Cook Medical is releasing in the United States its TriForce Peripheral Crossing Set, devices made to support percutaneous wire guides while performing interventions within the peripheral vasculature. In addition to helping to directly treat obstructions, the devices can also be used to inject radiopaque angiography contrast media to image the vasculature being worked on. The […]
Tag: Cardiology
VivaLNK Wearable, Reusable ECG Now FDA Cleared
VivaLNK, a company out of Silicon Valley, has announced FDA clearance for its reusable multi-vital patch and a compatible software development kit. The device is stuck to the skin to record ECG waveforms, respiratory rate, heart rate, RR interval, and patient movement, and so has promise in helping to detect cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial […]
Medtronic’s Tiny New Micra AV Pacemaker for AV Block FDA Approved
The FDA has just approved the smallest pacemaker with atrioventricular (AV) synchrony, the Micra AV. The device, intended to treat AV block, a condition typically requiring a dual-chamber pacemaker, is small enough to remain completely inside the heart. It doesn’t have any leads, nor any complications arising from them. It looks the same as Medtronic’s […]
Flexible Electronic Material Works as Wearable Air Conditioning
Controlling body heat is important in a variety of situations, particularly during heavy physical exertion and when patients have high fevers. Currently there are few methods of lowering one’s temperature, and many of those can be impractical, especially if a power source is required. Now, a team of scientists at the University of Missouri has […]
FDA Clears Morph DNA Catheter to Guide Cell Delivery into Heart Tissue
BioCardia, a Silicon Valley firm, won FDA clearance for its Morph DNA catheter, a device developed to help with delivery of the company’s CardiAMP cell therapy into the heart. CardiAMP involves depositing a patient’s own bone marrow cells into heart tissue, with the intention of jump starting the body’s natural healing processes to reverse previous […]
CES 2020: HeartHero, an Affordable At-Home AED
Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are common these days in airports, stadiums, and other places where there are very many people around. They are still expensive devices, and so are not as widely available as they should be. People who are susceptible to suffering from dangerous cardiac arrhythmias but that don’t have appropriate implants would probably […]
Omron at CES 2020 Showing Off New Medical Grade Consumer Devices
At this year’s CES in Las Vegas, Omron, a company well known in the medical industry for pulse oximeters and blood pressure monitors, was showing off its latest products geared toward consumer use. We were able to stop by the firm’s booth to take a look at a couple exciting new devices that Omron recently […]
Wearables, Ingestibles, Invisibles: imec at CES 2020
The Belgian research organization imec has a dear spot in our hearts, as it helps to develop a lot of the technologies that power current and future medical devices (see flashbacks below). At CES in Las Vegas this year, imec’s Chris Van Hoof introduced us to the organization’s somewhat shifting focus toward wearable, ingestible, and, […]
Stretchy Skin-Like Sensor has Potential in Wound Healing and as Wearable
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a highly stretchable “skin”-like sensor that can be applied directly to our native skin. The material can measure changes in temperature, strain, and humidity, and can monitor the movement of underlying tissues. The sensor has potential as a wearable health monitor. For instance, the material could be […]
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 deviation compared with reference […]
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 possible to […]
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 improve detection and […]
Nexkin Multi-Parameter Body Monitoring Shirt Unveiled
Chronolife, a firm headquartered in Paris, France, is releasing a T-shirt that can monitor six vitals and health parameters, including a single-lead ECG, abdominal and thoracic breathing, body temperature, activity levels, and pulmonary impedance, a measure of how pulmonary vessels resist pulsatile blood flow. The Nexkin device looks like a typical short-sleeved T-shirt. A single […]
Nanoparticles to Spot Vascular Calcification in Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis affects most of us by a certain age, and it is the underlying cause of most cardiovascular diseases. The condition results in arteries being coated with plaques and fatty deposits, as well as being chronically inflamed. While vascular constrictions aren’t good for anyone, it is the thrombi (blood clots) that detach from these formations […]
Nihon Kohden’s New Patient Monitor for Outpatient Clinics
Nihon Kohden’s U.S. division, itself based in Tokyo, Japan, is launching a new vital signs monitor specifically designed to extend monitoring capabilities to outpatient facilities and to patient beds that typically wouldn’t have continuous vital signs monitors. The device lets clinicians quickly take readings on blood oxygenation, blood pressure, and patient temperature and, if they […]
Wearable Iron Lung Helps COPD Patients Breathe Easier
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has few treatment options, with patients frequently experiencing shortness of breath. To address this most unwelcome symptom of COPD, Dr. Jake Brenner, a critical care physician specializing in pulmonology at Penn State’s Perelman School of Medicine, came up with an idea for a wearable device that may help. Resembling a […]
Bonding Rubber and Electrical Components for Soft Medical Sensors
Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a way to create a tight bond between rubber and electrical components. The method could pave the way for a variety of soft sensors for medical applications. For instance, such sensors could provide a signal when squeezed or stretched, with potential in monitoring patient rehabilitation after hand injury, […]
Canon Unveils Aquilion ONE / PRISM Edition Spectral CT Scanner
At the RSNA 2019 conference in Chicago, Canon Medical showed off its brand new Aquilion ONE / PRISM Edition spectral CT scanner, a system that takes advantage of artificial intelligence technologies. The device relies on Canon’s Advanced intelligent Clear IQ Engine (AiCE) along with its Deep Learning Spectral Reconstruction imaging algorithms to improve capabilities when […]
Samsung Unveils New RS85 Prestige Ultrasound System
At the RSNA conference in Chicago, Samsung unveiled a new high-end ultrasound, the RS85 Prestige. Based on the RS85, the system comes with a new imaging architecture as well as a set of features designed to expand the system’s capabilities and improve diagnostic accuracy. So-called “Crystal Architecture” within the RS85 Prestige relies on Samsung’s established […]
Silicon Chips as Artificial Neurons
Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK have developed low-power silicon chips that mimic the electrical activity of neurons. This breakthrough could enable the small chips to function as artificial neurons in numerous implants and medical devices, and the technology has significant potential in treating a wide range of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative […]