 is being pushed downwardly. This vibratory response may assist a physician in determining that a needle has struck plate 28, which may further indicate that the needle has been successfully inserted through septum 6. Interface sensor 1206 may comprise or form a switch that is in communication with processor 1204 (e.g., via wire, etc.) as will be described in greater detail below. Actuation of interface sensor 1206 by pushing downward on plate 28 (e.g., by a needle striking plate 28, etc.) may thus actuate the corresponding switch, which may cause processor 1204 to trigger the vibratory response.
In some versions, port 1100 comprises one or more resilient members (not shown) that are configured to bias plate 28 to an upper position. By way of example only, interface sensor 1206 may itself be configured to bias actuator 12 to an upper position. For instance, interface sensor 1206 may comprise a resilient ring positioned between the outer perimeter of the underside of plate 28 and septum retainer 4, and such a ring may have a “wavy” configuration. Other ways in which plate 28 may be biased to an upper position will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Similarly, other suitable variations, components, features, and configurations of interface sensor 1206 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
In some other versions, port 1100 may be configured such that plate 28 does not move up and down relative to septum retainer 4 and/or port body 8. It should be understood that, in some such versions, various types of interface sensors 1206 may still be used to determine whether a downward force is being exerted on plate 28, with such sensors being configured to trigger a vibratory response as described in greater detail below. For instance, interface sensor 1206 may comprise a thin film capacitive switch or strain gauge on plate 28. As yet another merely illustrative example, interface sensor 1206 may simply detect the presence of a needle in fluid chamber 30, without necessarily detecting contact between the needle and plate 28 as such. For instance, interface sensor 1206 may comprise a proximity sensor, an ultra wideband radar device, a metal detector that essentially ignores the metal of plate 28 while detecting the metal of a needle in fluid chamber 30, etc. Furthermore, it should be understood that interface sensor 1206 need not necessarily be located under plate 28 (e.g., interface sensor 1206 may be in fluid chamber 30, etc.). Still other suitable components and configurations that may be used for interface sensor 1206 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Alternatively, interface sensor 1206 may be omitted in some versions, including but not limited to those versions described in greater detail below.
Injection port 1100 may also include a chamber (not shown) located below plate 28. The chamber may be enclosed and hermetically sealed, such that it is fluidly isolated relative to fluid chamber 30. This extra chamber may enclose several electrical components that are configured to provide vibratory responses as noted above. For instance, the extra chamber may enclose processor 1204, interface sensor 1206, a power source 1208, a vibration generator 1210, and a storage device 1212 (e.g., flash memory, memory chip, etc.). Of course, any or all of these components may be located elsewhere if desired. While these components are only shown in block form in the drawings, the various structural forms that these components may take will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Interface ring 1202, interface sensor 1206, power source 1208, vibration generator 1210, and storage device 1212 are all in communication with processor 1204 (e.g., via wires and/or traces in a circuit board, etc.). Processor 1204 may comprise an off the shelf microprocessor, a customized processor 1204, or any other suitable type of device or component. Processor 1204 is configured to receive input from interface ring 1202 and interface sensor 1206, and is configured to trigger vibratory responses through vibration generator 1210 as will be described in greater detail below. Processor 1204 is also configured to interrogate storage device 1212, and may also be configured to cause data to be stored on storage device 1212.
