Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a wearable sensor that can measure electrical signals in the forearm and use AI to correlate them with hand gestures, such as the movements of individual fingers. The team demonstrated that the system can control a robotic prosthetic hand and that it may provide a way […]
Author: Medgadged
Medgadget’s Best Medical Technologies of 2020
As we say goodbye to 2020, the year that will live in infamy, it is important to recognize the many positive developments that occurred in the year of the pandemic. COVID-19 may have shut down industries, but it challenged those working in medicine to invent, adapt, and overcome faster than ever before. We would like […]
BIOMONITOR IIIm Injectable Cardiac Monitor Can Now Look for Signs of Fever
BIOTRONIK won FDA clearance for the Vital Data Sensor, a body temperature component within the BIOMONITOR IIIm injectable cardiac monitor (ICM). The ICM is designed to help cardiologists detect and diagnose cardiac arrhythmias remotely, but thanks to the Vital Data Sensor the implant now has an additional role in monitoring for signs of fever. This (Read more...)
Sleep Apnea Testing at Home: Interview with Laurent Martinot, CEO of Sunrise
Obstructive sleep apnea is very common and is associated with a variety of serious health issues, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Getting a proper diagnosis is hampered by the need for patients to visit a sleep clinic and undergo a polysomnography. This gold-standard test is complicated and requires specialized staff to interpret the r (Read more...)
Artificial Attachments for Immune Cells Help Kill Tumors
Though immune cells have the capabilities to kill cancer cells, they’re often thwarted by cancer’s ability to evade detection. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have now developed engineered natural killer cells that have a much better ability to find and kill cancerous cells. “We explored a novel method to engineer nat (Read more...)
Smart Ring Monitors Body Temperature, May Spot COVID Fever Early
A team of researchers, including those at the University of California, San Francisco and University of California, San Diego, has tested the potential of a smart ring, that can collect health data, including temperature and heart rate, to detect fever associated with COVID-19. In a proof-of-concept study, the researchers showed that the ring, deve (Read more...)
Radiotherapy to Prevent Recurrence Post Brain Tumor Excision: Interview with Matthew Likens, President and CEO of GT Medical
GT Medical Technologies, a company based in Arizona, has developed the FDA-approved GammaTile system, which can provide localized radiation therapy for brain tumor excision sites. Its goal is to reduce tumor recurrence and enhance patient survival. The treatment consists of radiation seeds encased in a collagen substrate. These are easy to place at (Read more...)
Saliva COVID Test Uses Smartphone for Results in 15 Minutes
Scientists at Tulane University have reported a new COVID-19 saliva test that uses a smartphone to provide results in as little as 15 minutes. Similar to technology from UC Berkeley that we reported on last week, the new test uses CRISPR technology and does not involve polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that, though accurate, is slow […]
Siemens epoc NXS Host Mobile Computer Cleared to Help Point of Care Blood Testing
Siemens Healthineers won both EU and US regulatory approval to introduce its epoc NXS Host mobile computer for the epoc Blood Analysis System. The Android smartphone provides an app-based intuitive interface that replaces the older interface that had over two dozen physical buttons and a relatively low resolution screen. The accompanying app is des (Read more...)
Mitochondrial Transplantation to Treat Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Interview with Dr. Alexander Schueller, CEO of cellvie
cellvie, a company based in Houston, Texas, is developing a mitochondrial transplantation therapy to help reduce the damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury. The treatment involves delivering isolated mitochondria to cells that are affected by ischemia to help mitigate the dysfunctional metabolism that contributes to cell death in that context (Read more...)
First Dedicated Pediatric and Neonatal Acute Dialysis Machine Released U.S.
Medtronic is releasing in the United States the industry’s first and only dedicated pediatric and neonatal acute dialysis machine. The Carpediem (Cardio-Renal Pediatric Dialysis Emergency Machine) has been in development for about a decade and the first in-human use was announced back in 2014. Having now received FDA marketing authorization, (Read more...)
Microbubbles Deliver Drugs Directly to Tumors
When fighting cancerous tumors, all too often the very drugs that can destroy a lesion tend to have significant negative effects on the rest of the body. Doses have to be maintained at moderate levels to avoid side-effects that are even worse than the disease. In light of this, researchers have been trying to develop […]
Smart Stethoscope Helps Monitor and Diagnose Respiratory Conditions: Interview with Helena Binetskaya, CEO of Healthy Networks
LungPass, an AI-powered Bluetooth stethoscope has been developed by Healthy Networks, a company based in Talinn, Estonia. The device can analyze sounds from the lungs and help to diagnose or monitor a variety of respiratory conditions, with an initial focus on pneumonia and COPD. The aim was to create a low-cost (the device costs as […]
“VRx”: A Medgadget Book Interview with Author Dr. Brennan Spiegel
In the recently released science-fiction novel Ready Player Two, protagonist Wade Watts spends the majority of the book inside a virtual reality universe called the “OASIS”. Though the OASIS is merely a simulation consisting of computer-generated imagery, immersive sound, and gesture-based interaction, it has a profound impact on realit (Read more...)
Acoustic Wave Device Isolates High Quality Sperm for IVF
Researchers at Monash University in Australia have developed a microfluidic device to isolate high quality sperm from semen samples. The process could improve the chances of couples who opt for IVF to have children. The technology uses standing acoustic waves to separate sperm in clinically relevant numbers, and is faster, less labor-intensive, and (Read more...)
Paper Test for Quick Diagnosis of COVID-19
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a paper-based electrochemical diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can provide a result in just five minutes. The inexpensive test relies on the conductive properties of graphene and gold, and contains gold nanoparticles covered in sensitive nucleic acid probes that can bind to RNA from the SARS (Read more...)
CRISPR Test Uses Cell Phone Camera to Detect SARS-CoV-2
Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 that uses an enzyme to cleave viral RNA, initiating a fluorescent signal that can be detected using a smartphone camera, and which can provide a quantitative measurement of the level of viral particles in the sample. The test produce a result in as little […]
MissionGO and MediGO Complete Successful Organ Deliveries in Unmanned Flights
MissionGO, a provider of unmanned aviation solutions, and Nevada Donor Network, an organ procurement organization (OPO) serving the state of Nevada, have recently completed two successful test flights in Las Vegas carrying a human organ and human tissue via an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). MediGO provided the technological services needed for col (Read more...)
PREVENA RESTOR AXIO•FORM Negative Pressure Wound Therapy: Interview with Dr. Ronald Silverman, 3M’s Chief Medical Officer
3M recently announced a new negative pressure wound therapy system called PREVENA RESTOR AXIO•FORM Incision Management System, which has been available since August. The new system expands the amount of time that negative pressure can be applied to a total of 14 days, with a dressing change at 7 days. The included disposable dressings are [&he (Read more...)
Rapid PCR Chip for Infectious Disease Diagnostics
Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a tiny lab-on-a-chip that can perform PCR diagnostics in just a few minutes. Usually requiring bulky and expensive lab equipment, PCR is a gold standard diagnostic test for a variety of infectious pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. The new testing device is 1 cm in [& (Read more...)