Smoke in a surgical field is a common problem, particularly during laparoscopic and robotic procedures, that arises from the use of electrosurgical instruments, lasers, and other devices. Typically, smoke is vented out through one of the instrument ports, too often with slow and imperfect results. Alesi Surgical, a company out of Cardiff, Wale (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
EU Gives First Approval for Ultra-High-Field MRI Scanner, The Siemens Magnetom Terra
Siemens Healthineers just won the first European regulatory approval for an ultra-high-field MRI scanner to be used in clinical practice. The Magnetom Terra sports a magnetic field strength of 7 Tesla, which is considerably more powerful than 3 Tesla, the current high-end standard. MRIs of such strength have been used in research hospitals for year (Read more...)
Exoskeleton Developed to Improve Walking of Kids with Cerebral Palsy
Most exoskeleton research has focused on helping paralyzed people to walk upright and for soldiers and workers to easily carry heavy loads. At the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center Rehabilitation Medicine Department researchers built an exoskeleton to improve the walking gait of children with cerebral palsy. Many children w (Read more...)
Rapid Hepatocellular Carcinoma Test Can be Administered Anywhere
Researchers at the University of Utah have developed a rapid and highly portable liver cancer screening test, that can be administered anywhere. One of the biggest challenges in treating liver cancer is that often symptoms don’t appear until the disease is in the later stages, meaning it is important that people are tested rapidly when [&hell (Read more...)
Magnamosis, a New Magnetic Way to Connect Intestines, Proving Itself in Clinical Trial
An intestinal anastomosis is a fairly common surgical procedure usually done during intestinal resections, bypasses, diversions, etc. Typically stapling or suturing is performed to connect proximal and distant parts the intestine, but a new method that uses magnets shows a clinical promise. A new study just published in Journal of the American (Read more...)
SoClean Disinfects CPAP Equipment: A Medgadget Review
Users of CPAP machines end up maintaining the system by having to clean the mask, the accompanying air tube, and humidifier. Not only this is a hassle, but for many patients with sleep apnea this may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, causing them to abandon the therapy. As CPAP is impressively effective […]
Cheap Electrochemical Diagnostic System Featuring a Triboelectric Generator
Scientists at Purdue University have developed cheap, portable, and self-powered devices for performing electrochemical analysis for diagnostic purposes. Made mostly of paper, these devices can be produced in large quantities and used by just about anyone with minor training. The current prototype of the device is able to detect glucose, (Read more...)
Software Predicts Dementia from Amyloid PET Scans
Scientists at McGill University in Canada created a piece of software that can analyze images taken during an amyloid PET scan and provide an estimate of the chances of patients developing dementia. Alzheimer’s is associated with the buildup of amyloid plaques within the brain, but interpreting their location and concentrations into clinicall (Read more...)
New High Resolution Terahertz Imaging Technique to Help Spot Skin Cancer
Terahertz (THz) imaging, well known to air travelers, promises also to be able to see at a shallow depth into the skin to spot cancer. One benefit of THz is that it is non-ionizing and is therefore probably safe for routine use, while another is that it has already been shown that THz radiation is […]
Ethicon Releases PROXISURE Advanced Laparoscopic Suturing Device
Ethicon, part of Johnson and Johnson, is releasing in the U.S. its new flagship laparoscopic suturing device, the PROXISURE. It features the use of curved needles that come inside of single-use cartridges which slip onto the tip of the main device. The tip itself moves in all kinds of ways, articulating 45° in both directions and [… (Read more...)
Plasmonic Lasers Find, Destroy Circulating Tumor Cells to Prevent Metastasis
Though reasonably good techniques for ridding the body of primary tumors have been developed over the decades, preventing metastasis is still a major challenge. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) break off from established tumors and wonder off to start new mets in other parts of the body. To prevent CTCs from safely traveling through the blood [&helli (Read more...)
Medtronic’s Attain Stability Quad MRI SureScan Cardiac Lead Cleared in Europe
Medtronic won CE Mark approval to introduce its Attain Stability Quad MRI SureScan left heart lead in Europe. The device works with the company’s quadripolar cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-D) and CRT-pacemakers (CRT-P) and is not only a conduit for electric current, but also a tool for the electricity to better target c (Read more...)
New Glue Derived from Mussels to Make Fetal Surgeries Safer
Fetal surgeries using laparoscopic tools have proven to be effective at treating a number of difficult conditions that would otherwise lead to tragic results. A major difficulty with these surgeries is that the amniotic sac is penetrated in order to reach the fetus. The sac is extremely fragile and once the instruments are removed the […]
Creo Medical’s Speedboat RS2 and CROMA FDA Cleared for Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection
Creo Medical Group out of Chepstow in South Wales won clearance from the FDA for its Speedboat RS2 device and CROMA platform for endoscopic removal of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions in the bowel. This was one of the fastest FDA reviews of a 510(k) cleared medical device to date, with the company receiving the answer 49 days [… (Read more...)
XSTAT FDA Cleared to Stop Gun and Knife Wounds in Arms and Legs
RevMedX just announced that the FDA has cleared its XSTAT 12 and XSTAT 30 devices for stopping severe bleeding from knife and gun-shot wounds in the arms or legs. The XSTAT devices are essentially large syringes that can be used to quickly push dozens of tablet-sized highly absorbent pieces of foam into a wound. Once […]
Retinal Imaging for Alzheimer’s Detection
A team of researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and NeuroVision Imaging, a Sacramento, California firm, have developed a retinal imaging system that could allow early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. There are (Read more...)
BIOTRONIK’s Tiny Quadripolar Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Pacemaker FDA Approved
BIOTRONIK has obtained an FDA approval for its Edora HF-T QP MR conditional quadripolar cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker (CRT-P). It’s tiny, by comparison to similar devices, and features the BIOTRONIK’s MR AutoDetect technology that allows a physician to tell the implant that an MRI exam is coming up and for the device (Read more...)
3M’s New Extended Wear Medical Tape
Long-term medical wearables are often limited by the adhesives that are used to stick them to the skin. The skin needs to breathe and glues can prevent that, remaining in the skin’s pores even after removal of a bandage or stick-on ECG electrode. The materials have to be biocompatible and non-irritating, as well as avoiding […]
New Sugar Molecule Sticks to Tumors, Delivers Drugs
At the University of Würzburg in Germany scientists have developed a new sugar molecule that sticks to tumors and that may end up being used for early cancer detection and for killing of tumors. The molecule was created to target and bind with galectin-1, a protein that exists on all our healthy cells, but that is […]
Scientists Use Light to Erase Unwanted Memories
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a technique to selectively erase fear memories by weakening connections between the nerve cells involved in forming such memories. Memories can be triggered by stimuli such as sights, sounds, and smells. Some memories are formed during traumatic events, and in this case stimuli a (Read more...)