Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a technique to levitate plasma proteins using a magnetic field. The technique provides very accurate information on the density of the proteins, and could reveal signatures of disease, potentially allowing clinicians to diagnose various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, more easily. The technique involves mixing a sample of […]
Author: Medgadged
SELUTION SLR Drug Eluting Balloon Cleared by EU
MedAlliance, a Swiss company, won the EU CE Mark clearing its SELUTION SLR sirolimus-eluting balloon for use in treating peripheral vascular disease. This is the first CE Mark that the company has received and the clearance applies to SELUTION SLR devices in sizes from 2.0 x 20mm to 7.0 x 150mm. MedAlliance’s technology allows sirolimus, […]
Patch Automatically Delivers Insulin as Blood Glucose Rises
New technology has been making an impact on how diabetics control their blood sugar levels. A combination of a wearable glucometer and insulin pump, connected via a smart control mechanism, can function as an artificial pancreas, but researchers at University of California Los Angeles, University of North Carolina, and MIT have created and now tested […]
Handheld 3D Bioink Printer for Wound Healing
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a handheld 3D printer that can deposit a stem cell-loaded bioink onto wounds, such as burns, to promote tissue healing. The device acts like a paint roller, and a clinician could use it to deposit the biomaterial in even stripes on a wound surface. A recent study […]
FDA Clears Olympus TJF-Q190V Duodenoscope With Disposable Endcap
Olympus received FDA clearance for its TJF-Q190V duodenoscope that features a single-use endcap and novel flushing adapter that reduce the chance for pathogens to settle between cases. Olympus touts that the new device has a large field of view, a reliable guidewire locking system, and precise handling. Duodenoscopes are used to perform endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography […]
SAFIRA Lets Lone Anesthesiologists Administer Regional Blocks
Medovate, a two-year-old UK firm, is bringing its SAFIRA regional anesthesia system to the United States. The SAFIRA (Safer Injection for Regional Anesthesia) allows anesthesiologists to deliver regional anesthesia (block) without relying on an assistant to actually inject it at the right pressure. Regional anesthesia procedures currently demand one person to operate an ultrasound to […]
Flashing Light Into Eyes Lowers Buildup of Alzheimer’s Amyloid Plaques
A few years ago scientists discovered that directing flashing light at 40 Hertz (cycles per second) into the eyes and noises into the ears of mice with Alzheimer’s disease led to a marked decline in amyloid plaques in their brains. The mechanism making this happen was pretty much a matter of speculation, so researchers at […]
Serenno System Unveiled for Continuous Kidney Monitoring
Serenno Medical, an Israeli firm, has unveiled its Sentinel automatic device for monitoring and detecting kidney damage. Designed for use within the hospital, the Sentinel works by continuously measuring urine output and volume to help detect cases of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). These days, nurses typically manually measure the amount of urine a patient produces. […]
New Membranes to Make Extracorporeal Oxygenation More Effective
When lungs fail because of acute respiratory distress and cannot be used to deliver oxygen to patients via conventional ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has to be employed. ECMOs remove carbon dioxide from whole blood and replace it with oxygen thanks to a membrane oxygenator. While such artificial lungs are effective for short periods of […]
LapTrainer Mixed Reality Simulator for Laparoscopy Training Unveiled
KARL STORZ, a German maker of surgical tools and endoscopy products, has partnered with VirtaMed, a Swiss maker of medical simulators, to release a simulator for laparoscopic training. The LapTrainer device is a mixed reality simulator combining real laparoscopic tools with a computer generated representation of what is going on inside the model patient. Students […]
Biorobotic Hybrid Heart to Help Develop New Cardiac Implants
Prosthetic heart valves, ventricular assist devices, and other cardiac implants go through an extensive research and development process, followed by testing on animals before human trials. There is no machine that simulates the function of the heart with any sufficient accuracy for comprehensive use by device designers, but researchers at MIT are trying to change […]
EU Clears Medtronic’s Smart Cobalt and Crome Cardiac Implants
Medtronic has announced that its Cobalt and Crome implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-D) won EU CE Mark clearance, allowing their introduction to the continent. The devices feature Medtronic’s OptiVol fluid status sensors that allow the introduction of the company’s new TriageHF technology. This classifies patients into one of three groups for potential […]
MIT Researchers Prove Non-Invasive Glucose Sensing Possible
Measuring blood glucose concentrations still requires direct access to blood, whether through a finger prick or via a continuous glucometer. MIT scientists working with colleagues at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in South Korea are reporting that they’ve developed a non-invasive blood glucose measurement device that may finally turn a long-held goal of medicine into […]
Wearable Monitor Provides Continuous Blood Pressure Data
Researchers at Monash University in Australia have developed a wearable device that can continuously monitor blood pressure during a variety of activities including while exercising and during sleep. The technology does not require uncomfortable inflatable cuffs or invasive measurements, and uses continuous wave radar and photoplethysmogram sensors to monitor blood pressure. “For close to a […]
Researchers Develop High Sensitivity Electronic Skin Material
The development of electronic skin is certainly an important part of future prosthetic devices. To make a high quality artificial skin, one would have to make a very flexible system seeded with many sensors, all wired somehow to a central core where the data can be interpreted. This requires pretty impressive material design skill, but […]
CapMedic Measures Lung Function, Makes Sure Inhalers Used Correctly
The FDA has cleared the CapMedic device that helps to make sure that metered dose inhalers (MDIs) are properly used, even by young patients. MDIs are most commonly employed to deliver asthma medications deep into the lungs, but to work effectively they have to be used correctly and on a consistent schedule. The CapMedic snaps […]
Liquid Metal Biosensors for Healthcare Monitoring
Flexible biosensors are a popular new field of research. Soft pressure sensors are of particular interest because there are many applications for them in healthcare. Most flexible pressure sensors are based on solid-state components that tend to rely on carbon nanotubes and graphene. Carbon nanotubes or graphene flakes are seeded through a stretchy material to […]
Abbott’s Tendyne First Transcatheter Mitral Valve to Win EU Clearance
Abbott just announced that it is the first company to receive European regulatory approval to introduce transcatheter mitral valve replacement procedures on the continent. The Tendyne Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation (TMVI) system is intended for mitral regurgitation patients for whom open-heart surgery is too risky and in cases where transcatheter valve repair is not appropriate. […]
Imricor’s MRI-Compatible Ablation Catheters Cleared in Europe for Cardiac Arrhythmia Treatment
Imricor Medical Systems, based outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has won the European CE Mark for its Vision-MR Ablation Catheter and Vision-MR Dispersive Electrode. These devices allow for cardiac ablation procedures to be performed within MRI-equipped operating rooms, thereby utilizing the accuracy of intraoperative MRI to target sources of arrhythmias. The Vision-MR ablation catheter is a […]
Sony Releases NUCLeUS OR Platform in U.S.
Sony is releasing its NUCLeUS system in the United States. The system helps clinicians working in and around operating rooms to access and share imaging data. NUCLeUS already provides support at over 500 ORs in Europe, so it has already proven itself in clinical practice. The system supports images and video up to 4K resolution, […]