Power source 1208 of the present example comprises a conventional battery. It should be understood, however, that power source 1208 may instead be substituted with a transcutaneous energy transfer (TET) coil, such that components shown in FIG. 31 are powered remotely by a coil that is external to the patient. For instance, in versions where port 1100 includes a telemetry transceiver coil 1214 as described in greater detail below, such a transceiver coil 1214 may serve a dual role of receiving TET power and providing telemetric communication of data. As another merely illustrative example, where power source 1208 comprises a battery, such a battery may be recharged through TET power. Still other suitable ways in which power may be provided to electrical/electronic components of port 1100 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
In some versions, interface ring 1202 and/or interface sensor 1206 are omitted. In some such versions, vibration generator 1210 is activated by an external coil. For instance, such an external coil may be configured in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0211914, entitled “System and Method for Determining Implanted Device Positioning and Obtaining Pressure Data,” published Sep. 21, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Other suitable forms that such an external coil may take will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. In some versions where vibration generator 1210 is activated by an external coil, telemetry transceiver coil 1214 may be communicatively and transcutaneously coupled with the external coil. In particular, transceiver coil 1214 and processor 1204 may respond to a field generated by the external coil by activating vibration generator 1210. In addition, the external coil and telemetry transceiver coil 1214 may together provide power to vibration generator 1210 via TET. Thus, a battery or other implanted power source 1208 need not be included within port 1100. It should be understood from the foregoing that a physician may locate port 1100 by sweeping over the patient's abdomen and/or chest with the external coil until vibrations are felt from vibration generator 1210. Such vibrations may reach a maximum intensity when the external coil is directly over port 1100. The physician may then insert the needle through the center of external coil to reach port 1100; or may first remove external coil then insert the needle where the center of the external coil was when vibrations from vibration generator 1210 were at their maximum intensity.
In some versions where an external coil is used to activate vibration generator 1210, vibration generator 1210 comprises a conventional type of vibration generator (e.g., such as those described in greater detail below, etc.). In some such versions, the external coil simply activates vibration generator 1210, which is actually powered by power source 1208 within port 1100. In other words, the field generated by the external coil simply acts as a switch to cause vibration generator 1210 to generate vibrations. In some other versions where vibration generator 1210 comprises a conventional type of vibration generator, the external coil provides power to vibration generator 1210 through TET as described above. Of course, vibration generators 1210 that are turned on by an external coil and/or are powered by an external coil need not be conventional, and may take any suitable form. Various forms that vibration generator 1210 may take, as well as various ways in which vibration generator 1210 may operate and be used, are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/640,048, filed Dec. 17, 2009, entitled “Implantable Port with Vibratory Feedback,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
It should also be understood that vibration generator 1210 may be used for a variety of purposes. One merely exemplary use for vibration generator 1210 may be to assist a physician in locating port 1100 after port 1100 has been implanted in a patient. For instance, depending on the location of port 1100 within the patient and the obesity of the patient, some physicians may have difficulty in locating a conventional implanted port 1100. The physician may wish to locate port 1100 in order to insert a needle into septum 6 to add fluid to or withdraw fluid from the gastric band system. In some settings where port 1100 includes a TET/telemetry coil, the physician may wish to locate port 1100 in order to properly position an external coil or other type of antenna in order to provide power to and/or receive data from components in the port 1100. Accordingly, where port 1100 has been implanted in the patient, the physician may palpate the patient's abdomen and/or chest in order to locate port 1100. When the physician palpates over the location of port 1100, such palpation may press actuator 12 downward, which may activate interface ring 1202, which may in turn activate vibration generator 1210 to provide haptic feedback to the physician indicating that the port 1100 is generally beneath the physician's hand. The physician may then insert the needle in this area to pierce septum 6 in order to add fluid to or withdraw fluid from the gastric band system.
In some settings, actuator 12 may occasionally be pressed down by the patient's own movements or positioning. It may be desirable to prevent such incidental pressing of actuator 12 from triggering a vibratory response by vibration generator 1210. To that end, processor 1204 may be configured to compare downward forces exerted on actuator 12 against a predetermined force threshold level, such that processor 1204 only triggers vibration by vibration generator 1210 when the downward force on actuator 12 exceeds the predetermined threshold. The force threshold may be selected such that incidental pressing on actuator 12 by patient movement/positioning falls below the threshold; while sufficient external palpation by a physician exceeds the threshold. Data representing such a force threshold may be stored on storage device 1212. In some other variations, processor 1204 may be configured such that it will not trigger vibration by vibration generator 1210 unless the presence of some external signal is detected. For instance, control logic in processor 1204 may be configured to cause processor 1204 to ignore activations of interface ring 1202 unless coil 1214 is receiving some type of signal from a coil that is external to the patient. Such an external signal may thus simply “unlock” vibration generator 1210, such that external palpation by a physician may activate vibration generator 1210 only when vibration generator 1210 is “unlocked” by the external signal. Alternatively, an external signal may directly cause vibration generator 1210 to generate vibrations as noted above. Still other suitable ways in which port 1100 may prevent a vibratory response to inadvertent pressing of actuator 12 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Of course, some versions of port 1100 may lack such prevention; and some other versions of port 1100 may lack a feature permitting actuator 12 to be pressed in relative to other portions of port 1100.
