Vector flow imaging (VFI) is a technology that utilizes ultrasound to visualize the direction and speed of blood flow, independent of the orientation of the ultrasound probe. It works in any direction and at any angle, but its application in clinical practice has been slow because of limitations of the technology. Now researchers at the […]
Author: Medgadged
Scientists Discover Way to Tune Deep Brain Stimulation Therapies
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is already being used to treat all kinds of mental disorders, including depression and addiction, and some neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s. The technology is still in its early stages, since physicians have a great deal of difficulty achieving consistent results. Scientists at the Picower Institute at MIT have now found […]
FDA Approves First New Therapy to Treat Heart Attacks in Years
Heart attacks are typically treated by placing stents at the sites of narrowing coronary arteries. This has become a standard of care and advances in cath lab technologies allows interventional cardiologists to accurately place stents in a matter of minutes. Now another option, called SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO2), is being made available thanks to a brand new […]
Miniaturized Optical Chip Can Identify Individual Biomolecules for Personalized Medicine
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have developed an optical chip that can identify individual biomolecules in small sample volumes, using an ordinary camera and metasurfaces, an emerging technology in photonics. The researchers hope that their technology could pave the way for diagnostic chips that can identify trace amounts of disease biomarkers in blood […]
Swallowable Vibrating Pill Shakes Faecis to Relieve Constipation
Constipation is often a hard problem to solve, typically requiring medications to get things moving down there. Medications have side effects, nor do they always work as is hoped for. We, being fans of medical gadgetry, are glad to see that a drug-free pill has been developed capable of shacking up the large intestine and […]
UPS and Matternet Launch America’s First Medical Delivery Service Using Drones
The FDA recently allowed UPS and Matternet, a drone firm, to make regular deliveries between two buildings of the WakeMed hospital system in Raleigh, North Carolina. These are regular commercial flights that are helping WakeMed get more efficiency out of their centralized laboratory, allowing clinicians to send patient samples for analysis faster than ever before. […]
RejuvenAir Cryospray for Treating COPD with Chronic Bronchitis Going on Trial
The FDA has just issued a Breakthrough Device designation and an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to CSA Medical for its RejuvenAir system as a treatment option for patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that have chronic bronchitis. The company soon plans to start a prospective, multi-center, blinded randomized sham controlled trial, under […]
FluoroShield Reduces Radiation Exposure from Fluoroscopes, Gets FDA Clearance
Radiation reduction continues to be an important goal in electrophysiology labs, cath labs, and other interventional rooms. To advance this mission, the FDA just gave clearance to Omega Medical Imaging, a company out of Sanford, Florida, for its FluoroShield radiation exposure reduction system. The FluoroShield uses a very fast collimator coupled with a bunch of […]
Surgical Electricity Used to Molecularly Reshape Tissues
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Occidental College have identified and are studying a new way performing surgery using electricity. Some tissues, such as the ears, cornea, and joints, have a collagen-rich extracellular matrix that can be manipulated using an electric current. The idea is that if you deform a piece of tissue, […]
Our Visit to WIRED Health 2019 at London’s Francis Crick Institute
WIRED Health, now in its sixth year, returned to London’s Francis Crick Institute. The event was opened by Crick Institute director Paul Nurse who introduced the institute and its mission to understand the fundamental biology of human health and disease. The team at the Crick, consisting of 1500 researchers and three Nobel Prize winners, make up […]
CardioFlux Magnetocardiography System with Faraday Analytical Cloud FDA Cleared
Genetesis, a company based in Mason, Ohio, won FDA clearance for its cardiac imaging offering that combines the CardioFlux magnetocardiograph with the the integrated Faraday Analytical Cloud (FAC). The technology is intended to be used by ER physicians and cardiologists to quickly assess patients presenting with chest pain, helping with triage and getting patients to receive […]
Electronic Wound Monitoring Bandage Tracks Lactate, Oxygen Levels
Healing large and complex wounds requires vigilant monitoring and frequent dressing changes. This generally means pain, might require general anesthesia, and can even be emotionally disturbing to patients. A less invasive method of wound monitoring, that lets the wounds remain undisturbed, is badly needed. As wounds heal, the chemical composition of their environment changes. A […]
Electronic Pajamas Detect Heart Beats, Breathing, Posture Through The Night
How well we sleep makes a big difference to our cardiovascular health, emotional state, and overall well being. Knowing whether the sleep we’re getting is of high quality, and how to improve it, can be very useful to a large chunk of the population. Engineers at University of Massachusetts, Amherst have now developed a pajama […]
Wearable Device Samples User’s Blood to Spot Cancer Cells
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) cause metastases of cancer, but they might have a redeeming quality if we could use them as biomarkers for those very cancers. For most neoplasms, biopsies are performed to definitively diagnose the disease, but circulating tumor cells offer the possibility of “liquid biopsies” that only require the sampling of blood. Researchers […]
Wearable Device Samples User’s Blood to Spot Cancer Cells
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) cause metastases of cancer, but they might have a redeeming quality if we could use them as biomarkers for those very cancers. For most neoplasms, biopsies are performed to definitively diagnose the disease, but circulating tumor cells offer the possibility of “liquid biopsies” that only require the sampling of blood. Researchers […]
Wearable Device Samples User’s Blood to Spot Cancer Cells
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) cause metastases of cancer, but they might have a redeeming quality if we could use them as biomarkers for those very cancers. For most neoplasms, biopsies are performed to definitively diagnose the disease, but circulating tumor cells offer the possibility of “liquid biopsies” that only require the sampling of blood. Researchers […]
New 3D Printing Technique Makes Custom Implants Mimicking Real Bone Tissue
The articular cartilage, which forms the outer, smooth surface of the ends of bones, is often damaged during injuries. These osteochondral injuries are exceedingly common in athletes, often leading to an unexpected end of a sports career. Researchers at Rice University have now developed a way to 3D print scaffolds on top of which bone […]
3M Unveils New Extended Medical Adhesive for Medical Wearables
Wearable medical devices are becoming more common, as electronics keep getting smaller, batteries are getting more powerful, and sensors more capable. The success of every wearable, and whether it will be adopted by patients, depends on whether it adheres well to the body and how little management it requires from day to day. To help […]
New CNS Drug Delivery System by Alcyone Lifesciences Given Breakthrough Designation by FDA
Alcyone Lifesciences recently obtained Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for their novel implantable intrathecal bolus drug delivery catheter and port system, the ThecaFlex DRx System. The system is intended for use in conditions that require prolonged medication administration directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), such as some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, these patients […]
Short Wavelength Ultrasound Helps Drugs Get Inside Brain Safer
Getting drugs to treat maladies in the brain is hampered by the blood-brain barrier, a protective shield that makes sure only the right chemicals pass through. Ultrasound has become a promising way of opening up pathways in the blood-brain barrier to let drugs in, but it has come with accompanying side effects. These include letting […]