WhiteSwell, a medtech company based in Galway, Ireland, has developed a catheter system to treat acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). ADHF is often treated using diuretics to remove excess fluid, but this doesn’t work for every patient and can have side-effects. This latest technology consists of a catheter with an impeller pump that is (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
Imagio Opto-Acoustic Imaging for Breast Lesions FDA Approved
Seno Medical, a San Antonio, Texas firm, has won FDA approval to introduce its Imagio device that utilizes opto-acoustic imaging to help physicians identify whether breast lesions are benign or malignant. It is hoped that this non-invasive and radiation-free technology will help to reduce the number of biopsies that have to be performed. Opto-acous (Read more...)
Medical Gadgets at This Year’s CES 2021
CES 2021 took place this past week, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the annual electronics megashow show was completely virtual. While we certainly missed the free swag, a chance with lady luck at the Vegas casino tables, and the opportunity to reunite with many of you Medgadget readers, there were still a good […]
(Read more...)Endoscopic Surgery Using Steerable Lasers
Applying an energy source, such as a laser, to cut through or cauterize tissue is already widely used in external surgeries, such as laser eye surgery, but using this technology safely and accurately during minimally invasive internal procedures is difficult. Current endoscopic technology does not permit lasers to be steered and manipulated with su (Read more...)
HARPOON System for Mitral Valve Repair: Interview with Daveen Chopra, Edwards Lifesciences
Degenerative mitral regurgitation occurs when the mitral valve prolapses, causing blood to leak back into the atrium every time the heart beats. The condition can be asymptomatic for many people, but for some it can cause a variety of issues, including fainting, pain, and shortness of breath. Currently, open-heart surgery is considered to be the [& (Read more...)
Spinal Cord Stimulators Manage Pain without Tingling
Boston Scientific is releasing in the United States its Wavewriter Alpha line of spinal cord stimulators. The four Wavewriter Alpha pain management devices provide Bluetooth connectivity, allow patients to still be scanned under MRI, given certain precautions, and offer so-called Fast Acting Sub-perception Therapy (FAST). FAST is exciting because i (Read more...)
Cios Flow Mobile C-Arm from Siemens FDA Cleared
Siemens Healthineers just announced FDA clearance to introduce its Cios Flow mobile C-arm in the United States. Developed for use in orthopedics, vascular surgery, trauma, spinal surgery, and other fields, it’s intended to be a general purpose C-arm that can be easily used in a variety of cases. The Cios Flow is a relatively compact [… (Read more...)
Electrical Stimulation Helps Regain Hand Function Post Spinal Cord Injury
Researchers at the University of Washington have trialed a minimally invasive electrical stimulation technique that has resulted in remarkable improvements in the hand and arm function of spinal cord injury patients. The approach involves sticking band-aid-like patches onto the back of the neck of patients to deliver electrical pulses, helping to s (Read more...)
Brain-Machine Interface and Exoskeleton Improve Stroke Rehab
Stroke rehabilitation as a field of research holds great promise in improving how patients recover. Unlike other organs, the brain’s neuroplasticity allows it to functionally reshape itself in beneficial ways. But it doesn’t do it on its own, so targeted interventions that require patient participation are key to optimal outcomes. There (Read more...)
CES 2020: OMRON VitalSight Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote patient monitoring has gone from novelty to necessity in a matter of months thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, allowing clinicians to keep an eye on their patients provides a number of important benefits even during “normal” times. At this year’s CES, which is a virtual event this year, Omron presented its VitalSi (Read more...)
Cooling Vest Helps COVID Clinicians with Heat Stress
Researchers from the Radboud University Medical Center in The Netherlands have trialed cooling vests, originally designed for elite athletes, in nursing staff who have to put in long shifts in COVID-19 wards wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). While essential, the protective equipment can lead to significant discomfort in the form of (Read more...)
10 Second COVID Antibody Test on a Chip
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a microfluidic chip that can provide rapid COVID-19 antibody tests. The electrochemical test can detect very low concentrations of antibodies in blood samples, and transmits the results to a smartphone. The test could help to measure patient responses to vaccines and determine if they have be (Read more...)
3D Imaging Illuminates Internal Structure of Brain Spheroids
Researchers at the Wyss Center in Geneva and collaborators have developed novel imaging and labeling techniques to view the internal structure of brain spheroids, and observe the morphology of single neurons in 3D. Brain spheroids, which the researchers term “mini brains,” are a cluster of different types of brain cells, and are culture (Read more...)
Nanodroplets and Ultrasound to Drill Through Blood Clots
Penetrating compacted and extensive blood clots has been one of the main challenges of vascular surgery. Various catheter-based devices have been invented and are in use today, but many patients present with plaques that are just too difficult even for the finest existing devices. Now, researchers at North Carolina State University and University o (Read more...)
Strados RESP Monitors Lung Sounds, Now FDA Cleared
Strados Labs, a company based in Philadelphia, PA, but with R&D offices in Atlanta, GA, won FDA clearance to introduce its RESP system for monitoring lung sounds. The RESP device has already been employed in clinical trials to help monitor how various therapies, patient reports, and other vital signs correlate with changes in lung sounds. [&hel (Read more...)
Magnetic Nanoparticles Deliver Chem and Heat Cancer Cells for Synergistic Effects
Researchers at University College London have shown that tiny magnetic nanoparticles could enhance cancer treatment. The particles can deliver chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells and also produce a mild heating effect when stimulated with an external alternating magnetic field. Combining particle-mediated heat treatment and chemotherapy resulted in (Read more...)
Dexter Surgical Robot Works with All Laparoscopy Tools
Robotic laparoscopic surgery is now widely available, with Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci systems being the most common robots out there. These systems typically require specialty tools provided by the robot manufacturer, and the selection is quite limited compared with the wide array of conventional laparoscopic tools that exist. Now, Distalm (Read more...)
Real-time ELISA for Continuous Blood Testing
Though blood tests are a routine part of clinical care and hospital labs are able to quantify a myriad biomarkers, the results only indicate measurements at certain points in time. Continuous monitoring is available for only a few analytes such as glucose and oxygen. Now researchers at Stanford University have created a device that can […]
Supporting Promising Medtech Firms: Interview with Paul Grand, CEO of MedTech Innovator
MedTech Innovator is a medical technology accelerator program that supports medtech companies in translating their technologies into beneficial products. Much of this support takes the form of competitions. At present, MedTech Innovator holds competitions in the US and Asia, and companies can apply to enter either competition depending on where the (Read more...)
CoolSeal for Quick and Safe Vessel Sealing Unveiled
Bolder Surgical, a Louisville, Colorado firm previously called JustRight Surgical, is starting the new year by releasing the CoolSeal vessel sealing platform. The initial product offerings are the CoolSeal Trinity device, a 5mm laparoscopic sealer, and the 3mm CoolSeal Mini, both of which work with the CoolSeal generator. The CoolSeal Trinity (pict (Read more...)