Another merely exemplary use for vibration generator 1210 may be to assist a physician in confirming that the needle has successfully reached fluid chamber 30 to adjust the amount/pressure of fluid in an implanted gastric band system. For instance, even when a physician has determined the general location of port 1100 implanted in a patient, the physician may have difficulty determining whether a needle inserted in the patient has successfully reached fluid chamber 30. A physician may generally determine through tactile feedback felt through the needle and syringe that the needle has struck some hard object, but the physician may not be able to determine whether the needle has struck plate 28 or some other hard component of port 1100 (e.g., needle may have instead struck actuator 12, port housing 8, etc.). Accordingly, when the physician has successfully inserted the needle into fluid chamber 30 and the needle has struck plate 28, such striking of plate 28 by the needle may activate interface sensor 1206, which may in turn activate vibration generator 1210 to provide haptic feedback to the physician indicating that the needle has reached fluid chamber 30. The physician may then use the syringe and needle to add fluid to or withdraw fluid from the implanted gastric band system, to adjust the size of the stoma created by gastric band 210.
In situations where the physician feels the inserted needle striking something hard but does not receive the vibratory response from vibration generator 1210, such a lack of vibratory response may indicate to the physician that the needle has missed septum 6 (e.g., needle instead struck actuator 12, port housing 8, etc.) and that the needle is therefore not in fluid chamber 30. The physician may then partially or fully withdraw the needle and reposition it for another attempt to pierce septum 6 and reach fluid chamber 30. This process may be repeated until the physician finally receives haptic feedback from vibration generator 1210 to indicate that the needle has successfully reached fluid chamber 30.
In some versions where port 1100 includes both interface ring 1202 and interface sensor 1206, it may be desirable to vary the response from vibration generator 1210 based on whether interface ring 1202 or interface sensor 1206 has been activated. This may be desirable in some settings to account for the possibility that a physician may strike actuator 12 with an inserted needle instead of striking plate 28. Making the vibratory response when interface sensor 1206 is triggered different from the vibratory response when interface ring 1202 is triggered may thus allow the physician to confirm that the inserted needle has struck plate 28 instead of actuator 12. The vibratory response from vibration generator 1210 may differ in a variety of ways, including but not limited to frequency, waveform, magnitude, duration, and/or pulse pattern, etc., based on whether interface ring 1202 or interface sensor 1206 has been activated. Of course, some versions may provide the same vibratory response from vibration generator 1210 regardless of whether interface ring 1202 or interface sensor 1206 has been activated. Furthermore, some versions of port 1100 may have only interface ring 1202 or only interface sensor 1206; while lacking the other.
