Angel Medical Systems, based in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, won FDA approval for its AngelMed Guardian implantable device that may help detect oncoming heart attacks before they even happen. It looks like a pacemaker and it monitors for ST segment changes, an ECG sign of ischemia. When it detects sustained ST segment changes, the implant […]
Tag: Medicine
FDA Approves Implant for Detecting Oncoming Heart Attacks
Angel Medical Systems, based in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, won FDA approval for its AngelMed Guardian implantable device that may help detect oncoming heart attacks before they even happen. It looks like a pacemaker and it monitors for ST segment changes, an ECG sign of ischemia. When it detects sustained ST segment changes, the implant […]
Text Messaging System Helps Care Providers and Patients Manage Opioids
Opioid abuse having become a serious health threat for many and a dire societal problem in many parts of America. Perhaps a simple messaging app can help? A collaboration from Washington University School of Medicine and Epharmix, a nearby company based in St. Louis, has released a simple text-based service to help people kicking the addiction. […]
Spying on Your Social Media and Searches to Fight STDs
Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied whether certain search terms that are used on Google and topics covered on Twitter can point to a outbreak of a contagious disease. They focused on syphilis and found that by monitoring the incidence of certain terms, such as “STD” […]
4Dx Uses Algorithms to Better Visualize Lung Function
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affects millions of people in the United States. The main method of diagnosis is the pulmonary function tests (PFTs), in which a patient breathes into a machine that measures pulmonary parameters. The disadvantage, however, is that pulmonary function tests take an “average” of a patient’s lung without being able to detect […]
Siemens Gets FDA Cleared for Two New Budget Friendly Yet Powerful CTs
Siemens Healthineers is on an FDA clearing streak of its newest CT scanners. The latest news, following up clearances of the SOMATOM Force and SOMATOM Edge Plus, is that SOMATOM go.All and SOMATOM go.Top can also now be marketed in America. The SOMATOM go.All and SOMATOM go.Top are more budget friendly scanners, yet offer tablet control, a remote, and imaging capabilities that are […]
A Closer Look at Portal Instruments’ Needle-Free Injector
At SXSW last month, we had the opportunity to take a closer look at Portal Instruments‘ upcoming needle-free drug delivery device. As we wrote previously, Portal Instruments has developed a injection system that involves delivering a tiny jet of liquid through the skin at a high speed. We naturally had to ask how similar an […]
Hair-Sized Fiber-Optic Probe Can Measure Temperatures Deep Inside the Body
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed a tiny fiber-optic probe that can measure temperatures deep inside the body, while imaging structures in the region of interest. The probe, which has a similar thickness to a human hair, could help researchers to investigate the effects of drugs that raise temperatures in specific parts of […]
Siren Diabetic Socks Monitor Temperature of Feet, Detects Early Signs of Injury
Many patients suffering from diabetes and diabetic neuropathy are prone to having foot ulcers that can be remarkably difficult to manage. The best approach is to catch ulcers developing early on and to receive treatment as soon as possible. The Siren Diabetic Socks may be just the thing, as they monitor the temperature of the […]
Siemens SOMATOM Force Dual Source CT with Auto Patient Positioning Cleared by FDA
Siemens Healthineers won FDA clearance for its SOMATOM Force dual source CT scanner. Just like the recently cleared SOMATOM Edge Plus, this device includes the company’s FAST (Fully Assisting Scanner Technologies) Integrated Workflow that relies on a 3D camera positioned over the patient bed to recognize the head, torso, and other parts of the body. This allows […]
FDA Gives First Clearance for Autonomous Diagnosis of Medical Condition
IDx, a company out of Coralville, Iowa, won FDA de novo clearance to introduce its artificial intelligence-powered IDx-DR diabetic retinopathy detection system. This is the first device cleared in the United States to autonomously diagnose a medical condition without requiring a review by a specially trained clinician. It’s intended to provide an easy screening option […]
Non-Invasive Skin Patch Sucks Glucose Through Skin, Measures Blood Sugar Levels
Scientists at University of Bath in the UK have developed and successfully tested an electronic patch capable of measuring glucose in the interstitial fluid without actually penetrating the skin. The transdermal patch features a tiny electronic pixel array made either via graphene-based thin-film or screen printing techniques. The patch is able to essentially suck (electroosmotic extraction) […]
Foldscope Microscope Review: The Foldable, Portable Way to Zoom In On Our World
Imagine taking a walk in your favorite neighborhood when you suddenly spot a bug that looks interesting. If you want to observe it in microscopic detail, all you have to do is whip out your own deluxe foldscope individual kit and take a few quick pictures with your smartphone. And the same works with things […]
Aquilion Precision, a High Resolution CT from Canon Now Cleared by FDA
Canon Medical won FDA clearance for its top-end Aquilion Precision CT scanner. The company calls it the world’s first “Ultra-High Resolution CT” system because it’s capable of resolving objects as small as 150 microns, something commonly only available in cath labs. This level of imaging is possible thanks to a new X-ray tube that has […]
Researchers Rapidly Grow Adult-Like Human Heart Muscle for Cardiac Drug Screening
Scientists at Columbia University have developed a new technique to rapidly grow adult-like human heart muscle from blood-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The technique involves culturing the cells in an organ-on-a-chip device and subjecting them to mechanical stimulation. Using their method, the researchers were able to grow adult-like human heart muscle in just […]
Disease-Responsive Hydrogel Can Release Drug During Arthritis Flares
Researchers at the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a disease-responsive hydrogel for anti-inflammatory drug delivery. The hydrogel could be injected into joints in patients with inflammatory arthritis for long-term local treatment. The gel breaks down in response to enzymes that are increased in an inflamed joint during an arthritis flare, meaning that it […]
Neurostimulation Enhanced by Digital Health: Interview with CEO of NeuroMetrix
Neurostimulation has the capacity to stop pain signals from traveling up to the brain, but to mask the pain effectively and for long periods of time clinicians have turned to implants. That is because conventional TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) devices don’t have the strength and focus to comfortably quell pain in long intervals. NeuroMetrix, […]
Stretchable Stick-On Ultrasound Patches Image Even on Curved Surfaces
Conventional ultrasound transducers are rigid devices that have to be held against the skin when imaging inside the body. The best results are achieved on smooth surfaces where contact between the transducer and the skin is the greatest. On curvy, moving surfaces, such as the knees, ultrasound visualizations are difficult. A team at the University […]
Zipline’s New Medical Delivery Drones Fly Faster and Farther
Zipline, a drone company based in Half Moon Bay, California, is unveiling its fastest, longest range, and easiest to setup drone for medical deliveries. The company’s drones are already serving as couriers in Rwanda, delivering blood samples and blood units to and from 21 hospitals in the western part of the country. The new autonomous drones, […]
Smartphone App Detects Atrial Fibrillation Without Additional Devices
Finnish researchers at the University of Turku and the Heart Centre of the Turku University Hospital managed to use the accelerometers built into most smartphones to detect atrial fibrillation (Afib), an often serious but sometimes difficult to detect arrhythmia. The technology has been dubbed as gyrocardiography and it may rival electrocardiography (ECG) for detecting Afib in many […]