Boston Scientific won FDA approval for its LOTUS Edge Aortic Valve System for transcatheter valve replacements. It’s indicated for people with severe aortic stenosis who are poor candidates for open heart surgery, but as is the case these days with other transcatheter heart valves, it’s bound to be heavily used off-label. Unlike other t (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
Material Made from DNA Undergoes Metabolism, Powers Itself
Scientist at Cornell University have developed a remarkable new material, which is made out of DNA and which undergoes metabolism. One of the crucial aspects of life is metabolic activity, which essentially means that large molecules are broken down and small molecules are used to build larger ones. The dynamic material that the Cornell team [&hell (Read more...)
Ultra Cheap Endoscope to Make Cancer Screenings More Common
Conventional endoscopes can get quite pricey these days, sometimes costing more than $100,000 a set. Moreover, they’re expensive to maintain because of intense cleaning regimens that are required to prevent transmission of infections. Engineers at the University of Leeds in the UK are working on bringing the price of endoscopes closer to $50 (Read more...)
Engineered Matrix to Improve T Cell Immunotherapy
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have developed an “artificial lymph node” to help multiply antigen-specific T cells to fight cancer. They used a hydrogel that contains immunostimulatory antigen-presenting nanoparticles to encourage T cells to proliferate, and have increased activity against specific antigens. Current T-cell ba (Read more...)
Electric Stimulation Drastically Improves Memory of Older Folks
The performance of our working memory starts to go down right around the time we finish residency. The older we get, the more difficulty we have forming new memories and holding on to them for a long time. Because it’s still a mystery how the memory system of our brains works, a decline in its […]
ON-Q* with Bolus Pump Cleared in U.S. for Pain Management
Opioid pain killers taken postoperatively are a common way for people to get on the road to becoming drug addicts. Targeted solutions that avoid exposing patients to opioids in the first place may do a great deal to avoid the onset of drug dependency. Avanos Medical, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, has been making a popular […]
TransPyloric Shuttle, a Smart Gastric Balloon, Approved by FDA
Gastric balloons are popular among many people working to lose a great deal of weight. They create the sensation of a full stomach, but they’re typically pretty dumb devices whose only task is to take up space. The TransPyloric Shuttle from BAROnova, a company based in San Carlos, California, resembles intragastric baloons but works quite [&h (Read more...)
AliveCor Consumer ECG Now Spots Bradycardia, Tachycardia, and AFib
AliveCor, the company that introduced practical and useful consumer ECG devices to the market, just got FDA clearance for its KardiaMobile monitor to detect bradycardia and tachycardia. The device has already been cleared to help identify the existence of atrial fibrillation (AFib), but now it can spot abnormally slow or fast heart rhythms. So far, (Read more...)
First Drug-Free Option for ADHD Cleared in America
For the first time, children in the United States will have a non-drug option for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The FDA just cleared the Monarch external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) System from NeuroSigma, a Los Angeles, California company, to treat ADHD in kids between 7 and 12 years old. The system has already (Read more...)
New Device Cleans Blood to Treat Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is one of the most common serious maladies that pregnant women encounter. It is a poorly understood condition with symptoms such as high blood pressure, proteinuria, and headaches, potentially even leading to seizures. The treatment options for preeclampsia are still very limited, mostly confined to hypertension medications, bed rest, (Read more...)
MIXiii-BIOMED 2019 Conference – Early Registration by Wednesday, May 1
This is the last week to register at the discounted early registration rates for the 18th MIXiii-BIOMED Conference and Exhibition, taking place May 14-16 at The David InterContinental Hotel, Tel Aviv, Israel. As Israel’s leading life science industry event, MIXiii-BIOMED is the main annual meeting place for members of Isra (Read more...)
Wearable Epinephrine Injector to Stop Allergic Reactions
People susceptible to acute allergic reactions, particularly children, can find it difficult to keep an epinephrine injector (think EpiPen) on hand. Adrenaline, the common name of epinephrine, has to be delivered quickly before anaphylactic shock sets in, so a team at Rice University have developed a wearable injector that can be used at any time. (Read more...)
3D-Printed Heart From Patient’s Own Tissues
Researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel have developed a 3D printing approach to create a heart with a patient’s own cells. The investigators used patient-derived cellular and acellular material obtained from fatty tissue, along with a unique bioprinter, to 3D-print a heart. The team isolated cells from a patient tissue sample and used (Read more...)
Beckman Coulter Gets FDA Clearance for Early Sepsis Indicator
Sepsis continues to be a deadly malady that clinicians haven’t figured out how to tackle consistently. A major limitation of treatment is how early clinicians can identify that a patient is showing signs of sepsis. Beckman Coulter just received FDA clearance for its Early Sepsis Indicator, a cellular biomarker for the company’s DxH 900 (Read more...)
The Power of Modern Hearing Aids: Interview with Laurel Christensen, Chief Audiology Officer, GN Hearing
Modern hearing aids have to pack a great deal of technology in a tiny package. The batteries, high speed computer chips, speakers, microphones, and antennas have to all fit together and work in unison. They drive multiple sound processing algorithms that can modify how audio is boosted for the unique needs of each individual user. […]
Microbial Signature for Colorectal Cancer Identified Using Machine Learning
Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, the University of Trento in Italy, and other international collaborators leveraged a machine learning algorithm to identify a subset of gut bacteria associated with colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer worldwide. They performed a meta-analysis of ei (Read more...)
Tyto At-Home Telemedicine Solution Rolling Out Through Best Buy
Tyto Care and Best Buy have partnered up to release one of the more interesting at-home medical devices to come out in the last few years. The TytoHome Medical Exam Kit provides a true telehealth capability by letting parents, caretakers, and people themselves perform physical exams. While the exams are done by average folks, the […]
Tack System for Repair of Angioplasty Endovascular Tears FDA Approved
Balloon catheters have revolutionized the treatment of vascular diseases, but when they’re used to push plaque against the walls of vessels tears can form. These tears can have significant impact on the integrity and hemodynamics of vessels and therefore on the health of patients. Stents can be used to address these, but stents are typically (Read more...)
A Visit to The applied Medical Device Institute at Grand Valley State University
Good ideas for new medical devices are a dime a dozen. Getting from an idea to an actual product is the true challenge. There are many factors to manage during the early stages of developing an idea into a product, financial potential, electronics, materials, regulatory issues, ergonomics, and clinical significance. There are now dozens of [&hellip (Read more...)
Spry Health Continuous Wrist-Worn Pulse Oximeter, Heart and Lung Meter FDA Cleared
Spry Health, a Silicon Valley company, won FDA clearance to introduce its Loop System continuous health monitor. The product, which consists of a wrist-band wearable device, charging cradle, and platform to analyze the readings, provides clinical-grade pulse oximetry, heart rate, and breathing rate of a patient over the entire day. Patients can hav (Read more...)