VivaLNK, a Silicon Valley company, won the European CE Mark for its VivaLNK multi-vital medical wearable sensor and accompanying software development kit. The reusable device sticks to the patient’s chest and can record ECG waveforms, the respiratory rate, heart rate, RR interval, as well as movement based on a three-axis accelerometer. It weighs only .26 […]
Tag: Cardiology
Eko Releases New CORE Digital Stethoscope Offerings
Eko Devices just announced it’s releasing the second generation of its popular CORE digital stethoscope technology. The new Eko CORE comes either as an all-in-one digital stethoscope or as an attachment for most existing stethoscopes. This gives nurses and physicians the option to go with Eko’s own stethoscope or stay with one of their choice […]
Protective Membrane for Pacemakers to Make Replacement Surgeries Easier
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a cellulose membrane to cover and protect implantable devices, such as pacemakers. The material can reduce fibrotic build up and make subsequent surgical removal of implants much easier. So far, the pouch-like device has been tested successfully in pigs, and the researchers hope to apply for clinical trials in […]
Siemens Healthineers Unveil SOMATOM X.cite Premium CT Scanner
Siemens Healthineers won FDA clearance and is releasing its brand new SOMATOM X.cite premium single-source CT scanner. The device, along with a high-end X-ray tube and other enhancements, features the company’s new myExam Companion technology that can intelligently adapt each scan to optimize a number of variables. The system asks a number of relevant questions […]
Butterfly Network Expands Applications for Smartphone-Connected Ultrasound: Interview
Butterfly Network, the digital health unicorn democratizing medical imaging, is continuing to add new applications for its handheld, single probe, smartphone-connected ultrasound technology. The Butterfly iQ, the multi-purpose pocket-sized ultrasound, won FDA clearance a couple years ago and earlier this year received the CE Mark, clearing it for distribution in Europe. The innovation found within […]
Injectable Electrodes for Neuromodulation
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed an injectable flexible electrode that can aid in neuromodulation therapy, potentially replacing more rigid electrodes that do not mesh well with soft tissues. The injectable material consists of a silicone gel and small metal particles, and it forms a flexible bolus when injected around a target nerve. […]
Philips’ New General Purpose Monitor with Early Warning Scoring to Prevent Adverse Events
Philips is releasing a new vital signs monitor designed to offer advanced warning on worsening patient status within general care clinical environments. The EarlyVue VS30 is a newly FDA cleared device featuring Philips’ Early Warning Scoring technology that spots tell-tale signs of degradation in patient health, and notifies clinicians sometimes even hours before the onset […]
Optical Nanoprobes Monitor Neural, Cardiac Cell Activity
Monitoring neurons and other excitable cells in vivo for research and clinical applications has usually required the use of electrode arrays. These are quite limited in their electrode density and the area that they can cover. Moreover, the amount of signal generated by the neurological system overwhelms any attempts at building large scale electronic microelectrode […]
Epidermal Display Screens for On-Body Flexible Medical Devices
Researchers from Nanjing University in China have developed a way to place displays on human skin that are flexible, safe, and don’t require a lot of power to run. The technology will certainly have implications for the field of wearable devices by allowing already existing flexible medical devices to display relevant biomedical information. Previously, flexible […]
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 help […]
Canon Ultra High-Res Aquilion Precision CT Now Boosted by Artificial Intelligence
Canon has announced that its new Advanced Intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) has been cleared by the FDA to be used on the company’s “ultra high-resolution” Aquilion Precision CT system. The use of the AiCE deep convolutional neural network for image reconstruction, coupled with the Aquilion Precision’s ability to get about twice as much resolution in […]
ResMed Releases World’s First Tube-Down Nasal Cradle CPAP Mask
ResMed is releasing a new nasal cradle CPAP mask that features a front-facing tube that points downward. The AirFit N30 mask is the first of its kind, as similar masks typically have the air tube connect on top of the head, which makes them uncomfortable for many patients. The AirFit N30 is also ResMed’s lightest […]
Contact-Free Baby Monitor Uses White Noise to Monitor Breathing
Echolocation technologies can detect objects by measuring how long it takes sound to bounce off them. This is used to detect submarines underwater, but now to also measure a child’s breathing while delivering soothing, and sleep inducing, white noise. Next week, researchers from the University of Washington will be at the MobiCom 2019 conference in […]
Medtronic Launches Evolut Pro+ TAVR System: Interview with Dr. Pieter Kappetein
Last month, Medtronic announced receipt of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for and launch of the Evolut Pro+ TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) System to treat patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Aortic stenosis is characterized by stiff, often thickened aortic valve leaflets that struggle to open and close, requiring the heart to […]
FDA Clears geko Muscle Pump Activator to Prevent VTE
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) too often strikes bedridden patients in the hospital, and this is one of the main reasons that patients are put back on their feet as soon as possible. Inflatable wraps placed around the legs, which can raise the pressure, are a common way to prevent the condition. Now, a device called geko […]
iRhythm-Verily Partnership: Interview with iRhythm CEO Kevin King
iRhythm and Verily announced a partnership last month to “co-develop solutions intended to provide early warning, diagnosis and management for patients, particularly for those with silent or undiagnosed AF.” We spoke with iRhythm CEO Kevin King to understand how the two companies complement each other and how they can solve the problem together. Ben Ouyang, […]
Light Therapy Device to Treat Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most common substances that people are poisoned by. It has no smell and is invisible to the naked eye, but can cause severe damage to tissues and lead to death. Patients who have already suffered significant lung damage because of CO inhalation too often don’t respond sufficiently to […]
Gore CARDIOFORM ASD Cleared in Europe for Atrial Septal Defects
Gore won the European CE Mark for its GORE CARDIOFORM ASD Occluder, a device designed for percutaneous, transcatheter closure of ostium secundum atrial defects (ASDs). The occluder recently completed a clinical study involving 125 patients with ASD, ranging from 2 to 84 years of age, all of whom were successfully implanted with the GORE CARDIOFORM […]
Printing Custom Flexible Electronics Directly Onto Skin, Bandages, Medical Devices
Flexible electronics have the potential to help monitor, and even modulate, a number of physiological parameters. While stick-on heart monitors can be manufactured as one-size-fits-all, in applications such as electronic bandages that can monitor and treat a wound, it’s best to be able to create custom devices that suit each patient’s needs. Currently, making flexible […]
Disc Pump for Less Obtrusive Ambulatory Blood Pressure Systems
TTP Ventus, the UK-based developer of the Disc Pump, has recently begun working on a new application for this technology – ambulatory blood pressure systems. The company claims that the Disc Pump, which is a miniaturized, quiet, and highly efficient pump, could revolutionize ambulatory blood pressure measurements. At present, 24-hour blood pressure monitors are commonly […]