ivWatch, a company based in Newport News, Virginia, won FDA clearance for its SmartTouch sensor that detects peripheral IV infiltration and extravasation events. Though somewhat rare, these can be difficult to notice and a late response can lead to grave consequences. The SmartTouch sensor can warn physicians that something is wrong, sometimes hours before a […]
Tag: Critical Care
Revolutionizing IV Access With TournIQ: Interview With Jonathan Ilicki, Co-Founder of Ortrud Medical
IV access is one of the most common clinical procedures in healthcare, with over 300 million hospitalized patients in the United States receiving a peripheral venous catheter every year. However, as many have painfully experienced, catheter insertion isn’t always successful on the first attempt. Often times, we place the blame on dehydration, our deep veins, […]
Robotic Transcranial Doppler for Stroke Detection and Risk Assessment in COVID: Interview with Diane Bryant, Neural Analytics
Emerging evidence suggests that COVID-19 patients are at a higher risk of stroke and promptly diagnosing and treating such patients is a priority in hospitals across the world. Moreover, identifying which COVID-19 patients are at increased risk of developing a stroke is also important, and may help with preemptive treatment and monitoring. The Lucid Robotic […]
Philips Gets FDA Approval for Two New Defibrillators
Philips won FDA approval for its HeartStart FR3 and HeartStart FRx automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The HeartStart FR3 is an advanced device intended for use by medical professionals, including paramedics, and features such capabilities as “quick shock” to minimize hands-off time, and military-level ruggedness, ECG monitoring for non-cardiac arrest victims, and a battery that can […]
Samsung Releases RS85 Prestige Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound
Samsung is releasing its top-of-the-line RS85 Prestige diagnostic ultrasound system. The device sports Samsung’s latest hardware and software technologies, such as Crystal Architecture, to produce high quality ultrasound images. Moreover, the system can run a dozen or so intelligent software features that fine tune image quality in specific situations and provide measurements, assessments of blood […]
Blood Volume Analysis Using The BVA-100: Interview with Michael Feldschuh, Daxor CEO
Daxor Corporation, a company based in New York, has developed the BVA-100, a blood volume analysis test. The test is the first to be FDA approved for the quantification of blood volume and composition. Following the injection of a radio-labeled tracer, a blood sample is obtained from the patient and analyzed. The entire process takes […]
Philips Ultrasounds Cleared in U.S. to Manage COVID Complications
The FDA has granted Philips 510(k) clearance for its ultrasound systems to be used to address lung and cardiac complications that arise in COVID-19 patients. The clearance encompasses the firm’s EPIQ series, Affiniti series, Lumify, CX50 and Sparq diagnostic ultrasounds, and for offerings such as the QLAB Advanced Quantification Software. Ultrasounds can help to diagnose […]
A Multinational Effort to Reduce Neonatal Mortality: Interview with Dr. Maria Oden, Co-director of Rice 360° Institute for Global Health
According to the World Health Organization, 47% of childhood deaths worldwide occur in the first four weeks of life. This neonatal mortality rate is particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly one million newborns die every year. Many of these deaths can be prevented with medical devices that more developed countries often take for granted, […]
Aquadex Ultrafiltration for Critical COVID Patients: Interview with John Erb, CEO at CHF Solutions
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many healthcare facilities around the world are inundated with critically ill patients, and resources such as equipment and staff are stretched thin. Shortages of critical equipment, such as ventilators, can mean the difference between life and death for patients, and the need to keep critically ill patients comfortable and alive […]
Stanford Bioengineers Innovate Multiple Solutions to Tackle COVID-19
The current pandemic is revealing the level of commitment needed from multiple sectors to deliver innovative solutions to tackle severe shortages of personal protective equipment, ventilators, and raw materials. Researchers at the Prakash lab at Stanford University are no stranger to taking up extreme challenges, and they have kept up their reputation by coming up […]
VentFree Respiratory Muscle Stimulator Gets FDA Emergency OK for COVID-19
Liberate Medical, a company based outside of Louisville, Kentucky, won FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its VentFree Respiratory Muscle Stimulator that aims to reduce how long patients stay on ventilators. It works to keep the abdominal muscles from atrophying by delivering electric stimulation to the relevant muscles in tune with mechanical ventilation. The device delivers […]
Flexible Throat Sensor Powered by AI to Track COVID-19 Symptoms
As COVID-19 continues to infect more people around the world, there are still few reliable ways to spot the early onset of the disease and to monitor its symptoms in detail, particularly at a distance and while patients are at home. Now, researchers at Northwestern University have partnered with the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly Rehabilitation […]
Smart, Low Cost Ventilator Tunes to Patient’s Own Breathing
Because of the common expectation that ventilators would be in dire shortage during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many teams around the world have developed simple ventilators that utilize bag valve masks (AmbuBags) to pump air in and out of the lungs. Most of these do not provide nuanced control of ventilation settings such as the […]
Lungpacer Diaphragm Pacer Gets FDA Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19
Lungpacer Medical, based in Vancouver, Canada, announced that its Diaphragm Pacing Therapy (DPT) System received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for use in weaning COVID-19 patients off of ventilators. Patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation may experience diaphragm disuse atrophy and ventilator-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction (VIDD), which makes it harder for patients to breathe on their own and […]
NASA JPL Ventilator Goes From Development to On-Site Testing in 37 Days
Add the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the list of groups that have re-focused their efforts to help combat the global coronavirus pandemic. The same organization that put men on the moon has now developed a prototype ventilator that passed simulated human testing last week at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount […]
PVA Emergency Ventilator Ready for Production
PVA, a company based outside of Albany, New York that normally provides automation services to a wide variety of industries, has developed and is about to start producing its own emergency ventilator to help address the COVID-19 epidemic. The design is based on one that was approved by the United Kingdom’s Department of Health & […]
Yale’s Ventilator Splitter Receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization
Vent Multiplexor LLC announced that it received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its device that can split a single ventilator so that it can be used by two patients simultaneously. The Vent Multiplexor device was developed by a team of students and faculty at Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital. It is a patent-pending […]
Low-Cost Ventilator from Home Depot Components: Interview with Glen Meyerowitz, UCLA Biodesign Fellow
The current shortage of ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked significant innovation, including novel designs to split one ventilator into two, repurposing of existing devices to function as ventilators, and new solutions to reduce the need for ventilators. However, perhaps all of these innovations, and more, will be needed to account for the shortfall […]
B. Braun Infusion Pumps with Nebulizers Get FDA Emergency Authorization for COVID-19
Combining infusion pumps with nebulizers has been shown to help deliver nebulized medication to patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA has just issued Emergency Use Authorization for B. Braun’s Perfusor Space Syringe Infusion Pump, Infusomat Space Volumetric Infusion Pump, and Outlook ES Pump systems to deliver nebulized […]
TransAeris Diaphragm Pacing System Gets FDA Emergency Use Authorization for Quicker Ventilator Weaning
As hospitals face the possibility of ventilator shortages for COVID-19 patients, Synapse Biomedical announced that it received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for a device that helps wean patients off ventilators quicker. This, in turn, could free up ventilators for use by other patients. Weaning off of mechanical ventilation is a constant challenge in intensive care […]