Clinical researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland have created a perfusion machine to store donor livers before transplant. We originally reported on the machine back in 2020, but now the team has announced that they stored and treated a damaged liver in the machine, which would ordinarily not be suitable for transplantation. After [& (Read more...)
Tag: Critical Care
Wearable Sweat Sensor Warns of Impending Cytokine Storm
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with a company called EnLiSense, developed a wearable electrochemical sweat sensor that can detect chemokines in sweat, alerting the wearer and clinicians to a viral or bacterial infection. The device also warns of an impending cytokine storm, where high levels of inflammatory molec (Read more...)
Magnetic Tentacle Robot Travels Deep into Lungs
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK have created a magnetic “tentacle robot” that is just 2 mm in diameter, which they hope will be able to navigate through some of the smallest airways in our lungs. At present, a bronchoscope is used to investigate the lungs, but this cannot pass into very […]
Finger Clip for Blood Pressure Monitoring
At the University of Missouri a team of researchers developed a custom finger clip device that can continuously measure a variety of vitals, including blood pressure. The novel device represents a new way to measure vitals, and contains two commercial photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors that operate at two different points on the finger. This approa (Read more...)
3D-Printed Origami Tube for Low-Cost Ventilators
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have developed a low-cost portable ventilator that uses a 3D-printed origami tube rather than a conventional airbag. The volume of the tube can be modified by changing the angles in the origami folding plates. As up to 95% of the components of the ventilator are 3D printable, the […]
EXALT Model B Single-Use Bronchoscope: Interview with Dave Pierce, Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific recently announced FDA clearance of the EXALT Model B single-use bronchoscope, intended for bedside procedures in intensive care units or in the operating room. As a single-use device that boasts high quality imaging and suction capabilities, the bronchoscope is ready to go out of the packaging, which means it mitigates the risk o (Read more...)
Biomaterial-Based Vaccine Against Bacterial Infection
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a biomaterial-based vaccine technology that could provide prophylactic protection against bacterial infection and septic shock. The technology is delivered as a biomaterial scaffold. Once inside the body, it captures bacterial pathogens and then recruits and activates dendritic cells to initi (Read more...)
GARNET Pathogen Filter to Treat Sepsis: Exclusive with Nisha Varma, COO of BOA Biomedical
Sepsis is caused by an uncontrolled spread of infectious pathogens and release of toxins that can lead to systemic inflammation, multi-organ failure, and even death. The pathogens responsible for causing sepsis are usually difficult to identify, and patients are routinely treated with broad spectrum antibiotics. However, dead pathogens remaining in (Read more...)
Wireless Sensor Measures Deep Tissue Oxygen Levels
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed an ultrasound-powered implantable sensor that can measure oxygen levels in tissues deep within the body and transmit these data to an external device. The technology could be useful in monitoring transplant viability or oxygen exposure in preterm infants. It also has potential to (Read more...)
Sweat Sensor Warns of Impending COVID-19 Cytokine Storm
Researchers at the University of Texas and EnLiSense, a Texas startup, have developed a skin sweat sensor that can measure cytokine levels continuously for up to 168 hours. The technology has been adapted so that it can detect cytokines involved in the deadly cytokine storms that occur in patients with COVID-19 and other illnesses, such […]
Robots Measure Vitals to Minimize Interactions with COVID Patients
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have developed three different robots that can sense and measure patients’ healthcare parameters, including electrocardiograms, oxygen levels, respiration rates, and temperature. One of the robots, comprising a robotic arm, contains electrodes in its fingertips, and can take measurements when i (Read more...)
Microfluidics and AI Microscopy for Hemoglobin Measurements
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and SigTuple Technologies, a company based in Bengaluru, India, have developed a method to inexpensively measure hemoglobin levels in small-volume blood samples. The technique combines a microfluidic chip and an AI-powered microscope. The researchers hope that the technology will help streamline hemogl (Read more...)
Philips Unveils Medical Tablet for Patient Monitoring During Emergencies
Philips is releasing a computer tablet designed to provide easy access to patient information in various emergency environments without a difficult implementation. The Medical Tablet, as it is called, can connect wired or wirelessly to hospital systems, whether the tablet itself is there or not. Thanks to integration with Philips IntelliVue XDS sof (Read more...)
Tiny Ventway Sparrow Ventilators FDA Cleared
Inovytec, an Israeli firm, has won clearance from the FDA to introduce its Ventway Sparrow ventilators in the United States. Weighing only 2.2 pounds (1 Kg), including the built-in battery, and with a small footprint, these can be used just about anywhere that ventilator support is required. The Sparrows support both invasive and non-invasive venti (Read more...)
Cooling Vest Helps COVID Clinicians with Heat Stress
Researchers from the Radboud University Medical Center in The Netherlands have trialed cooling vests, originally designed for elite athletes, in nursing staff who have to put in long shifts in COVID-19 wards wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). While essential, the protective equipment can lead to significant discomfort in the form of (Read more...)
Strados RESP Monitors Lung Sounds, Now FDA Cleared
Strados Labs, a company based in Philadelphia, PA, but with R&D offices in Atlanta, GA, won FDA clearance to introduce its RESP system for monitoring lung sounds. The RESP device has already been employed in clinical trials to help monitor how various therapies, patient reports, and other vital signs correlate with changes in lung sounds. [&hel (Read more...)
Real-time ELISA for Continuous Blood Testing
Though blood tests are a routine part of clinical care and hospital labs are able to quantify a myriad biomarkers, the results only indicate measurements at certain points in time. Continuous monitoring is available for only a few analytes such as glucose and oxygen. Now researchers at Stanford University have created a device that can […]
Siemens epoc NXS Host Mobile Computer Cleared to Help Point of Care Blood Testing
Siemens Healthineers won both EU and US regulatory approval to introduce its epoc NXS Host mobile computer for the epoc Blood Analysis System. The Android smartphone provides an app-based intuitive interface that replaces the older interface that had over two dozen physical buttons and a relatively low resolution screen. The accompanying app is des (Read more...)
Mitochondrial Transplantation to Treat Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Interview with Dr. Alexander Schueller, CEO of cellvie
cellvie, a company based in Houston, Texas, is developing a mitochondrial transplantation therapy to help reduce the damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury. The treatment involves delivering isolated mitochondria to cells that are affected by ischemia to help mitigate the dysfunctional metabolism that contributes to cell death in that context (Read more...)
First Dedicated Pediatric and Neonatal Acute Dialysis Machine Released U.S.
Medtronic is releasing in the United States the industry’s first and only dedicated pediatric and neonatal acute dialysis machine. The Carpediem (Cardio-Renal Pediatric Dialysis Emergency Machine) has been in development for about a decade and the first in-human use was announced back in 2014. Having now received FDA marketing authorization, (Read more...)