While there has been a great deal of work on a variety of micro- and nanoparticles that can deliver drugs and other therapies within the body, compared with bacteria they’re extremely rudimentary in how they can move within the body. Most are simply carried along by the blood to whatever destinations they end up being […]
Author: Medgadged
XACT Robotic Needle Navigation System Cleared in U.S.
XACT Robotics, an Israeli company, just announced winning FDA clearance for its robotic needle steering and insertion system for percutaneous procedures. Used to perform procedures such as biopsies and ablations, the XACT device provides a great deal of precision when advancing needles towards hard to reach targets. Breathing, for example, greatly (Read more...)
Tiny Traps Lure Cancer Cells for Diagnostics, Treatment Monitoring
Detecting cancer at its early stages remains a major challenge in oncology. Even monitoring the progression of cancer is difficult, but researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with a tiny implantable device that can draw cancer cells toward itself for gene expression analysis. The microscopic device is a biomaterial scaffold that is (Read more...)
In Vivo Incubation System Cleared in Europe for More Natural IVF
INVO Bioscience, a Florida company, has just won European regulatory approval for its INVOcell culture and retention device. The product is part of the INVO Solution, which involves introducing sperm to an egg within the INVOcell device and then placing the device within the vaginal cavity of the woman seeking to become pregnant. After three [&hell (Read more...)
OnMed Deploys First Telemedicine Station at Tampa Bay General Hospital
Earlier this month, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) became the first deployment site for a new telemedicine station developed by health technology company OnMed. Available as part of the TGH staff health program, the OnMed Station connects patients with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists for real-time consultations via high definition audio and video. A (Read more...)
Narbis Glasses Detect Brainwaves to Measure Attention, Turn Dark to Help Keep Focus
Consumer-grade electroencephalography (EEG) devices are interesting novelties, but their capabilities tend to be very limited. What they’re pretty good at, though, is evaluating whether a person is focused and paying attention to something. This capability has mostly been used to play games and guide meditation, but now a new device is coming (Read more...)
Drones Deliver Lifesaving Therapy in Brooklyn Faster than Ambulances
At the just concluded American Academy of Pediatrics 2019 National Conference & Exhibition, research was presented demonstrating that within busy Brooklyn, New York, drones can arrive at the site of an emergency consistently faster than a conventional ambulance. This was accomplished by performing flights using an aerial drone that mimicked the (Read more...)
ScopeSeal, A Snap-on Shield to Keep Duodenoscopes Clean from Infections
ScopeSeal, an Arlington, Virginia firm, has won FDA clearance for the first duodenoscope attachment that helps to protect the imaging end from infections. Duodenoscopes are used in Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP) procedures. A few years ago it was discovered that they are carriers of infections, because of design flaws and in (Read more...)
CHRONOGY Eyewear Helps Regulate Body Clock with Mood Lighting
Osram, a German company best known for manufacturing LED lights, recently unveiled CHRONOGY Eyewear, a pair of glasses that can regulate and supplement the light that falls onto the photoreceptors in the eyes, helping to regulate our body clocks. The CHRONOGY Eyewear comes with a smartphone app that can be used to program the glasses. […]
First Portable Carb Metabolism Monitor Unveiled
Kyocera of Japan has just unveiled the first carbohydrate metabolism measurement device. The system is portable and users can assess their carbohydrate metabolism just about anywhere. The soon to be released product is a radial arterial pulse wave gyro sensor that analyzes pulse-wave patterns at the wrist. Kyocera hopes that this new device will he (Read more...)
Controllable Microswimmers Move Around Individual Cells in 3D
Manipulating individual cells and microscopic particles may be extremely valuable for testing new therapies, targeting tumors, and for studying the underlying causes of disease, but it is very difficult to directly manipulate individual cells within an environment shared with other cells. A collaboration of researchers from University of California (Read more...)
Bruin Biometrics Is on a Mission to End Pressure Ulcers: Interview with CEO Martin Burns
Earlier this year, Medgadget reported on the FDA’s clearance of the SEM Scanner, a device created by Los Angeles-based Bruin Biometrics (BBI). The SEM Scanner is a wireless, handheld device that detects changes in sub-epidermal moisture as an indicator of risk for developing a pressure ulcer. Moisture can indicate the presence of localized ed (Read more...)
Coaxial Electrospinning Creates Novel Contraceptive, Other Medical Devices
Electrospinning is a manufacturing technique that has recently been getting a lot of attention in medicine because it allows researchers to produce novel materials and devices. Essentially, a polymer is melted and squeezed through a nozzle and an electric field is used to pull and spin it into a mesh of very fine fiber. The […]
AI-Powered Voice Assistance Behind New Digital Health Company Frontive Health (Interview)
Voice assistants are quickly becoming a popular consumer tool that allows users to access libraries of skills, including games, news, and reminders. Last month, Los Angeles-based Frontive Health launched its smart personal health platform to help patients more easily adhere to their care regimens by leveraging Amazon Echo’s voice assistant. U (Read more...)
First Female Battlefield Simulator to Train Emergency Response
Operative Experience, a healthcare simulation company based in Maryland, is releasing the first anatomically accurate female combat casualty simulator. The device can mimic a variety of conditions, including airway and breathing problems, severe wounds, and broken bones, and can be used to practice emergency medicine for those conditions. Since men (Read more...)
ClaroNav’s Navient Cranial Navigation System Cleared in Europe
ClaroNav Kolahi , a company based in Toronto, Canada, won European regulatory approval for its Navient Cranial navigation system, a product designed to make neurosurgical navigation easy, intuitive, and space-efficient in the OR. Navient Cranial can be used in open or percutaneous procedures to help locate surgical targets within the brain and wher (Read more...)
3D Printed Cells and Bioinks for Making Implantable Blood Vessels
Researchers based in South Korea and Hong Kong have developed a method to create biomimetic blood vessels by directly 3D printing vascular cells and bioinks containing collagen and vascular tissue extracellular matrix components. The resulting constructs closely mimic natural blood vessels, suggesting that such techniques could pave the way for cus (Read more...)
Neuromodulation for Tinnitus Relief: Interview with Neuromod Devices CEO Dr. Ross O’Neill
Our nervous system plays a central role in how we sense things in our environment, and modulating the signals that pass through our nerves can manipulate our brain in various ways. Neuromodulation is commonly used for pain relief and is being researched to help restore movement, sight, hearing, and cognitive function for those who are […]
First Medical “Suckable” Measures Glucose in Newborns
Newborns can present with a variety of conditions, but diagnosing such small and non-compliant patients is frequently a serious challenge. Identifying type 1 diabetes, for example, requires accessing the interstitial fluid in a baby’s skin, an unpleasant affair for everyone involved. Moreover, diagnostic technologies are generally only availa (Read more...)
Facial Recognition Software IDs Individuals from MRI Brain Scans
Clinical researchers regularly share data with other scientists. Typically, a great deal of effort is expended to make sure that individuals cannot be identified from the data that are generated from them. When sharing imaging information, such as MRI and CT scans, researchers remove names, patient numbers, and other metadata that can potentially b (Read more...)