Medidata Solutions is a global provider of cloud-based technology and data analytics for clinical research. They work with a variety of life sciences clients who conduct studies to gather, store and analyze data to help assess the safety and efficacy of their products before bringing them to market. Amassing and securely storing the enormous amounts […]
Author: Medgadged
Newly Designed Nanorods Act as Dual Imaging Agents for Improved Diagnostics and Surgical Use
Scientists at the PNG College of Technology have developed new nanoscale rods that may be an effective dual-mode imaging agent for detecting cancer. The nanorods can be seen using both magnetic resonance and optical imaging techniques. Combining the two offers potentially better localization results during pre-op imaging, but can also allow for easy to use […]
Artificial Intelligence Helps Improve MRI Imaging of Strokes
High resolution MRI scans of the brain can take around thirty minutes to perform, but in the case of a stroke this can be much too long to wait. Typically, if MRI is used, a stroke patient is rushed through so that fewer imaging slices are taken, resulting in a much lower quality image. Compared […]
Toshiba Medical Releasing New Vantage Titan / Zen Edition 1.5T MRI Scanner
Toshiba Medical, now part of Canon Group, is releasing a new 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner with features that benefit both patient comfort and how efficiently exams are conducted. The Vantage Titan / Zen Edition 1.5T, as its name implies, offers a considerably quieter experience in certain scanning modes thanks to the firm’s Pianissimo technology. This […]
EaseCentral Raises $6.5M and Launches Two Offerings for Health Insurance: Interview with CEO David Reid
EaseCentral, a cloud-based benefits enrollment software platform built for small and medium insurance brokers and employers, has announced a $6.5 million Series A round of funding led by Propel Ventures and involving current investors Freestyle Capital, Compound, Upside Partnership, and Transmedia Capital. Along with the raise is the announcement of EaseCentral’s two new health insurance broker offerings. […]
Calming Virtual Reality Scenarios Prove More Effective at Reducing Pain
Virtual reality technology has been used in the past to help reduce the pain experienced during difficult to endure procedures, such as the SnowWorld game designed to help assist with bandage changes on burn victims. The actual mechanism how virtual reality actually numbs the pain was not properly studied, the assumption seems to have been that […]
Electronic Barcoding of Microparticles to Help Bring Disease Biomarker Detection out of Lab
As research is progressing in understanding human diseases, it turns out that many conditions have related biomarkers that show up in the blood and other body fluids. Being able to continuously monitor for the presence of disease biomarkers outside a clinical setting may allow for early detection of cancer and other diseases. Researchers at Rutgers University […]
RealMom, a New Physical Simulator for Practicing Vaginal Birthing Techniques
Operative Experience, a company based in Maryland, is releasing a new highly realistic vaginal birth simulator. The model mannequin is a full size replica of a patient made of soft materials that even replicates the mother’s internal anatomy. The cervix undergoes dilation and effacement, and the baby is pushed out similarly to a natural birth. […]
Pulsed High Intensity Ultrasound Removes Calcified Buildup from Prosthetic Heart Valves
Prosthetic heart valves that fit inside failed natural valves have now been used for years to treat thousands of patients. As time passes following implantation, the man-made valves tend to accumulate calcified debris over their leaflets. This slowly degrades their functionality and eventually requires revision procedures that may involve replacement of the prostheses, or valve-in-valve procedures […]
VoxelCloud Automated Medical Image Analysis: Interview with Xiaowei Ding, CEO of VoxelCloud
VoxelCloud, a startup based out of Los Angeles and with a presence in Suzhou and Shanghai, China, has developed a suite of artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies to assist doctors in interpreting medical images. The technology provides fully automated medical imaging analysis, and can be used with various imaging techniques, such as computed tomography […]
Neurosurgical Simulator for Real-Time Guidance of Interventional Instruments
The brain is a difficult organ to operate on in part due to its jelly-like consistency and because what’s below the surface is not visible, save for pre-op imaging. Because it is so soft and gelatinous, the brain compresses as soon as an instrument touches it, which affects the location of the target and how […]
Drones Demonstrate Ability to Deliver AEDs Much Faster Than Ambulances
Most serious medical emergencies require trained paramedics to come to the assistance of a stricken person, but sudden cardiac arrest can often be treated by a bystander using an automated external defibrillator (AED). While AEDs are becoming commonplace in airports, sporting venues, and other places that are visited by large numbers of people, most times when […]
Augmented Reality System to Help Understand Medical Conditions and Assist in Patient Education
At the Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom researchers are working on an augmented reality system that would help clinicians manipulate and interact with patient imaging scans, related anatomical models, and data from electronic medical records. Many practical use cases for this technology is envisioned, including helping to relay to patients the effects of their […]
Ultrasound Activates Nanoparticle Aggregates for Selective Drug Delivery
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a nanoparticle aggregate system that releases a drug when it is dispersed using ultrasound. This means that it can be used to deliver toxic chemotherapy drugs directly to a tumor while reducing side-effects in healthy tissues. Normally, many tumors are treated using chemotherapy drugs that travel throughout […]
Medtronic’s Tiny Micra Pacemaker Going on a Space Flight
These days astronauts are some of the healthiest and physically robust individuals that NASA can get a hold of. But one day we may see all kinds of people going to space, even those with heart conditions. Shelbi Klingsporn, a Nebraska high school student had the idea to test whether an existing pacemaker is able […]
FDA Clears MAGNETOM Vida 3 Tesla MRI with BioMatrix Technology
Siemens is reporting that the FDA has cleared its MAGNETOM Vida 3 Tesla MRI scanner. The device features the new BioMatrix technology from Siemens that takes into account individual patient anatomy, physiology, and even the differences in MRI operators to produce optimal image quality. Essentially, the scanner’s table has a built-in sensor that detects respiration, a parameter […]
Organs-on-Chip with Tiny Electrodes Sense Electrical Activity, Resistance of Cells
Organ-on-chip technology promises to help speed up and improve research on how potential new drugs will interact with the body’s own organs. Additionally, it may alleviate the need for in-animal studies that can be difficult to perform and that too often produce misleading results. Organs-on-chip are essentially specialized microfluidic devices within which living cells are […]
Tiny Forward Facing Ultrasound Drill to Bust Through Blood Clots
Intravascular ultrasound devices are used on a regular basis to break up blood clots. These devices deliver high frequency ultrasound energy from a side facing transducer, shaking up clots and opening up blood vessels. Because of engineering limitations that have resulted in ultrasound being emitted laterally, the clots don’t break up as well as they […]
BIOTRONIK’s Pacemakers Get 3 Tesla MR-Conditional Approval in Europe
BIOTRONIK won European regulatory approval allowing its Edora, Evity, and Enitra series of pacemakers to be safe for 3 Tesla full body scans, as long as certain precautionary measures are taken. This approval will allow more patients to take advantage of the high quality imaging that the more powerful MRI scanners offer, as previously these […]
Groups of Nanoparticles Powered by a Magnet Team Up to Kill Cancer Cells
Number of ways have been developed that allow nanoparticles to kill cancer cells. Some of these include delivering chemo agents, converting electromagnetic energy beamed into heat, and manipulating with the signaling processes of tumor cells. An international team of researchers is now reporting in journal Theranostics a way of bunching iron oxide particles doped with zinc […]