Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition in which fluid leaks into the lungs and builds up in the alveoli within. It is a rapidly progressive condition that often leads to terminal consequences, yet it can be difficult to diagnose and monitor. Now, researchers at University of Michigan have developed a portable device that [&hellip (Read more...)
Tag: Critical Care
PrisMax for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy FDA Cleared
Baxter won FDA clearance for its PrisMax system and accompanying TherMax blood warmer. The system is designed for delivery of continuous renal replacement therapy to treat those with acute kidney injury and some autoimmune diseases. The system is an evolution of the company’s Prismaflex technology that has been available for a few years, and (Read more...)
Self-Healing Bacteriophage Hydrogel to Target Infections, Cancer
Antibiotics are the predominant tool when fighting bacterial infections, but bacteriophages could potentially be a lot more effective. Bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria and because they avoid injuring human cells they are a promising therapeutic tool, if used correctly. Moreover, they can be used alongside antibiotics, since the two d (Read more...)
Smart Bandage Pulls Skin Together to Speed Healing
Wounds on the skin are usually treated with bandages that protect the area and keep it moist, but which don’t actively help to promote healing. Researchers at Harvard and McGill universities have now created a mechanotherapy bandage that actually works to close the wound, keeps it protected from microbes, and speeds up healing much faster [&h (Read more...)
Microfluidic Device Can Detect Sepsis Biomarker in Minutes
Researchers at MIT have developed a microfluidic sensor that can detect levels of IL-6, a biomarker of sepsis, in tiny volumes of blood within just 25 minutes. The device could be an inexpensive alternative to existing point-of-care systems for sepsis detection. Sepsis kills an estimated 250,000 patients in US hospitals every year. Detecting and di (Read more...)
Potrero Medical Receives CE Mark for the Accuryn® Monitoring System.
The company received its FDA clearance in 2016 when it transformed the traditional urinary catheter into a smart sensing platform that helps to accurately monitor vital signs in real-time, such as urine output (UO) and intra-abdominal pressure (IAP). Traditional urinary catheters have issues draining urine from the bladder, causing inaccurate UO me (Read more...)
Low Cost Medical Devices for Low-Resource Regions: Interview with Prof. Saad Bhamla, Georgia Tech
Advances in medical technology continue apace, with sophisticated new medical devices and therapies becoming available on an ongoing basis. However, medical technology often comes at a premium, and for low-resource regions sometimes even relatively basic medical devices, such as hearing aids, are inaccessible because they are too expensive. Similar (Read more...)
Canon Releases Aplio a-series Budget Ultrasounds
Canon Medical is releasing a new line of ultrasounds, called the Aplio a-series. Presented at this year’s American Society of Echocardiography’s annual meeting, the Aplio a450 and Aplio a550 are designed to be competitively priced while offering multi-purpose advanced imaging, including cardiac imaging. Built with some features taken fr (Read more...)
Ivenix Infusion System Designed to Reduce Medication Errors is FDA Cleared
Infusion pumps have been known to be a vector for a variety of medical mistakes, primarily adverse drug events. This has become such an issue that a few years ago the FDA began its Infusion Pump Improvement Initiative. One of the results of this program was the establishment of new requirements, aimed at reducing errors, for […]
Algorithm Uses Individual Medical History to Predict Patient’s Chance of Survival in ICU
Researchers in Denmark have developed a new algorithm that predicts an individual patient’s risk of mortality in the ICU. Their work, recently published in the journal Digital Health, demonstrates that the algorithm outperforms current non-computational methods of estimating mortality. Algorithms of this nature can help direct resources where (Read more...)
Crisper MRI Now Possible Thanks to Helical Resonator Metamaterials
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a complicated imaging modality and improving it requires a deep understanding of the physics involved. Scientists at Boston University have been working on improving MRI’s signal-to-noise ratio using special metamaterials that are made of arrays of helical resonators. Each of these resonators is just a piec (Read more...)
LifeFlow Next Gen for Sepsis and Shock Makes Infusions Easier and Safer
410 Medical, a Durham, North Carolina firm, is releasing a new version of its LifeFlow rapid infuser for treating patients during sepsis or shock. The LifeFlow Next Gen can safely deliver 500 ml of crystalloid fluid in less than two minutes, nearly four times faster than when using a pressure bag. Device is operated with […]
(Read more...)Masimo Radius PPG Wireless Oximeter FDA Cleared
Masimo won FDA clearance for its Radius PPG wireless pulse oximetry sensor. The device features Masimo’s SET Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion technology that stays accurate as the patient moves around and about. The tetherless product allows patients to freely move about the clinic, going to the bathroom without having to disconnect f (Read more...)
Impella CP with SmartAssist: A Newly FDA Approved Heart Pump with Optical Positioning Sensor
Abiomed, the maker of popular left ventricular assist devices, is releasing its newly FDA approved Impella CP with SmartAssist device. The pump features an optical sensor that physicians can use to position and reposition the device without relying on a cath lab, X-ray, or ultrasound imaging. The sensor can be used either during initial implantatio (Read more...)
RhythmAnalytics Detects Cardiac Arrhythmias Using AI, Now FDA Cleared
Biofourmis, a company with offices in Singapore and Boston, won FDA clearance for its RhythmAnalytics cloud-based software that uses artificial intelligence techniques to automate the interpretation of cardiac arrhythmias from ECG tracings. The system can detect more than fifteen different types of arrhytmias including using beat-by-beat morphology (Read more...)
AliveCor Introduces World’s First 6-Lead Consumer ECG, the KardiaMobile 6L
AliveCor, founded by Dr. David Albert, is the company that introduced reliable and useful ECG monitoring to consumers. Their products, which operate as basic single-lead ECG devices, have been cleared by the FDA to be able to detect cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, and bradycardia. They have been quite limited still, (Read more...)
BioSig Technologies Announces First Clinical Cases with PURE EP System: Interview with Ken Londoner, CEO
BioSig Technologies has developed the PURE EP electrophysiology information system, a product that aims to provide better tools for doctors who are treating potentially deadly arrhythmias. The computerized system is used to process electrophysiological signals and provides capabilities to acquire, store, amplify, measure, and display such signals. (Read more...)
IRRAS Rolling Out New Irrigating Cerebrospinal Fluid Catheter System for Hydrocephalus
Swedish medical device company IRRAS is attempting to change the way neurosurgeons and neurointensivists handle the problem of acute hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain, and is often caused by hemorrhage, tumor, infection, or traumatic brain injury. Traditionally, surgeons use an exter (Read more...)
VitalMinds from Philips to Control Delirium in ICU
Patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) often suffer through delirium, including experiencing disorientation and witnessing hallucinations. Going through delirium seems to negatively affect future outcomes, in addition to being a hindrance to receiving proper medical care while hospitalized. For these reasons acute delirium should be dealt with, bu (Read more...)
VivaQuant RX-1 Wearable All-in-One Mobile Cardiac Telemetry Unit and Event Monitor FDA Cleared
VivaQuant, a company based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, won FDA clearance for its RX-1 cardiac patient monitor. The device is unique in that it is able to operate as a Mobile Cardiac Telemetry unit or Event Monitor, all while transmitting its readings for remote analysis. The system gives cardiologists the ability to free up […]