Engineers at MIT have developed photonic fibers that change color in response to pressure. The innovation could lead to color-changing bandages that allow clinicians to easily know if they’re tight enough or too tight. Compression stockings and bandages are a common treatment for venous ulcers. However, it can be difficult to tell if an optimal […]
Author: Medgadged
Pressure-Responsive Fibers Could Lead to Color-Changing Bandages
Engineers at MIT have developed photonic fibers that change color in response to pressure. The innovation could lead to color-changing bandages that allow clinicians to easily know if they’re tight enough or too tight. Compression stockings and bandages are a common treatment for venous ulcers. However, it can be difficult to tell if an optimal […]
Tiny Chemical Factories Inside Body to Produce Drugs On-Demand
Many diseases and conditions can be treated with timely delivery of specific drugs, but it’s often unknown at the time when the drug is needed. Additionally, many drugs are difficult to manufacture in a factory, but some of those can be manufactured easier with the help of the very body needing these medicine. Overcoming these […]
Wearables for a World Without Disease: Interview with imec’s Chris Van Hoof
Medgadget was recently invited to attend the imec Technology Forum conference in Antwerp, Belgium. Imec is a non-profit R&D innovation organization specializing in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Like many digital hardware companies, imec saw a lot of potential in healthcare technologies and started researching them about 12 years ago. Chris Van Hoof has been there […]
Klue Hand Tracking Tech for Behavior Change to be Tried at Stanford, Crossover Health
Klue, a Silicon Valley company that’s working to better utilize data gathered from wearable body trackers, is now working with Stanford University and Crossover Health, a primary care medical group, to study the effectiveness of Klue’s modules to affect change. The partnership with Stanford involves conducting a scientific study of Klue’s Mindful Eating Messenger and […]
TransEnterix Senhance Surgical Robotic System Cleared for Hernia Repair and Gallbladder Removal
TransEnterix, the first real competitor to have emerged to Intuitive Surgical in the assisted surgical robotics field, just won FDA clearance for new indications for its Senhance System. Specifically, laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) procedures can now be performed with the Senhance. The Senhance is already cleared for colorectal and gynecologic […]
IQcool Warm System FDA Cleared to Cool and Rewarm Patients
BrainCool, a Swedish company, obtained FDA clearance for its IQool Warm System. The device, the name of which seems to be intended to be an oxymoron, can be used to both cool and reheat patients. The company’s first FDA cleared product, the IQool, which looks identical to the newly approved one, is indicated for rapidly […]
Sensitive Fiber Thread to Introduce Diagnostic Capabilities Into Clothing
At the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) researchers have developed a smart thread capable of sensing tiny changes of pressure and strain that are placed on it. The technology should have implications for the development of new kinds of sensors and for the realization of smart clothing that can detect heart beats, breathing, and […]
Lumendi’s New Endolumenal Interventional Scissors Cleared by FDA to Work Within GI Tract
Lumendi, based in Westport, Connecticut, won FDA clearance for its DiLumen I2 Endolumenal Interventional Scissors. The single-use endoscopic monopolar device is used to cut, dissect, and cauterize tissues within the GI tract. It is utilized along with the company’s Endolumenal Interventional Platform, which uses two inflatable balloons to isolate a section of the GI tract. When […]
E. Coli in an Electronic Pill Can Detect Bleeding in the Stomach
Researchers at MIT have developed an ingestible chip containing genetically engineered E. coli. When swallowed, the bacteria can detect blood in the stomach, and produce light. The chip contains components that measure the amount of light produced and relays this information to a nearby smartphone, allowing a simple and non-invasive diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding. In […]
Cold Plasma Made Useful to Sterilize Medical Equipment
Cold plasma is a popular topic of research at Purdue University, including as a potential tool for killing cancer cells. It’s cold in the sense that only the electrons within the material are heated up to thousands of degrees, while the rest of the gaseous substance remains near room temperature. Now researchers at Purdue University […]
Soft and Highly Flexible Neural Interfaces Prevent Injury to Brain
While rigid neural interfaces can read brain activity and stimulate it quite well, these devices end up damaging the soft brain tissue they come in contact with. Moreover, the body ends up attacking these implants and forming protective layers around them that quickly degrade the electrodes. “Imagine you have a bowl of Jell-O, and you […]
New Coating for Dental Aligners Keeps Bacteria from Growing
Dental aligners, also known as retainers, are plastic devices that are used to slow adjust the position of the teeth. They’ve become extremely popular, but they require frequent changes because bacteria is known to make a home within the devices’ many small curves. Now a team of Korean researchers have developed a coating that can […]
Britain to Invest Heavily in AI for Medicine
British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that the United Kingdom will invest heavily into artificial intelligence technology to improve healthcare. The details are not clear, but UK’s National Health Service has been compiling data on millions of patients for many years and it may prove to be a great resource to train artificial intelligence […]
Britain to Invest Heavily in AI for Medicine
British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that the United Kingdom will invest heavily into artificial intelligence technology to improve healthcare. The details are not clear, but UK’s National Health Service has been compiling data on millions of patients for many years and it may prove to be a great resource to train artificial intelligence […]
Japanese Researchers Figure Out How to Connect Neurons Together
Cultured groups of neurons and even brain organoids are now routine in neuroscience research, and yet the connections between individual neurons that materialize are effectively random. In order to be able to setup tightly controlled experiments in which the neuronal networks are precisely designed, a scientist needs a method to connect individual neurons together. Now […]
EMBOTRAP II Pulls Clots from Brain With Minimal Compression: FDA Cleared
CERENOVUS, a Johnson & Johnson company that was built by combining Pulsar Vascular, Neuravi, and Codman Neuro’s neurological business, won FDA clearance for the EMBOTRAP II Revascularization Device. The stent retriever is used to pull blood clots from the brain, restoring blood flow and hopefully preventing the terrible consequences of a stroke. The device, intended […]
MC10’s BioStamp nPoint Biometric Recording System Cleared by FDA
MC10, out of Lexington, Massachusetts, landed FDA clearance for its new BioStamp nPoint biometric data acquisition system. Based on the BioStampRC, it is stuck to the patient’s body and can then continuously record parameters such as the heart rate, step count, and movements during sleep. It’s intended for monitoring of patients, but also for clinical […]
TrapLiner 2-in-1 device Guide Extension Catheter with Guidewire Trapping Now Available in Europe
Teleflex is releasing in Europe its TrapLiner, a guide extension catheter and guidewire trap, that makes sure the guidewire stays in place and doesn’t move forward during catheter exchanges. This simplifies catheter exchanges in many cases, leading to faster completion of complex procedures. According to the company, “the TrapLiner® Catheter is intended for use in […]
Computer Models of Arm and Hand Anatomy to Improve Function of Prosthetic Devices
New users of advanced prosthetic devices have to undergo tedious training routines in order for the computer that controls the given prosthesis to understand the wishes of the user. Sensors are used to measure the electrical activity of the muscles use to signal a prosthetic to move, but these signals change drastically depending on the […]