Immobilizing objects in the body

摘要

Stabilizing an object in the body of a patient involves the injection of a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) material or other flowable material into the body of the patient so that the material contacts the object. The LCST material or other flowable material then forms a gel in the body such that the object is contained at least partially within the gel and thereby stabilized by the gel such that the object can then be easily fragmented within the body and/or retrieved from the body.

主权项

1. A system for introducing a material into a body of a patient comprising:
a flowable material comprising a block copolymer having reverse thermal gelation properties, which remains in a liquid form below about a temperature inside the body of the patient and which forms a gel about at and above the temperature inside the body of the patient; and an injection device for transferring the flowable material into the patient's body, whereby the flowable material is transferred in a liquid form from the injection device into a cavity or space within the patient's body and the flowable material changes into a gel form in the cavity or space of the body.