In some alternative versions, port 1100 lacks interface sensor 1206. In some such versions, vibration generator 1210 is operable to generate externally palpable vibrations based on actuation of interface ring 1202, based on the presence of an externally applied field, or based on some other form of activation. Furthermore, such vibrations may be sustained as a physician inserts a needle into a patient. Alternatively, such vibrations may be initiated upon the needle contacting an external portion of port 1100. In some such versions, vibration generator 1210 may cause the entire port 1100 to vibrate. It should be understood that such vibrations may be acoustically coupled with the needle in different ways depending on the material of the port 1100 that is struck by the needle. For instance, port body 8 (including annular rim 20) and actuator 12 may be formed of a substantially hard material (e.g., plastic and/or metal, etc.); while septum 6 may be formed of a relatively soft material (e.g., silicone, etc.). Thus, when the needle strikes a relatively hard portion of vibrating port 1100, the acoustic coupling may provide a “scratchy” vibratory sensation through the needle to the physician's hand. Such a tactile sensation may inform the physician that the needle is in contact with port 1100 but not inserted through septum 6. The physician may then reposition the needle until the physician feels a “softer” vibratory sensation through the needle that would be associated with the needle being inserted through septum 6 of vibrating port 1100. As one merely illustrative variation of this example, port 1100 may be configured such that vibration is maximized at annular rim 20 surrounding septum 6, which may provide greater guidance to the physician who is attempting to locate septum 6 based on haptic/tactile feedback. For instance, portions of port 1100 that are external to annular rim 20 may be vibrationally isolated or dampened relative to annular rim 20, such that those external portions either do not vibrate while annular rim 20 vibrate or such that the vibrations of those external portions have a lower amplitude than the vibrations of annular rim 20.
Yet another merely exemplary use for vibration generator 1210 may be to provide an alert when some condition has been detected. By way of example only, some versions of port 1100 may include a pressure sensor 1216 that is configured to sense the pressure of fluid in a gastric band system. Various suitable ways in which a pressure sensor 1216 may be incorporated into a gastric band system are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0211914, entitled “System and Method for Determining Implanted Device Positioning and Obtaining Pressure Data,” published Sep. 21, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, any other suitable type of pressure sensor 1216 may be incorporated into the gastric band system in any suitable fashion. While FIG. 31 depicts pressure sensor 1216 as a component of port 1100, it should be understood that pressure sensor 1216 may be located in any other suitable position or component.
Processor 1204 may be configured to monitor readings from pressure sensor 1216 and compare those readings to one or more baselines stored on storage device 1212. Processor 1204 may further be configured to trigger a vibratory response by vibration generator 1210 when a pressure data reading from pressure sensor 1216 deviates from a baseline or range. For instance, processor 1204 may trigger a vibratory response by vibration generator 1210 when the pressure of fluid in the gastric band system falls below a threshold (e.g., approximately 10 mmHg, etc.), which may indicate that there is a leak in the system, that more fluid needs to be added to the system, or some other condition. Similarly, processor 1204 may trigger a vibratory response by vibration generator 1210 when the pressure of fluid in the gastric band system exceeds a threshold (e.g., approximately 50 mmHg, etc.), which may indicate that fluid needs to be withdrawn from the system, or some other condition. Such pressure-based feedback may be felt by the patient, and may prompt the patient to contact their physician for an adjustment of gastric band 210. The physician may then investigate further and provide any appropriate medical response (e.g., adding fluid to or withdrawing fluid from the gastric band system, etc.). By way of example only, pressure-based feedback that is provided to the patient may comprise a few short bursts of vibration provided every half hour, a slight vibration two or three times a day, etc. In some versions, only one threshold value is provided (e.g., either an upper threshold to trigger vibratory alert when exceeded or a lower threshold to trigger vibratory alert when fallen below).
As noted above, port 1100 may be secured within patient by swiveling fasteners 10, with fasteners 10 being swiveled to the extended/deployed position upon rotation of actuator 12. As also noted above, ribs 48 a, 48 b and ribs 46 b of port 1100 provide a detent system that provides resistance to inadvertent rotation of actuator 12, thereby providing resistance to inadvertent retraction of swiveling fasteners 10. It should also be understood that this detent system may also provide resistance to inadvertent rotation of actuator 12 that might otherwise be caused by vibration of vibration generator 1210. Of course, a variety of other structures, components, features, or configurations may be used to prevent or resist inadvertent rotation of actuator 12 that might otherwise be caused by vibration of vibration generator 1210. Furthermore, port 1100 might lack swiveling fasteners 10 and might be secured within the patient in some other fashion. By way of example only, port 1100 may be secured within the patient using sutures, tacks, staples, biosurgical adhesive, and/or using any other suitable components, devices, or techniques, including combinations thereof.
