Edwards Lifesciences won FDA clearance to integrate its ForeSight brain tissue oxymetry sensors with the HemoSphere monitoring platform. While the clearance is really for a connecting cable, the capability allows anesthesiologists to monitor the oxygen saturation of the brain during surgeries and to correlate it with hemodynamic parameters in real-time. “Understanding the relationship between the […]
Tag: Neurosurgery
Nanodiamonds Cross Blood-Brain Barrier to Image Inside, Deliver Drugs
The blood-brain barrier is nearly impenetrable to most drugs and contrast agents, making it difficult to diagnose and treat diseases afflicting the brain. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now developed a way of using nanodiamonds coated with a biopolymer to penetrate through the blood-brain barrier and deliver therapies, as well […]
Sensor Monitors Brain Aneurysms Post Treatment
Aneurysms within the brain are extremely dangerous, although there are therapies available such as stents and blood flow diverters. Even after treatment, a cerebral aneurysm can continue developing and how it heals cannot be predicted. Monitoring a treated vessel deep within the brain would provide physicians with the ability to act in situations that would […]
Robotic Guidewire to Clear Stroke Clots, Deliver Therapies Inside Brain
Endovascular procedures have drastically improved the available therapy options for a number of diseases and conditions. Catheters can now be navigated deep into the body, including the brain, but there’s still room for improvement to traverse particularly tortuous vascular anatomy. These days, most guidewires that are used to make the initial journey through the vasculature […]
Optic Nerve Stimulation Device Could Provide Visual Aid for Blind People
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have developed a new type of intraneural electrode to bypass the eyeball and send messages directly to the brain through the optic nerve. The technique could provide a visual aid for permanently blind people. Using retinal implants to treat blindness is a developing field. The concept […]
Transcranial Electromagnetic Treatment Halts, Reverses Alzheimer’s
A new medical device is showing that it may be possible to improve and even reverse cognitive decline in those with Alzheimer’s disease, all without drugs and with little noticeable side effects. The MemorEM system from NeuroEM Therapeutics, a company based in Phoenix, Arizona, delivers transcranial electromagnetic treatment, or TEMT, to the brains of patients […]
Neurons Grow on Crosslinks of Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes have a host of interesting properties. They are biocompatible and electrically conductive, so have been investigated as a possible material for growing nerve tissues. To make carbon nanotubes cooperate as desired, novel forms are required and researchers at SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies) and University of Trieste in Italy have now developed […]
Wireless Brain Implant Controls Mice Using Drugs and Light
Optogenetics is a quickly evolving field that allows scientists to activate specific neurons using bursts of light. The technique may help to uncover the basis of neurological diseases and how to tame them. Using optogenetics to assess how different drugs affect the central nervous system may offer a powerful new scientific tool. To that end, […]
Implanted Electrodes Improve Powered Prosthetic Arms
Today’s conventional powered prosthetic arms usually have a few built-in electrodes that make contact with patient skin. These are good enough to open and close a simple claw, but for more nuanced control of prostheses with multiple degrees of freedom and individual fingers, a better approach is required. Implantable electrodes can gather a great deal […]
World’s Most Advanced Prosthetic Now With Sense of Touch
For prosthetic arms to really work well, they must have the ability to sense the things they’re touching. The actions involved in grabbing a can of sardines, a fresh egg, or a plum at a grocery store are very different. The fingers of the hand have to squeeze just the right amount so as to […]
Decoding Physical Patterns of Our Bodies via Conformable Devices: Interview with MIT’s Canan Dagdeviren
Nature is full of physical patterns – from our breathing and the heart beating in our chests to the tides that lap the shore. The Conformable Decoders group at MIT believe that if such patterns can be “decoded,” they can provide a rich seam of information that can help in designing a variety of devices […]
New Biomaterial Improves Brain Cancer Survival in Rats
Researchers from the University of Nottingham have developed a new biomaterial that delivers chemotherapies to treat brain cancer. Their work demonstrates that their biodegradable paste led to increased survival compared to controls, and that half of all rats in a study were clear of any cancer as confirmed by laboratory tests. This exciting development may […]
Generating Hallucinations Using Optogenetics
About a decade ago, Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University developed a technology called optogenetics. It allows scientists to stimulate individual nerve cells using light beams within the brains of live and moving animals. Now, this technology has been used to generate visual hallucinations within lab mice, causing them to act as though the things they’re […]
Penumbra Unveils JET 7 with XTRA FLEX Mechanical Stroke Remover
Penumbra is releasing a new stroke thrombectomy aspiration system at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery 16th Annual Meeting in Miami. The Penumbra JET 7 Reperfusion Catheter with XTRA FLEX technology is designed to be compatible with the Penumbra ENGINE, a device that generates the vacuum necessary to suck out thrombi from within the brain. The […]
New Nanoparticles Help Spinal Cords to Heal Following Injury
When people damage their spinal cords, a lot of the long-term consequences often stem from the body’s overreaction to the injury. That’s because the blood-brain barrier protecting the spinal cord becomes compromised and overly aggressive immune cells flood in. Now, a team from the University of Michigan has developed a way of using intravenously delivered […]
Looking Deep Into Body Using Virtual Ultrasound Lens
Light is a great tool for imaging the outside of the body and for looking at the interior using endoscopes, but looking through more than a few millimeters of tissue typically requires other modalities such as X-rays and ultrasound. Using light to peer through skin, muscle, and other soft tissues has remained an elusive goal […]
INSIGHTEC Neuro with GE 3 Tesla MRI Now Approved in U.S., Europe
INSIGHTEC, an Israeli firm, and GE Healthcare have won FDA approval and the European CE mark for the Exablate Neuro with the SIGNA Premier MRI. The Exablate Neuro, made by INSIGHTEC, delivers focused ultrasound into the brain as a treatment option for Parkinson’s, essential tremor, and neuropathic pain (the last indication appropriate only to Europe). […]
Two-Year-Old Receives Deep Brain Stimulation Implant
A two-year-old girl has received a deep brain stimulation (DBS) device to treat her dystonia. The condition, which results in painful random muscle movements, spasms, and the like, can lead to severe limitations on a child’s development and overall quality of life. A team at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital worked together to develop the […]
Tiny Nanowire Probes Measure Intracellular Electrical Activity
Researchers at the University of Surrey and Harvard University have developed tiny nanoprobes that can measure electrical signals inside cells, such as neurons and cardiac cells. Unlike previous technology for intracellular electrophysiology, the nanoprobes cause minimal destruction to the cells, and could pave the way for human-machine interfaces such as neural prosthetics. Measuring electrical activity […]
Radiation-Free Guidance for Vascular Catheters Using Smart Fiber Optics
While modern catheters can reach into various parts of the body, navigating there remains a major challenge. Fluoroscopes that emit X-rays are used to constantly keep track of the catheter location, but they emit ionizing radiation and require a great deal of protection to be used by clinicians. Engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital […]