Abbott won its first FDA approval for a magnetic resonance-conditional labeling for one of its implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), the Ellipse. Additionally, Tendril MRI pacing lead, as well as Durata and Optisure high voltage leads that are compatible with the Ellipse, are also approved to be safe inside an MRI machine as long (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
New Contrast Agent Points to Tumors, Helps Identify How Aggressive They Are
Differentiating between tumor types can be very important when choosing the right tools to fight a given cancer, but contrast agents that make tumors pop on MRI scans don’t provide much info other than where the target is. That may soon be changing, as researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a new MRI contrast [&hel (Read more...)
Nintendo Wii Now Used to Improve Lives of Parkinson’s Patients
Researchers from Purdue University, Indiana University, and the University of Calgary have developed and are testing a set of video games to help improve the everyday lives of people with Parkinson’s disease. The team relied on a Nintendo Wii video game platform coupled with the Wii Balance Board to run games in which a player moves [&he (Read more...)
VisualDx + Derm Expert, a Deep Learning App to Help Diagnose Skin Conditions
When a person develops an unsightly skin condition, the first person to assess it is typically not a dermatologist. A lack of expertise in dermatology too often leads to misdiagnoses. General practice physicians, for example, get very little training on skin conditions. Now, thanks to a new feature inside the latest Apple iOS for iPhones […]
(Read more...)Kids Now Drive Themselves to Operating Room in California Hospital
At Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California, kids will now be driving themselves to the operating room. The hospital now has a fleet of ride-on mini cars that kids are much more excited to drive rather than being taken to OR on a wheeled bed. The electric cars are actually operated by an adult using […]
Massaging Bra Helps to Move More Milk Into Breast Pump, Alleviating Clogged Ducts
As our modern society pushes ever forward toward greater efficiency and productivity, even breast pump technology is getting the 21st century upgrade. The Lilu is a powered bra that has a built-in massager that does what women have been told to do for ages: compress your breasts to produce more milk and to prevent blocked milk […]
Smartfoam Can Measure Impacts in Football Helmets
Biomedical engineers at Brigham Young University have developed a nanocomposite “smartfoam” lining for football helmets, which measures impacts and can help coaches know if a player may have sustained a brain injury. Football players risk concussions during games. If a player is involved in a collision, it can be difficult to know wheth (Read more...)
Hopkins Researchers Deliver Blood Samples Using Drone in 161 Mile Journey
The last few weeks have been full of natural disasters striking Mexico, islands in the Caribbean, and the United States mainland. Roads are damaged and entire communities have been cut off from help for days at a time, while the potential for infectious diseases to thrive has skyrocketed. Moreover, patients often end up without their […]
Abiomed’s Impella RP First Percutaneous Heart Pump Indicated for Right Heart Failure
Abiomed won FDA approval for its Impella RP heart pump, the first percutaneous temporary ventricular support device indicated for right heart failure. The device moves blood from the inferior vena cava into the pulmonary artery, doing the work of the right ventricle. It’s inserted via the femoral vein and pushed up and through the r (Read more...)
Mazor X Robotic Spinal Surgery System Cleared in Europe
Mazor Robotics, an Israeli firm, announced that its Mazor X Surgical Assurance Platform has received the European CE Mark of approval. The system, used to perfect spinal surgeries, is being co-marketed by Medtronic, which just invested $40 million into Mazor Robotics. The Mazor X consists of a pre-op software package that helps to establish a (Read more...)
First U.S. Physicians to Save Lives & Limbs with New DABRA Laser Technology: Interview with CEO of Ra Medical Systems
More than 200 million people worldwide, including approximately 8.5 million Americans, suffer from Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). In the U.S. and Europe, PAD is responsible for around 240,000 amputations every year. Nearly a quarter of patients die within 30 days and almost half within a year of their limb amputation. With the numb (Read more...)
The MedTech Investing Europe Conference in London Showcases Latest Innovations
Now celebrating its 25th gathering, the MedTech Investing Europe Conference brought together over 100 participants from throughout Europe, and further afield, to London. Attendees included startup companies and medtech industry innovation specialists, along with sector-specific professional investment firms, as well as angel and family office (Read more...)
Molecular Robots to Build Drug Molecules
Scientists in the UK have developed a microscopic molecular machine that can be used to assemble individual molecules. The technology could allow scientists to build drug molecules from scratch, as well as help with drug discovery. The molecular robots are only a millionth of a millimeter in size and each has a tiny robotic arm. […]
Laser Monitors Mitochondria to Predict Cardiac Arrest
Researchers have developed a laser device that can tell in real time whether tissues in the body are receiving enough oxygen. The laser system relies on resonance Raman spectroscopy, and could help doctors to predict cardiac arrest, as low oxygen levels in heart muscle is a warning sign that the heart could stop pumping. “With current [& (Read more...)
Beyond Gaming: How Osso VR is Already Transforming Surgical Training
In a nondescript office building in downtown Palo Alto, I enter a conference room with the furnishings of a typical Silicon Valley tech company. Suddenly, my view changes, and I am transported to the inside of a brightly lit operating room, myself fully gowned and staring down at the exposed knee of an anesthetized patient. I turn my (Read more...)
New Siemens MRI for Radiation Therapy: MAGNETOM RT Pro Edition for MAGNETOM Vida
Siemens Healthineers has just unveiled their brand new MAGNETOM RT Pro edition for MAGNETOM Vida, a 3 Tesla MRI scanner specifically designed for planning radiation therapy procedures. It has a new magnet, a pretty large 55x55x50 field of view, and an optional 60/200 XT gradient system that the firm believes may improve geometric dis (Read more...)
Wireless, Handheld Ultrasound for iOS and Android: Interview with Laurent Pelissier, CEO of Clarius Mobile Health
Clarius Mobile Health, a Canadian firm, is a pioneering company specializing in portable solutions for ultrasound diagnostics. Since its debut, it has surprised and impressed us with its tiny portable ultrasounds. Clarius offers the only app-based, wireless ultrasound scanner that can be taken to the point of care even in the most rugge (Read more...)
Flexible Supercapacitors Hope to Replace Batteries in Medical Implants
Many of the limitations of existing electronic medical implants, such as pacemakers and defibrillators, arise from the internal batteries. The batteries are rigir, requiring the implants to have a strong metal structure that makes them bulky. At Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland researchers have been working on developing superca (Read more...)
Arkis CerebroFlo EVD Drainage Catheter for Cerebrospinal Fluid Cleared by FDA
Arkis BioSciences, a young medical technology company out of Knoxville, Tennessee, won FDA clearance for its CerebroFlo external ventricular drainage catheter. The device indicated for positioning within the ventricular cavity of the brain and establishing a drainage channel to release cerebrospinal fluid. The company touts the use of Endexo, (Read more...)
Masimo’s Slim and Portable Rad-97 Pulse CO-Oximeter FDA Cleared and Now Available
Masimo won FDA clearance and just announced full market release of its Rad-97 Pulse CO-Oximeter. It’s available as is, or with either a built-in blood pressure cuff or a capnography (CO2) attachments. The monitor comes with Masimo’s well established Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion SET pulse oximetry and its rainbow&nb (Read more...)