In some settings, it may be desirable to deactivate vibration generator 1210 until port 1100 has been implanted in the patient. In other words, it may be desirable in some settings to prevent vibration generator 1210 from vibrating before and during the process of installing port 1100 in the patient. Otherwise, pressing of actuator 12 during the process of installing port 1100 in the patient might activate interface ring 1202 and thereby cause vibration generator 1210 to vibrate. There are a variety of ways in which vibration generator 1210 may be disabled before installation of port 1100 is complete. For instance, one or more bosses or other types of mechanical lockout feature may prevent actuator 12 from being moved downwardly toward port body 8 until after actuator 12 has been rotated to deploy fasteners 10 to the extended position. As another merely illustrative example, actuator 12 and/or interface ring 1202 may be configured such that downward movement of actuator 12 does not engage interface ring 1202 until after actuator 12 has been rotated to deploy fasteners 10 to the extended position. As yet another merely illustrative example, port 1100 may include a switch or other feature that enables interface ring 1202, with such a switch or other feature being engaged by actuator 12 after actuator 12 has been rotated to deploy fasteners 10 to the extended position. Still other suitable ways in which rotation of actuator 12 to the fastener 10 deploying position may be required in order to enable vibration of vibration generator 1210 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
As yet another variation, port 1100 may be configured such that vibration generator 1210 is unable to vibrate (even if actuator 12 is pressed downward) until after an initial enabling signal has been transmitted from an external coil to coil 1214 of port 1100. In other words, processor 1204 may include a logic that requires coil 1214 to first receive an unlocking signal or enablement signal before processor 1204 will command vibration generator 1210 to vibrate in response to actuator 12 being pressed downward. A physician may provide such an unlocking signal or enablement signal after port 1100 has been installed in the patient. Vibration generator 1210 may then be enabled to vibrate in response to downward pressing on actuator 12, even if such an external unlocking signal or enablement signal is no longer being transmitted to coil 1214. In a relatively simpler version, port 1100 may simply include a switch on its exterior that the physician may manipulate in order to make vibration generator 1210 responsive to downward pressing on actuator 12. Still various other suitable ways in which responsiveness of vibration generator 1210 may be selectively enabled and/or disabled will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
While interface ring 1202 and interface sensor 1206 both “share” a common vibration generator 1210 and processor 1204 in the present example, it should be understood that interface ring 1202 and interface sensor 1206 may alternatively each have their own dedicated vibration generator 1210 and/or processor 1204. Accordingly, the inventors contemplate that the components shown in FIG. 31 may alternatively be provided in various other suitable numbers and/or arrangements. Furthermore, each of the components shown in FIG. 31 is merely optional.
It should be understood from the foregoing that vibration generators 1210 may be incorporated into virtually any type of implanted device. The above described examples of gastric band systems are mere illustrations. The inventors' contemplation is not limited to components of gastric band systems. By way of example only, a vibration generator 1210 may be incorporated into an implanted drug infusion port, chemotherapy port, or any other type of implantable port that is used to deliver medication, to help a physician locate the implanted port through palpation of the patient. Still other types of implanted devices that may incorporate a vibration generator 1210 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Likewise, any other teachings herein (e.g., relating to fasteners 10, etc.) may be incorporated into other devices and systems, and are certainly not limited to injection ports or gastric band systems.
Other suitable components, features, and operabilities that may be incorporated into port 2, 1100 are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/640,048, filed Dec. 17, 2009, entitled “Implantable Port with Vibratory Feedback,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Still other suitable components, features, and operabilities that may be incorporated into port 2, 1100 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
(ii) a second handle portion movable relative to the first handle portion, wherein the second handle portion is movable distally, toward the first handle portion, to actuate the fastener deployment member to move the fasteners of the injection port from the non-deployed position to the deployed position.
