Generation of therapeutic microfoam

Abstract

Improved therapeutic sclerosing microfoams and methods and devices for making them are provided that have advantage in producing a consistent profile injectable foam with minimal input by the physician yet using high volume percentages of blood dispersible gases, thus avoiding use of potentially hazardous amounts of nitrogen.

1 - 67 . (canceled) 
     
     
         68 . A microfoam comprising a gas component and an aqueous sclerosant liquid wherein the microfoam is produced by passing the gas component and the aqueous sclerosant liquid through one or more passages, each passage having a diameter greater than about 5 μm and less than about 25 μm, wherein:
 the gas component comprises a physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas including a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide, 
 the aqueous sclerosant liquid comprises at least one sclerosing agent chosen from polidocanol and sodium tetradecylsulfate (STS), and 
 the microfoam comprises gas bubbles, at least 95% by number of the gas bubbles having a diameter less than 250 μm. 
 
     
     
         69 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises 10 to 99% vol/vol carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         70 . The microfoam of  claim 69 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises a mixture of 10 to 99% vol/vol carbon dioxide with the remainder oxygen. 
     
     
         71 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises 20 to 99% vol/vol carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         72 . The microfoam of  claim 71 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises a mixture of 20 to 99% vol/vol carbon dioxide with the remainder oxygen. 
     
     
         73 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises 10 to 40% vol/vol carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         74 . The microfoam of  claim 73 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises a mixture of 10 to 40% carbon dioxide vol/vol with the remainder oxygen. 
     
     
         75 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises 20 to 30% vol/vol carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         76 . The microfoam of  claim 75 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises a mixture of 20 to 30% carbon dioxide vol/vol with the remainder oxygen. 
     
     
         77 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the density of the microfoam ranges from 0.07 g/ml to 0.19 g/ml. 
     
     
         78 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein a ratio of gas to liquid is such that the microfoam that is produced has a half-life of at least two minutes. 
     
     
         79 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the aqueous sclerosant liquid is a solution of polidocanol in an aqueous carrier or sodium tetradecylsulfate (STS) in an aqueous carrier. 
     
     
         80 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the aqueous sclerosant liquid comprises 1% vol/vol polidocanol in an aqueous carrier. 
     
     
         81 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the aqueous sclerosant liquid is a solution of polidocanol in an aqueous carrier having a concentration of polidocanol from 0.5 to 4% vol/vol in the solution. 
     
     
         82 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the aqueous sclerosant liquid further comprises glycerol. 
     
     
         83 . The microfoam of  claim 68 , wherein the gas component comprises a physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas including a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide and other physiological gases, the other physiological gases including less than 40% vol/vol nitrogen. 
     
     
         84 . The microfoam of  claim 83 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises 10 to 99% vol/vol carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         85 . The microfoam of  claim 83 , wherein the physiologically acceptable blood dispersible gas comprises 10 to 40% vol/vol carbon dioxide.