Our ability to throw a ball, walk down a sidewalk, or talk without mumbling is in part because of proprioception, the ability for us to intuitively know where our feet are, how our hands our moving, and what the mouth is doing. Without proprioception, we’d have to look down at our feet on every step […]
Author: Medgadged
Axonics Sacral Neuromodulation for Urinary and Fecal Dysfunctions Cleared for MRI in Europe
Implanting a medical device often means giving up the opportunity to receive MRI scans in the future. This can be particularly true of complex electronic implants that may be negatively influenced by strong magnetic fields. Things are changing, though, as companies are engineering a way out of this dilemma. Axonics, based in Irvine, California, won […]
iVascular’s Navitian Coronary Microcatheters for Chronic Total Occlusions Cleared in EU
iVascular, a Spanish company that makes catheter-based devices, won the European CE Mark for its new Navitian coronary microcatheter. The device is indicated as a support for guidewires, helping to exchange guidewires, and for injection of radiopaque contrast agents, as well as saline solution. The company designed the device to help address chronic total occlusions, […]
Philips Envisions Use of Augmented Reality in Operating Room (Video)
The Microsoft HoloLens is an impressive augmented reality (AR) system that lets the user overlay graphics over the visual scene in front. Philips is partnering with Microsoft to bring this technology to the operating room, and it has released a “concept” that foreshadows how AR can be used for image-guided minimally invasive therapies. Physicians working […]
Sensor Detects Sepsis Biomarker in Less Than Three Minutes
Fulminate sepsis is a dangerous condition, usually caused by a bacterial infection. The runaway behavior of the immune system in sepsis is still poorly understood. The trick is to diagnose it early and to use antibiotics to fight it off. These days it can take up to three days to diagnose sepsis, usually via a […]
BIOTRONIK’s Orsiro Ultrathin Coronary Stent Approved in U.S.
BIOTRONIK won FDA approval for its Orsiro drug-eluting coronary stent, an ultrathin device that’s already been approved in Europe for eight years and has been implanted in more than a million patients worldwide. The Orsiro is a cobalt chromium metal stent that releases sirolimus, which helps to prevent restenosis. This is performed by BIOTRONIK’s proprietary […]
Self-Assembled Hybrid Drug Delivery Vesicles for Safe Passage Through Bloodstream
Scientists at the RIKEN research institution in Japan have developed new soft nanovesicles to carry and release drugs within the body. The hybrid shells, made of lipids and peptides, open up and release their cargo when exposed to heat. The combination of lipids and peptides as the materials of the vesicles allows them to both securely […]
Portable, Battery Powered Viral Detector Takes Only a Drop of Blood
Performing lab-quality test for many infectious diseases, particularly viral ones, is difficult in remote regions. Much lab equipment requires some kind of infrastructure, including clean rooms, trained staff, and the money. Researchers at Purdue University have developed a device that can perform RNA amplification and testing in a tiny battery-powered package. The technology relies on […]
Compact, Consumer “Stemoscope” Recently Launched: A Medgadget Review
While it is not intended to be used as a medical device or diagnostic tool, Hulu Devices has created a stethoscope for consumer use. The device itself looks like simply the head of a stethoscope, and is about the size of a watch face. Connection to this device is via Bluetooth to the Stemoscope app […]
Nanoparticles Highlight Organ Transplant Rejection Through Fluorescent Urine
Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a sophisticated nanoparticle that can alert clinicians to the early stages of transplanted organ immune rejection through a simple urine test. The nanoparticles can accumulate in transplanted organs and detect immune rejection, whereupon they release molecules that turn the urine of the organ recipient fluorescent. Using a simple urine […]
OnePulse Smartwatch Monitors Health, Connects to Cloud via New LTE-M Network
OneLife Technologies Corp out of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, is now the first company to offer an AT&T LTE-M certified medical wearable device. LTE-M is designed to let Internet of Things (IOT) devices connect independently to a 4G network, without having to use a smartphone or other device as a gateway. The OnePulse smartwatch can measure the heart […]
Intuitive Surgical Releases Ion Robotic Lung Biopsy System
Intuitive Surgical, the firm that makes the popular da Vinci surgical robotic systems, won FDA clearance and is releasing a robotic lung biopsy system called Ion in the United States. The catheter-based device allows precise penetration and sampling of tissues deep within the lungs. The catheter is only 3.5 mm wide and it can rotate […]
EYE-SYNC Concussion Assessment System May Become Standard of Care
Traumatic concussions can produce a variety of symptoms, but there’s no way to objectively diagnose their impact, particularly mild cases. SyncThink is a Silicon Valley company that has developed a technology that may become a standard way of care to diagnose concussions. The FDA has granted Breakthrough Device Designation to the company’s EYE-SYNC system, which […]
Philips Unveils New Zenition Surgical C-Arms
Philips is releasing a new mobile surgical C-arm designed to improve efficiency in the operating room. The Philips Zenition sports a tablet-like interface that runs the same Unify software across the various versions of the Zenition and is similar to what appears in some other radiological equipment from Philips, allowing operators to quickly learn to […]
EchoNous Releases AI Powered Ultrasound Bladder Scanner
Scanning the bladder and measuring its volume is a common procedure usually performed by nurses. It may be done for a variety of reasons, but achieving accuracy is key. Catheterization-based methods may be the most accurate, but non-invasive ultrasound is a lot more attractive. With conventional ultrasound one must be very careful to properly gauge […]
Medtronic Introducing Deep Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy Control in U.S.
Medtronic is introducing in the United States its deep brain stimulation therapy (DBS) as an option for treating drug-resistant epilepsy. About a third of epilepsy patients don’t respond positively to existing drug regimens, leaving patients with little recourse against the disease. DBS therapy involves delivering small pulses of electric current to the anterior nucleus of […]
Virtual Reality Room Helps Kids With Phobias Overcome Fears
Autistic kids that suffer from phobias have a particularly hard time overcoming their fears. Traditional therapies don’t work well, so researchers at Newcastle University in England have been testing an immersive virtual reality system that is already showing great promise at treating serious phobias. The Blue Room virtual reality system is a collaboration between Newcastle […]
Surgeries Filmed for Virtual Reality Now Available on Oculus Headsets
Operating rooms are highly restricted environments that only patients and clinicians are normally allowed access to. They’re quite different than what laypeople envision, at least judging by how surgical environments are portrayed in popular culture. Moreover, the teamwork and the camaraderie during hours of professional focus, is something that can’t be easily relayed without being there. […]
Bluetooth-Enabled Subcutaneous Heart Monitors: Interview with Dr. Avi Fischer, Abbott
Abbott has developed an implantable device that continuously monitors the heart rhythm and allows for communication with a clinician via a smartphone. The paperclip-sized device, called the Confirm Rx insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), requires no re-charging and is inserted during an outpatient procedure that is often suture-free. Monitoring a patient’s heart rhythm can tell clinicians […]
Light-Activated Tether-Free Neural Stimulation Device
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed an ultra-small implantable neural stimulation device that can be activated using a laser and which doesn’t require a cable that tethers it to a controller outside the body. The researchers hope that the device could pave the way for less invasive neural stimulation therapy in neurological disorders […]