At the ongoing Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, Medtronic has unveiled its new Concerto 3D Detachable Coil System. The device, which is now available to physicians in the U.S. and Europe, is intended to be used for embolizations in the peripheral arteries and veins. The de (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
Pentax Unveils Easier to Clean Duodenoscopes Thanks to Disposable Business End
Endoscopes in general can be tricky to clean, a serious problem in the industry, but duodenoscopes have something called an elevator that makes them particularly challenging to disinfect. The elevator is a moving component at the business end of the duodenoscope. PENTAX Medical, a part of HOYA Group, has announced receiving CE Mark clearance f (Read more...)
TruMed AccuVax for Automatic Management of Vaccine Supplies
TruMed Systems, a firm based in San Diego, California, is releasing its AccuVax vaccine management system that’s designed to improve clinical efficiency, save nurses’ time, and reduce waste. The system of course keeps the medications at the correct temperature for long-term potency and helps to reduce the chances of making errors in adm (Read more...)
Acoustofluidics Pulls Exosomes from Whole Blood
Exosomes are tiny vesicles that are released by the body’s myriad of cells and that are found in blood, urine, and other bodily fluids. Their role within our bodies is still largely a mystery, but there’s already considerable evidence that they may be biomarkers of disease and indicators that certain processes are happening within the [ (Read more...)
Microneedle Patch Burns Fat Below Skin
Researchers in the US have developed a microneedle patch that can be applied to the skin and help to burn fat locally. The patch releases a drug that converts white fat to energy-burning brown fat, and could help to reduce “love handles”, and treat obesity and diabetes. Medgadget recently covered drug-loaded nanoparticles that (Read more...)
Hitachi’s Compact Supria True64 CT Scanner Cleared in U.S.
Hitachi has announced that the FDA granted the company clearance for its Supria True64 CT scanner. The device is designed to take less room in a busy clinical environment and to provide a 64-slice image quality using a 40 mm detector and 64 separate detector and electronics processing channels. Hitachi notes that many compact CT scanners [&hel (Read more...)
LessRay Radiation Reduction System for ORs Using Fluoroscopes
NuVasive, a company based in San Diego, California, is now making available its LessRay radiation dose-reduction system. It consists of a computer cart that connects to an operating room’s fluoroscopy system. The fluoroscope can be set to a lower level of X-ray exposure, and the LessRay, using its proprietary software algorithms, then correct (Read more...)
Medtronic’s Intellis Spinal Cord Neurostimulation System Released in U.S.
Medtronic won FDA approval and is releasing in the U.S. its Intellis spinal cord neurostimulation platform, which includes the world’s smallest fully implantable spinal cord neurostimulator. The system delivers both high-dose and low-dose therapy, depending on the patient’s needs, and tracks patient activity to help physicians impr (Read more...)
Your Age in TeloYears, Interview with Telomere Diagnostics CEO Jason Shelton
In 2009, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three scientists for the discover of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Today, telomeres, stretches of DNA at the ends of chromosomes, are used as part of a new, commercially available genetic test that helps individuals better understand how w (Read more...)
Your Age in TeloYears, Interview with Telomere Diagnostics CEO Jason Shelton
In 2009, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three scientists for the discover of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Today, telomeres, stretches of DNA at the ends of chromosomes, are used as part of a new, commercially available genetic test that helps individuals better understand how w (Read more...)
AtriClip PRO•V Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion System Cleared by FDA, Now Available in U.S.
AtriCure, a firm based outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, is now making available in the United States its AtriClip PRO•V Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Exclusion System. The device, used to occlude the LAA as necessitated by other open heart procedures, received FDA clearance in March of 2016. The LAA is a cul-de-sac where blood experi (Read more...)
New Method Produces Precise Polymeric Nanoparticles for Clinical Applicability
While there are many types of drug ferrying nanoparticles already in existence and more under development, in order for them to be safe and effective in clinical practice they have to be uniformly manufacturable. Different sizes and shapes of nanoparticles can lead to inconsistent results. This can muddy studies and clinical results. Now researcher (Read more...)
Consure Medical: Improving Ease-of-Use and Comfort of Patients Requiring Fecal Management [Interview]
You may not think that the topic of fecal incontinence (FI) and management sounds very lucrative or interesting, and within demanding and stressful healthcare environments it is usually last to receive attention. Even if healthcare workers do think about these issues, they often do not have as much time as they would like to invest […]
Medtronic Releases StealthStation ENT Surgical Navigation System
Medtronic is launching its new StealthStation ENT surgical navigation system for ear, nose, and throat procedures following both FDA and CE Mark clearances. The system works by setting up an electromagnetic field around the area being worked on, and then using this field as a coordinate system to accurately track the location of instruments. The [& (Read more...)
Endomag Magseed Breast Tumor Marker Now Cleared in Europe
Endomag, a company with offices in Cambridge, UK and Austin, Texas, obtained the European CE Mark to introduce its Magseed injectable marker, a product already available in the U.S. It’s intended to be used by radiologists to mark the location of a tumor within the breast so that the surgeon can easily spot during the […]
New Material With Live Cells for Organ, Tissue Printing
At the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada researchers have developed and tested a new bio-ink that may serve as a critical building block for manufacturing replacement tissues and organs. The technology will hopefully speed up the quest to heal a great deal of conditions and diseases by implanting perfectly healthy body parts in [&helli (Read more...)
From Disney to Diabetes: Len Testa and Vericred Team Up to Launch GlucosePATH [Interview]
For years, Len Testa has been using mathematical models to help families answer one of their most challenging questions: how to optimize summer vacation by selecting the best theme parks with the shortest lines, the best restaurants, and the most cost effective hotels? His website, Touring Plans, provides all the decision making (Read more...)
Tiny Microchips Give Tracking Capabilities to Medical Devices Inside Body
As we develop a wide array of new implantable, injectable, and swallowable medical devices, the need to accurately track their location within the body becomes ever more critical. Currently, ultrasound, electromagnetism, and other methods are employed to track objects introduced into the body, but these modalities suffer from a number of imperfecti (Read more...)
$40 Keychain Device Detects Food Allergens
For those with allergic reactions to certain foods, cross-contamination or accidental mislabeling can lead to reactions ranging from annoying to life-threatening. To address this health need, researchers at Harvard Medical School have made a device that can quickly, inexpensively, and accurately detect common food antigens. The integrated exogenous (Read more...)
New Way to Deliver Chemo Agent Helps Reach Brain Tumors
While there are fairly effective medications that can kill brain tumors, getting them to their targets is so challenging that they’re often next to useless for cancers of the brain. Japanese scientists from Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion, The University of Tokyo, and Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a shell for epirubi (Read more...)