Modern technologies allow clinicians to assess the heart in all sorts of ways (electrocardiography (ECG), ultrasound, phonocardiography (PCG)), and just about anywhere. Yet, this reality is nowhere near ubiquitous because of high costs, interoperability issues, legacy tools, and frequent dependence on performing exams in a clinical setting by train (Read more...)
Tag: Cardiology
First Cardiac Contractility Modulation Device Approved by FDA
Most cardiac implants, such as pacemakers and AICDs, are designed to correct the underlying heart’s rhythm, and synchronize atrial and ventricular contractions. That’s how these devices can improve cardiac performance in people with heart failure. They don’t do anything to boost the intrinsic myocardial contractility of the heart. (Read more...)
WatchPAT 300 Uses Multiple Sensors to Detect Sleep Apnea at Home
Itamar Medical, an Israeli firm, released the latest model of its WatchPAT sleep apnea detection system. It’s indicated for use by patients at home to help clinicians diagnose sleep apnea without requiring a visit to the sleep lab. It uses Itamar’s Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) technology, which involves measuring the ar (Read more...)
Interview with Tom Reeves, CEO of Interface Biologics
Interface Biologics Inc (IBI) is a company from Toronto, Ontario, Canada that develops medtech and pharmaceutical materials. Their surface modification technology is called Endexo, which involves fluorine-based additives that migrate to a material’s surface during polymerization. This non-stick fluorination prevents platelets and bacteria fro (Read more...)
Nyxoah’s Genio Implant for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Cleared in Europe
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often caused by the tongue blocking the airway during night-time breathing. Positive airway pressure (PAP) is the most common way of raising the tongue and allowing air to flow through, but it requires wearing a face mask with a connected hose through the night. Nyxoah, a company headquartered outside of (Read more...)
Sonavex EchoSure Vascular Blood Flow Monitor Cleared in U.S.
Following peripheral vascular and microvascular surgeries, it is important to be able to monitor how blood is flowing through the treated vessels and whether there may be an occlusion or compromise. This monitoring typically requires a nurse or a trained sonographer to use Doppler ultrasound, but now a new option is available. Sonavex, a company [& (Read more...)
BIOTRONIK Wins FDA Approval for Two High-Voltage Families of Cardiac Implants
The FDA has given BIOTRONIK approval to introduce the company’s Acticor and Rivacor lines of high-voltage cardiac rhythm implants. They’re designed to treat tachycardia (likely supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and have been made to be smaller and have a longer battery life. Some of the implants have a nearly 15 year lifetime, helping (Read more...)
Siemens Healthineers to Unveil SOMATOM go.Top Cardiovascular Edition CT Scanner
Siemens Healthineers is releasing a new CT scanner tuned specifically for cardiovascular imaging. The new SOMATOM go.Top Cardiovascular Edition provides advanced radiation dose management features for routine cardiovascular procedures. It’s a 128-slice scanner that’s expected by the company to be adopted by outpatient cardiology clinics (Read more...)
Boston Sci’s Next Generation WATCHMAN FLX Stroke-Preventing Device Cleared in EU
Boston Scientific landed the European CE Mark for its next generation of the WATCHMAN FLX Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) device. The device is used to isolate the left atrial appendage of the heart, the place where stroke-causing blood clots tend to form in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib). The technology is minimally inv (Read more...)
Resistance-Sensing Needle Helps Improve Injection Accuracy
While most medical tools have seen incredible advances over the past century, the syringe has remained relatively unchanged despite room for improvement. Without the use of live imaging or sensing systems, which require additional time and resources, nurses and physicians must rely on blind insertion techniques using superficial anatomical landmark (Read more...)
First of Its Kind: Early Bird Internal Bleeding Detector Approved by FDA
Though generally safer than open surgeries, minimally invasive vascular procedures have a number of possible complications. One major complication is an internal bleeding or blood extravasation from a ruptured or dissected vessel, typically caused when working with large instruments and devices, and something that a physician may not even notice un (Read more...)
ARTIS icono Biplane Angiography System Unveiled by Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers has unveiled its ARTIS icono biplane angiography system at the 2019 European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Austria. The system is particularly suited for neuroradiology procedures, such as removing stroke-causing blood clots, thanks to improved 2D and 3D imaging that can also lower the amount of radiation delivered (Read more...)
Robocath R-One Robotic Angioplasty System Cleared in Europe
Robocath, based in Rouen, France, landed European regulatory approval to introduce its R-One robotic catheterization system. The R-One provides interventional cardiologists a way to precisely advance and manipulate catheter-based tools while remaining apart from patients and not exposed to dangerous X-rays. The company believes that the system can (Read more...)
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 chroni (Read more...)
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 BIOTRON (Read more...)
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 […]
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 (Read more...)
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 pati (Read more...)
Biowire II Allows for More Accurate Testing of Cardiac Tissue
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new device to cultivate and test both atrial and ventricular cardiac tissue in the lab. The device, called Biowire II, consists of two elastic polymer wires which are positioned three millimeters apart, with a small band of cardiac tissue grown between them. A “training” regimen (Read more...)
HemaShock Auto-Transfusion Tourniquet to Save Lives from Heart Attacks and Severe Bleeding
Patients undergoing a hemorrhagic shock or a cardiac arrest can be aided in many cases by restricting blood flow to the extremities, particularly the legs. Current methods are paintful and can be difficult to administer, while trapping lots of blood within the legs, as with conventional tourniquets. A new device from OHK Medical Devices, an [&helli (Read more...)