2. The injection port applier of claim 1, wherein at least part of the first handle portion extends transversely from the shaft.
3. The injection port applier of claim 1, wherein at least part of the second handle portion extends transversely relative to the shaft.
4. The injection port applier of claim 1, further comprising an elongate actuating member coupled with the second handle portion, wherein the elongate actuating member is in communication with the fastener deployment member, wherein the elongate actuating member is movable along a longitudinal axis defined by the elongate actuating member.
5. The injection port applier of claim 4, wherein the elongate actuating member extends through at least part of the shaft.
6. The injection port applier of claim 4, further comprising a cam pin and a cam ground, wherein the cam pin extends transversely from the elongate actuating member, wherein the cam pin is configured and positioned to engage the cam ground.
7. The injection port applier of claim 6, wherein the cam ground defines a track, wherein the cam pin is disposed in the track.
8. The injection port applier of claim 7, wherein the track is curved.
9. The injection port applier of claim 6, wherein the cam ground comprises a cam collar, wherein the elongate actuating member extends through the cam collar, such that the cam collar is disposed about the elongate actuating member.
10. The injection port applier of claim 6, wherein the cam ground and the cam pin are configured to cooperate to rotate at least part of the elongate actuating member about the longitudinal axis of the elongate actuating member as the elongate actuating member is moved along the longitudinal axis of the elongate actuating member.
11. The injection port applier of claim 10, wherein the fastener deployment member is rotatable from a first position to a second position to move the fasteners of the injection port from the non-deployed position to the deployed position, wherein at least part of the elongate actuating member is operable to rotate the fastener deployment member in response to the cam pin and cam ground rotating at least part of the elongate actuating member.
12. The injection port applier of claim 4, wherein the elongate actuating member has a bent flexible portion, wherein the flexible portion is configured to rotate while bent in order to rotate the fastener deployment member.
13. The injection port applier of claim 1, further comprising a resilient member, wherein the resilient member is configured to bias the second handle portion proximally, away from the first handle portion.
14. The injection port applier of claim 1, wherein the first handle portion is pivotally coupled with the second handle portion.
(ii) a second handle portion movable relative to the first handle portion, wherein the second handle portion is coupled with the actuating shaft assembly, wherein the second handle portion is movable distally, toward the first handle portion, to move at least part of the actuating shaft assembly relative to the elongate body.
16. The injection port applier of claim 15, wherein a first portion of the shaft assembly is configured to translate longitudinally relative to the elongate body, wherein a second portion of the shaft assembly is configured to rotate relative to the elongate body.
17. The injection port applier of claim 16, further comprising a cam feature, wherein the cam feature is configured to rotate the second portion of the shaft assembly in response to translation of the first portion of the shaft assembly.
18. The injection port applier of claim 15, wherein the port actuator is rotatable to move the fasteners of the injection port from the non-deployed position to the deployed position, wherein the shaft assembly is configured to rotate the port actuator in response to distal movement of the second handle portion.
(b) pushing the actuation handle downwardly toward the patient in order to deploy the fasteners in the tissue, wherein the act of pushing the actuation handle downwardly comprises moving the actuation handle downwardly relative to the fixed handle.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the injection port applier further comprises a rotary actuator in communication with the actuation handle, wherein the actuation handle is operable to rotate the rotary actuator to move the fasteners from the non-deployed position to the deployed position, wherein the act of pushing the actuation handle downwardly toward the patient further comprises rotating the rotary actuator to move the fasteners from the non-deployed position to the deployed position.
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References: Application No. 04253581
 Application No. 06253285
 Application No. 06253284
 Application No. 05253363
 Application No. 06253285
 Application No. 04253581
 Application No. 05253363
 Application No. 05253363
 Application No. 04253581
 Application No. 04253581
 Application No. 06253276
 Application No. 11
 Application No. 06253276