A 23-year-old athlete collapsing at a sporting match or right before crossing a finish line is unfortunately not foreign news to many. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects an estimated 630,000 people of all ages in the U.S., with as many as 84% undiagnosed. A bit of physiology: HCM is a genetic condition that occurs when the […]
Author: Medgadged
New Device Reproduces Bleeding Wounds to Study, Improve Healing
Scientists from Emory University, Georgia Tech, and the Blood Center of Wisconsin have developed a platform for studying the bleeding and clotting of wounds that is able to reproduce natural processes like never before. The technology should help to better understand how various processes, such as clot formation and repair of broken vessels, work together […]
Fiber Optics with Embedded Sensors Dissolve After Monitoring Body from Inside
Placing sensors inside the body can allow researchers and clinicians to understand and treat a variety of medical conditions. But, while implanting a sensing device can be easy, having it stay in the body long enough to perform its task and then to be safely removed is a substantial challenge. Now a collaboration between researchers […]
GlucoScanner, a Non-Invasive Blood Glucometer: Interview with Stefano Valenzi
Being able to measure blood glucose levels without pricking a finger would improve the lives of millions of diabetic patients around the world. Not only would the pain go away, but patients would be more willing to check their sugar levels regularly, leading to better management of diabetes. A group of Italian researchers based in […]
Vital Moto Mod, a Smartphone Attachment to Measure Five Important Vital Signs (Video)
Lenovo‘s Motorola division along with Vital USA Inc. recently unveiled a modular platform for expanding the capabilities of their smartphones. It’s known as Moto Mod, and it essentially lets you snap on attachments to the back of a phone that can do things such as print photos, play loud music, and provide a way to attach […]
Flexible, Breathable Electronic Tattoo Measures Vital Signs
A team of Japanese scientists has developed a way of creating breathable on-skin electronics that can stretch while continuing to function and that don’t cause any inflammation on the skin. These tattoo-like electronics have now been worn by volunteers for up to a week, with them reporting that they don’t even feel the presence of […]
Amiko Respiro Inhaler Tracking System Cleared in Europe
Amiko Digital Health, a company based in London, UK, landed CE Mark approval for its Respiro sensors and accompany platform to be used with Teva’s Spiromax , Chiesi’s Nexthaler and GlaxoSmithKline’s Ellipta inhalers. The Respiro system records usage of an inhaler every time it’s accessed, passing that information in real-time to a patient’s phone and onto […]
QR Codes on Drugs to Thwart Counterfeits, Improve Compliance
Drugs are sometimes faked and sold in place of the real stuff, seriously hurting patients and causing them financial harm. Moreover, patients often take the wrong drugs or take them at the wrong time. What if each pill could be tagged by the manufacturer and confirmed by the patient of its authenticity and that it’s […]
SensOR Medical Allows Surgeons to Feel Again
It’s no secret: minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) are on the rise. The tools used during these advanced scope-based procedures provide little tactile feedback that surgeons used to experience in open surgeries. Working at a distance means it is hard to gauge the force being applied to tissues. The founders at SensOR Medical Laboratories, a medical […]
LivaNova Releases PureFlex Arterial Cannulae in Europe
LivaNova won the European CE Mark of approval and is launching its new PureFlex arterial cannulae for connecting a patient to an extracorporeal support pump. They’re transparent, save for the metal spring that keeps them from kinking. They come in different lengths and sizes, but all interface via standard 3/8″ tips. The tips are available […]
Respicardia’s remedē, a Pacemaker for Lungs, Now Treating First Sleep Apnea Patient
Last year the FDA granted Respicardia, a Minnetonka, Minnesota firm, approval to introduce its remedē System as a treatment option for severe central sleep apnea. Now the company is proudly reporting that the first patient to receive the newly commercialized phrenic nerve stimulating implant is already receiving treatment following surgery at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical […]
Oxygen-Permeable Silicone Chip Allows the Mass-Production of Hair-Making Tissue
Researchers at Yokohama National University in Japan have developed a technique to mass-produce “hair follicle germs” – cellular aggregates that can be implanted into the skin and allowing new hair to grow. The technique brings a regenerative medical therapy for hair loss closer to clinical reality. Hair loss can be psychologically challenging for the men […]
High Throughput System for Studying Single-Cell Gene Regulation
Collaborators at the University of Basel, Switzerland and Max Planck Institute, Germany have developed a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip for monitoring gene regulation of individual bacterial cells. The device lets scientists control a number of environmental variables of thousands of cells at the same time while closely watching what happens to every one of the cells. As […]
KineQuantum Uses Virtual Reality for Real Physical Rehabilitation
Physical rehabilitation can be tedious and boring, and evaluation of a patient’s progress fraught by poor metrics and subjectivity. At the recent CES 2018 in Las Vegas we discovered a new virtual reality-based evaluation, rehab, and follow-up platform that makes it fun and convenient to assess patients, administer various game-based training regimens, and to assess […]
StimRouter Receives Health Canada Approval: Interview with Mark Geiger of Bioness
Bioness, a Valencia, California medical device/rehabilitation company, recently received approval from Health Canada for its StimRouter device, an implantable peripheral nerve stimulator designed to reduce chronic pain. We spoke with Mark Geiger, the Global Director of Marketing for Implantables at Bioness to learn more. Ben Ouyang, Medgadget: Tell me about Bioness and the StimRouter. […]
3D Printing Living Cells Into Useful Biomedical Objects
There have been a number of techniques recently developed for printing objects with living cells inside of them. The technology can lead to custom tissue replacements and other medical applications, but all these methods are quite slow. That’s because living cells have to somehow be carefully moved through microfluidic channels to mix with other components, such […]
Artificial Brain Synapses Replicated in a Chip
Our brains mainly consist of brain cells and the connections between them, making them quite modular and incredibly adaptable. Brain synapses, the connections between neurons, seem to be responsible for at least some of the computational magic that allows us to think, move, and respond to all sorts of stimuli. Being able to replicate the […]
Masimo SedLine for Improved Brain Monitoring Under Anesthesia FDA Cleared
Masimo won FDA clearance for its Next Generation SedLine brain function monitoring, a system for assessing the brain while under anesthesia. Next Generation SedLine relies on four EEG (electroencephalography) leads that acquire brain signals from both sides of the brain. The new version of the offering includes an improved signal processing engine that can help anesthesiologists […]
GE’s New Versana Essential Budget Friendly Ultrasound
GE Healthcare is unveiling a new budget conscious ultrasound system, the Versana Essential. GE touts it as having excellent image quality for the price and sees it being used by OB-GYNs, family and general practice physicians, and by clinicians in a number of other specialties. Using it you can view the thyroid vasculature, kidney vessels, […]
Deep Brain Stimulation Shown Effective at Slowing Down Alzheimer’s Symptoms
At Ohio State University, clinical researchers have successfully tested deep brain stimulation as a possible treatment option to slow down the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Three patients with the disease had a Medtronic deep brain stimulator implanted, with leads reaching into the frontal lobe where a lot of advanced cognitive tasks are done. Following initiation […]