Hospital acquired infections continue to be a major source of patient morbidities. Hand washing guidelines, ubiquitously available alcohol sanitizers, and keeping patients away from each other has helped reduce the spread of nosocomial infections. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done to prevent hospitals themselves from being vectors that spread infections that walk through their […]
Tag: Medicine
Organoids of Human Kidneys Help to Study Renal Diseases
Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic condition in which the tubules of the kidneys grow to become deformed, leading to cysts to grow on the organ. Studying this disease has been a challenge because of the difficulty of modeling it in the laboratory. Now researchers led by a team at the University of Washington have […]
New Test Reveals Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in 30 Minutes
Researchers at Caltech have developed a new rapid test for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can give results within 30 minutes. Antibiotics are becoming less effective with the rise of multi-drug resistant strains of bacteria. At present, a doctor doesn’t know if their patient is infected with a drug-resistant strain without sending a sample to a lab, […]
Remedē Implantable System FDA Approved to Treat Moderate to Severe Central Sleep Apnea
The FDA has granted Respicardia, a company out of Minnetonka, Minnesota, approval to introduce its Remedē implantable sleep apnea treatment system. The Remedē treats sleep apnea by stimulating one of the phrenic nerves that regulates the activity of the diaphragm. People with central sleep apnea exhibit shallow breaths and/or pauses in breathing that can have a terrible effect on […]
Smart New Bandage Delivers Drugs on Wound Exactly When Required
Difficult to manage wounds do not heal oftentimes because topical medications can’t be administered in a controlled fashion and just when needed. To apply a drug onto a chronic wound, the dressing has to be removed, exposing the wound to potential infections and causing a good deal of discomfort to the patient. Now researches from […]
Ascom Digistat Vitals: A New Offering to Record Patient Information at Bedside
Ascom, a Swiss firm, is releasing a new product designed to improve how clinicians record patient information into electronic medical records (EMR). The Digistat Vitals system relies on the dedicated Ascom Myco smartphone, or certain compatible Android phones, as the interface for data entry. A special app is used at the bedside to save vitals and […]
Carrot Carbon Monoxide Breath Sensor System for Smoking Cessation Cleared for OTC by FDA
Carrot, a Redwood City, California firm, won FDA clearance for its Carbon Monoxide (CO) Breath Sensor System. It will be available as an over-the-counter product that’s designed to help smokers kick the habit as part of smoking cessation programs. The CO sensor features Bluetooth wireless connectivity, allowing it to interface with a smartphone app that […]
Tiny Nanopatch Shown Highly Effective Against Polio Virus
A new vaccine delivering “Nanopatch” has just been tested that may finally help put an end to polio. Developed by a scientist at Queensland University in Australia and commercialized by Vaxxas, a firm based in Sydney, the patch has microscopic needles projecting from its bottom that pass the vaccine directly to the antigen-presenting cells below […]
Health 2.0 Fall Conference: SleepTech Summit Exhibit Hall Companies
A unique track at this year’s Health 2.0 Fall Conference is a SleepTech Summit focusing on innovations that enhance or improve a person’s ability to achieve a quicker, longer, and more refreshing sleep. As part of the main exhibit hall, six sleep-related companies were demoing their devices and technologies, and Medgadget had a chance to […]
Klue, a New Tracker That Claims to Detect When You’re Eating or Drinking
Klue, a new wearable tracker, was just unveiled at this year’s Health 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley. The makers of the device claim it can detect the type of activity that you’re engaged in, with a particular focus on eating and drinking. The ultimate goal of the technology is to help users adjust their habits, […]
Glowing Molecular Sensor Helps Spot New Useful Antibiotics
Microorganisms are natural factories for all sorts of biomolecules, and some of them produce antibiotics that can be very useful in medical practice. This is not a newly discovered fact, but because each microorganism produces its own set of molecules and the rate of production is not very high, it’s been difficult to use this […]
Microneedle Patch Gathers Large Samples of Interstitial Fluid
Interstitial fluid, which resembles blood plasma and that is reachable near the surface of the skin, contains many biomarkers, including sodium, potassium, and proteins, associated with normal body function, as well as those related to certain diseases. Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and University of New Mexico have working on a new microneedle patch that can draw large […]
Multi-Drug Printing Method to Improve Existing Meds, Help to Introduce New Ones
At the University of Michigan researchers have developed a technique for printing drug compounds directly onto skin patches, ingestable strips, and just about any other drug delivery device. Multiple drugs can be combined together to be able to produce patient-specific regimens, which would be produced inside a pharmacy, clinic, or hospital. Using a method called […]
Biosensitive Tatoo Ink Changes Color as Disease Biomarkers Fluctuate
A collaboration between scientists at Harvard and MIT has developed a tattoo ink that can be programmed to change color in response to changes in concentration of different biomarkers. For example, rising glucose levels turn the tattoo from green to brown. Unlike typical body monitoring devices, the team’s “biosensitive ink” has the benefit of not relying […]
Masimo’s Smaller, More Comfy RAS-45 Acoustic Respiration Sensor Released Globally
Masimo is now making fully available its RAS-45 acoustic respiration sensor that works with the company’s rainbow Acoustic Monitoring platform and that is compatible with both adult and pediatric patients. It performs the same as the RAS-125c sensor, but being considerably smaller and featuring a more flexible adhesive, it is easier to put on and more comfortable […]
Boston Scientific’s Resonate Cardiac Implants with HeartLogic Predict Adverse Events, Now FDA Approved
Boston Scientific won approval from the FDA and is launching its Resonate line of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D). The implants include the firm’s HeartLogic diagnostic capability that sends an alarm to the cardiologist if it believes the patient’s heart is exhibiting worse performance, which may lead to a serious event such as an […]
VisualDx + Derm Expert, a Deep Learning App to Help Diagnose Skin Conditions
When a person develops an unsightly skin condition, the first person to assess it is typically not a dermatologist. A lack of expertise in dermatology too often leads to misdiagnoses. General practice physicians, for example, get very little training on skin conditions. Now, thanks to a new feature inside the latest Apple iOS for iPhones […]
Hopkins Researchers Deliver Blood Samples Using Drone in 161 Mile Journey
The last few weeks have been full of natural disasters striking Mexico, islands in the Caribbean, and the United States mainland. Roads are damaged and entire communities have been cut off from help for days at a time, while the potential for infectious diseases to thrive has skyrocketed. Moreover, patients often end up without their […]
Wireless, Handheld Ultrasound for iOS and Android: Interview with Laurent Pelissier, CEO of Clarius Mobile Health
Clarius Mobile Health, a Canadian firm, is a pioneering company specializing in portable solutions for ultrasound diagnostics. Since its debut, it has surprised and impressed us with its tiny portable ultrasounds. Clarius offers the only app-based, wireless ultrasound scanner that can be taken to the point of care even in the most rugged conditions. The […]
Masimo’s Slim and Portable Rad-97 Pulse CO-Oximeter FDA Cleared and Now Available
Masimo won FDA clearance and just announced full market release of its Rad-97 Pulse CO-Oximeter. It’s available as is, or with either a built-in blood pressure cuff or a capnography (CO2) attachments. The monitor comes with Masimo’s well established Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion SET pulse oximetry and its rainbow technologies. The device has a narrow, space saving […]