The concentration of dopamine in a patient’s blood can be an important biomarker for a variety of diseases, including certain cancers, depression, and Parkinson’s. Measuring dopamine in whole blood still requires a laboratory, making it slow and expensive and not always suited for things like screenings. Scientists at the University of (Read more...)
Tag: Medicine
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...)
Microfluidic Device Measures Platelet Health in Minutes
Platelets are an important component of blood’s clotting mechanism. When platelets are not aggregating as well as they should, there might be a need for a platelet transfusion during clinical care. Platelet functionality is hard to determine quickly with current methods, but researchers at the University of Washington have developed a microfl (Read more...)
Withings Releases Breathing Disturbance Sleep Monitor
Withings, the famous French maker of stylish activity trackers, blood pressure cuffs, and other personal healthcare and fitness devices, is releasing a breathing disturbance monitor. Built into its Sleep tracking mat, the technology can detect many of the instances when a person’s breathing is interrupted. These events can be signs of sleep a (Read more...)
Tea Bag Implant Protects Islet Cells While Letting Insulin Flow Out
Type 1 diabetes patients have to inject themselves with insulin to replace the inability of beta cells of pancreas to produce the hormone. To cure Type 1 diabetes will require either a way to “fix” the pancreas and prevent it from being damaged by the immune system, or some sort of implant that can generate […]
Tea Bag Implant Protects Islet Cells While Letting Insulin Flow Out
Type 1 diabetes patients have to inject themselves with insulin to replace the inability of beta cells of pancreas to produce the hormone. To cure Type 1 diabetes will require either a way to “fix” the pancreas and prevent it from being damaged by the immune system, or some sort of implant that can generate […]
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...)
Scientists Explain Why Electric Bandages Work
Electrical bandages, ones that allow electric current to make contact with the wound, have been known for a while to be very effective at speeding up healing. Over the past decade there’s been a great deal of technological development in this field, but the mechanism behind why these “electroceuticals” really work has been poorly (Read more...)
Fenwal Amicus Red Blood Cell Exchange System
Fresenius Kabi, a company based in Bad Homburg, Germany, announced that its Fenwal Amicus Red Blood Cell Exchange (RBCx) system won clearance from the FDA. The device can automatically remove patient’s blood cells and replace them with another fluid, particularly useful when treating sickle cell disease. The system can perform exchange, (Read more...)
Wireless, Flexible Body Sensors for Monitoring Premature Babies
Children born prematurely end up in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where they’re hooked up to an array of sensors, each connected by a wire to a patient monitor. It’s a sad sight, let alone a hindrance to physical and emotional bonding that is so important in the weeks after birth. Scientists at Northwestern University [&h (Read more...)
Artificial Proximal Tubule Model Mimics Functionality of Real Kidneys
Our kidneys are designed to filter out all kinds of impurities from the blood stream, a process that’s not particularly selective. This is done by glomeruli, which are groups of capillaries at the end of kidney tubules. But other parts of the kidneys, the proximal tubules, are charged with returning wanted nutrients back into the body. [ (Read more...)
Signal Catheter Prevents Injury from Premature Balloon Inflation
Safe Medical Design, a company based in San Francisco, CA, won FDA clearance for its Signal Catheter device. The indwelling foley urinary catheter is designed to help prevent discomfort and injury that can occur if it’s incorrectly placed, an all-too-common occurrence. Indwelling urinary catheters typically have a balloon at the tip that is i (Read more...)
AI in Healthcare: Interview with Chris Gough, GM Health and Life Sciences, Intel Corporation
Intel has developed a suite of AI technologies and has been collaborating with numerous medtech providers to create new healthcare solutions based on data-driven strategies. AI has come on in leaps and bounds, and is beginning to make an impact in various healthcare fields. Intel aims to be at the forefront of this AI revolution. […]
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 marke (Read more...)
TREMFYA One-Press Patient Controlled Injector Approved for Plaque Psoriasis
The Janssen Pharma, a part of Johnson & Johnson, won FDA approval for its TREMFYA One-Press single-dose injector. The device is used to deliver TREMFYA (guselkumab) as a treatment for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The TREMFYA One-Press allows patients to decide how fast and with how much pressure to deliver the medication. This lets [&he (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 […]
OnePulse Smartwatch Monitors Health, Connects to Cloud via New LTE-M Network
OneLife Technologies Corp out of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, is now the first company to offer an AT&T LTE-M certified medical wearable device. LTE-M is designed to let Internet of Things (IOT) devices connect independently to a 4G network, without having to use a smartphone or other device as a gateway. The OnePulse smartwatch can mea (Read more...)
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...)
EchoNous Releases AI Powered Ultrasound Bladder Scanner
Scanning the bladder and measuring its volume is a common procedure usually performed by nurses. It may be done for a variety of reasons, but achieving accuracy is key. Catheterization-based methods may be the most accurate, but non-invasive ultrasound is a lot more attractive. With conventional ultrasound one must be very careful to properly gauge (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...)