The FDA has just cleared the first device that allows for imaging of fluid within the middle ear, even when there’s a substantial amount of wax. The TOMi Scope from PhotoniCare, a company based in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, relies on optical coherence tomography, an imaging technique that produces 3D representations of translucent tissues, t (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
Tumor Chip Incorporates Vascular System for More Realistic Drug Testing
Researchers at Kyoto University in Japan have developed a tumor-on-a-chip device that incorporates perfusable blood vessels to more accurately mimic real tumors that occur in the body. The researchers hope that the device will allow for more realistic and accurate testing of anti-cancer drugs in the lab, and have already shown that the flow of [&he (Read more...)
Robotic Trunk Support Device for Rehabilitation Post Spinal Cord Injury
Researchers at Columbia University have developed a robotic device that can help people with spinal cord injuries to improve their trunk control, allowing them to sit more stably and expand their range of motion when sitting. The device consists of a motorized belt that attaches to the torso, and which applies forces as users complete […]
Body Sensors Made of Magical Self-Healing Threads
A team of scientists in South Korea has developed a remarkable new body sensor technology that consists of flexible threads that can heal on their own. The fabric-like threads, which are made of carbon fiber electrodes coated with a citric acid-based polymer, can measure electrolyte concentrations within sweat. The team used their material, which a (Read more...)
Handheld Device to Capture and Identify Viruses in Minutes
Researchers at Penn State have developed a handheld device called VIRRION that can capture and identify viral particles in samples within minutes. The device contains a “forest” of carbon nanotubes that capture and sort viral particles depending on their size, and then users can identify the viruses using Raman spectroscopy. The techniq (Read more...)
Augmedics Secures FDA Clearance for xvision, an AR Surgical Guidance System
Augmedics, a Chicago-based startup developing surgical virtual reality technologies, received FDA 510k clearance for its augmented reality (AR) xvision system. xvision is comprised of a headset that emulates “X-ray vision” during surgery by projecting 3D navigation data onto the surgeon’s retina. Designed using transparent hardwar (Read more...)
Fully Disposable Endovascular Robot Unveiled
Microbot Medical, a company with offices in Massachusetts and Israel, is about to release the world’s first fully disposable endovascular surgical robot. The LIBERTY device is intended for use in a variety of cardiovascular, neurovascular, and peripheral vascular procedures, manipulating catheters in a fly-by-wire way. Since it can be operate (Read more...)
TULA System for Awake Ear Tube Placement FDA Approved
Ear infections are notoriously common in children, but the usual treatment is relatively straightforward. An incision is made in the ear drum (myringotomy) and tympanostomy tubes are placed to drain out the liquid that has built-up within. However, because children are involved, pain is a major limitation and it is very difficult to get the [&helli (Read more...)
Masimo’s RD SET Sensors Now with Improved Accuracy for Neonates
Masimo has won FDA clearance for its RD SET sensors, that feature the company’s signature Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion SET pulse oximetry, to sport much better oxygen saturation (SpO2) accuracy specs when monitoring neonatal patients. Previously, the RD SET sensors showed an approximate 3% difference in measurements at 1 standard (Read more...)
Medgadget’s Best Medical Technologies of 2019
Wrapping up this year and looking back on the particularly interesting developments in medical technology, we at Medgadget are impressed and very excited about the future. We’re lucky to cover one of the most innovative fields of research and one that improves and saves lives. Having a constant eye on what’s new in medtech, we [… (Read more...)
Mint Founder Launches EHR Solution for Hospital Emergency Departments
Earlier this year, Mint founder Aaron Patzer’s newest venture, Vital Software Inc (Vital), came out of stealth mode with a $5.2M seed raise from First Round Capital and DFJ Ventures (now Threshold Ventures), as well as angel investors Vivek Garipalli, CEO of CloverHealth, and Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg, founders of Flatiron Health. Started (Read more...)
Osia, a New Type of Implantable Hearing Solution by Cochlear, Secures FDA Clearance: Interview
Earlier this month, Cochlear received FDA clearance for the Osia 2 System, the first active osseointegrated steady-state implant (OSI). The Osia System represents a new type of bone conducting hearing solution that uses digital piezoelectric stimulation to transmit sound vibration directly to the inner ear. While present in other auditory equipment (Read more...)
Laser Ultrasound System Images People’s Insides from a Distance
Clinical non-invasive ultrasounds require their transducers to make contact with the skin, as that allows high frequency vibrations to travel through the body. Many patients, including children, people with burns, and those with sensitive skin would rather be scanned using a contact-free system. Researchers at MIT have now shown that it is indeed p (Read more...)
PENTAX Releases EB19-J10U Ultrasound Video Bronchoscope in U.S.
PENTAX has announced that its new EB19-J10U endobronchial scope, having received FDA clearance, is coming to the United States. The device, intended for minimally invasive procedures such as Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) and EBUS-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), is touted by the company as providing “crystal clear visual (Read more...)
IllumiCare Report Finds More Providers Result in Longer Hospital Length of Stay (Interview)
When a hospitalized patient is engaged by more than three actively involved providers, the patient’s length of say (LOS) increases by a little over half a day for each additional provider. The correlation exists even when risk-adjusting with disease-related groups (DRGs) and it’s agnostic to the type of additional provider and whether t (Read more...)
Teether Helps Down Syndrome Kids Develop Eating, Speaking Skills
Young children with Down syndrome can have poorly developed muscles and a tongue that tends to stick out of the mouth. This can make eating and speaking difficult, often leading to slower development in those areas. A recent graduate of Purdue University has developed a simple teether device that’s designed to encourage kids to play [… (Read more...)
FINDER Device for Bedside G6PD Deficiency Testing Cleared in EU
Baebies, a company out of Durham, North Carolina, just announced receiving the CE Mark for its FINDER device, clearing the way for it to be introduced in Europe. The device can help spot Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, the most common enzyme deficiency out there, a condition that can lead to bilirubinemia, jaundice, and hemolys (Read more...)
Super-resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy to Find Clogged Blood Vessels
Researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea have developed a new photoacoustic imaging system that can visualize microvasculature without a contrast agent. The new system is 500 times faster than conventional photoacoustic imaging, and features a spatial resolution enhanced by 2.5 times. This system can one day help (Read more...)
TAP At-Home Blood Collection System Now FDA Cleared
Seventh Sense Biosystems, a company based outside of Boston, MA, won FDA clearance for its TAP device to be used by laypersons to collect blood. Moreover, the device is now cleared to be used at home by individuals for “wellness testing,” according to the company. “We’re very excited about this clearance since it represents (Read more...)
Medtronic Stealth Autoguide System for Cranial Procedures FDA Cleared
The Stealth Autoguide, a cranial robotic platform from Medtronic, has just been cleared by the FDA. The system provides accurate and partially automatic positioning and advancing of instruments and tool guides when operating on the brain. It consists of a StealthStation Image Guidance system and the Midas Rex high-speed drill, along with software t (Read more...)