Assessing the health of tissues deep inside the body is a major need and challenge in medicine. Imaging modalities such as MRI, CT, and ultrasound provide very little information about the composition and environment of tissues being examined. Now, researchers at the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, and Bath University, all in the UK, have […]
Tag: GI
Electronic Device Cleared by FDA to Treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex condition with a number of potential causes, symptoms, and treatment options. While experienced in the gut, IBS often seems to be related to a poorly functioning nervous system. Specifically, the signals that the gut sends can be perceived by the brain as being abnormal, resulting in sensations of […]
Pure-Vu GEN2 FDA Cleared to Clean Colons During Colonoscopy Exams
Motus GI, a company now headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has won FDA clearance for the latest version of its Pure-Vu colon cleansing system. Designed for use during colonoscopies, the system is designed to clear out debris left in the colon that can hinder proper visualization of potential polyps. Patients are advised to fast and […]
Scope Pro-tech Coming Out to Protect Endoscope Tips
Meditech Endoscopy, a company out of Essex, England, just won FDA clearance for its Scope Pro-tech endoscopic tip protector. The device is designed to protect the optics found on the tips of endoscopes while they’re in storage or when they’re moved from place to place. The design of the Scope Pro-tech is such that air […]
Intestine Chip to Study Human-Microbiome Interactions
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a microfluidic chip that allows bacteria and human epithelial cells to be co-cultured. The device will allow researchers to study how the gut and bacteria interact, helping them to identify the role of the microbiome in health and disease. With reported involvement in a huge array of […]
PUMA-G System for Placing Gastronomy Feeding Tubes at Point of Care Cleared by FDA
Percutaneous gastrostomy feeding tubes are placed by making a puncture through the abdominal wall and into the stomach. This requires an operating room and all that that entails, including a surgeon, anesthesia, imaging equipment, and associated clinicians. Now a new system, made by CoapTech, a Baltimore, MD firm, has been cleared by the FDA that […]
Self-Inflating Swallowable Capsule for Weight Management
Researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a swallowable self-inflating capsule, which enlarges within the stomach under the influence of a hand-held magnet. By filling a portion of the stomach, the balloon induces a sense of fullness, helping obese patients to reduce the amount they eat. The capsule is conceived as a non-invasive […]
PlasmaTYPHOON Endoscope Drying and Storage Device: Interview with Dr. Daniel Vinteler, CEO and Founder of PlasmaBiotics
PENTAX Medical, a global medical technology developer originally founded in Japan, provides the PlasmaTYPHOON Endoscope Drying and Storage Device through its controlling interest in PlasmaBiotics, a company based in France. The system aims to significantly reduce the risk of bacterial contamination of endoscopy equipment through a drying procedure and active storage in a biocidal environment. […]
Ultra Cheap Endoscope to Make Cancer Screenings More Common
Conventional endoscopes can get quite pricey these days, sometimes costing more than $100,000 a set. Moreover, they’re expensive to maintain because of intense cleaning regimens that are required to prevent transmission of infections. Engineers at the University of Leeds in the UK are working on bringing the price of endoscopes closer to $50 and avoiding […]
TransPyloric Shuttle, a Smart Gastric Balloon, Approved by FDA
Gastric balloons are popular among many people working to lose a great deal of weight. They create the sensation of a full stomach, but they’re typically pretty dumb devices whose only task is to take up space. The TransPyloric Shuttle from BAROnova, a company based in San Carlos, California, resembles intragastric baloons but works quite […]
Microbial Signature for Colorectal Cancer Identified Using Machine Learning
Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, the University of Trento in Italy, and other international collaborators leveraged a machine learning algorithm to identify a subset of gut bacteria associated with colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer worldwide. They performed a meta-analysis of eight studies of gut bacteria and colorectal […]
PlasmaTYPHOON Makes Sure Endoscopes are Dry and Hygienic
PENTAX Medical, a part of HOYA Group, has unveiled a new endoscope processing and storage solution that helps to eliminate any chance of bacterial infections. In the last few years endoscopes have been identified as common vectors through which bacteria spread from patient to patient, so new endoscope designs and ways to clean them are […]
Swallowable Vibrating Pill Shakes Faecis to Relieve Constipation
Constipation is often a hard problem to solve, typically requiring medications to get things moving down there. Medications have side effects, nor do they always work as is hoped for. We, being fans of medical gadgetry, are glad to see that a drug-free pill has been developed capable of shacking up the large intestine and […]
ConvertX Biliary Stent Features Quick In-Office Removal, Now FDA Cleared
BrightWater Medical, based in Temecula, California, won FDA clearance for its ConvertX biliary stent. The system is used to relief biliary duct of obstructions. Blocked biliary ducts can cause all sorts of havoc on patients, such as infections, biliary cirrhosis, and liver damage. A stent and a drain is often placed to alleviate the condition. The stent […]
Diagnosing Esophageal Cancer More Accurately: Interview with Mark Rutenberg, CEO of CDx Diagnostics
Cancer of the esophagus is often related to chronic heartburn, something patients too often end up ignoring. The onset of the potentially deadly disease can be detected, though, given good enough imaging and regular screenings. The imaging component, that we’re particularly interested in, relies on physicians to take biopsies of random bits of the esophageal […]
Mauna Kea’s Cellvizio AQ-Flex 19 Miniprobe FDA Cleared for Analyzing Lung Nodules
Mauna Kea Technologies, based in Paris, France, won clearance from the FDA for its Cellvizio needle-based AQ-Flex 19 confocal miniprobe for use in sampling and imaging of peripheral lung nodules. The product allows physicians to image lung nodules directly through existing bronchoscopes and accompanying accessories. Additionally, in some markets, it can be used to analyze other […]
Microrobots Take Minutes to Detect C. diff in Stool Samples
Detecting bacterial infestations within the GI system, particularly using low cost methods, takes so much time that treatment is often administered too late. Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a particular nasty nuisance that kills many frail patients, and even with a hospital lab it can take up to two days to get the results. Researchers at Chinese […]
Ingestible Pill Stays Inside Stomach, Monitors Digestion
There are a variety of gastrointestinal conditions that may be better treated if clinicians had an idea of what’s going on inside the stomach. But, the stomach is full of acid and it eventually expels whatever drops into it, making it difficult to have sensors operate inside for long periods of time. Researchers at MIT […]
Weight Loss Implant Simulates Food Inside Stomach
There are millions of clinicians fighting on the front lines of the obesity epidemic every day, but there doesn’t seem to be a winning strategy. The population of seriously overweight people around the world is rising and will soon reach one billion. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers may have a technological, drug-free solution to […]
Bluetooth-Powered Smart Electronic Pill Releases Drugs on Demand
Researchers at MIT, Draper, an engineering firm, and Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed an electronic wireless device that can stay inside the gut for long periods of time while releasing drugs into the body and measuring various parameters. The device has Bluetooth connectivity built in, and it can share its readings and trigger the […]