The development of biomaterials for orthopedic applications is a crowded space with several large and small companies designing innovative materials. One approach is the use of these materials to deliver therapeutic proteins that enhance healing. Theradaptive has developed a novel method to modify the proteins themselves so that they coat the surfa (Read more...)
Tag: Orthopedic Surgery
SMARTDrill™: An Interview with SMART Medical Devices Cofounder, Wayne Anderson MD/MBA
Smart Medical Devices Inc., a startup based in Las Vegas, Nevada, believes surgeons should have access to surgical tools and devices that deliver real-time and actionable data. Smart Medical Devices, Inc. was created by three physicians who recognized the inefficiency and inherent risks involved when using current orthopedic drilling technology, an (Read more...)
SX-One MicroKnife Makes Carpal Tunnel Release a Minimally Invasive Procedure: Interview with CEO Dr. Darryl Barnes
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a fairly common diagnosis in the United States, affecting approximately three to six percent of adults. Symptoms include pain, numbness, and tingling along the thumb, index, and middle fingers. For severe or refractory cases, the best treatment is surgery. However, because open surgery requires anesthesia and many weeks of (Read more...)
Universal Biomedical 3D Printing Ink Developed
3D printing is already used in medicine in many applications, but there’s still a great deal that custom-built implants could offer to patients. Bioinks, the materials from which bespoke implants can printed, may be the most important focus of research aimed at expanding the use of additive manufacturing, another term for 3D printing, in medi (Read more...)
nView Medical’s Fast 3D Intraoperative Imaging with Less Radiation: Interview with CEO Cristian Atria
Fluoroscopy is used in surgical procedures to visualize structures and tools in real-time, allowing surgeons to monitor the movement of a device, instrument, or body part. However, fluoroscopy is a 2D technology that can lead to surgical inaccuracies. Alternative 3D imaging systems provide higher accuracy, but they sometimes require pausing the sur (Read more...)
Trammpolin, A Meniscus Prosthesis to Improve Knee Surgeries: Interview with CEO Jan Hunik
Meniscus tears are a fairly common knee injury. Treatment typically involves complete or partial removal of the damaged meniscus. Without shock-absorbing role of the meniscus, however, patients are at risk for accelerated wear of the knee joint and osteoarthritis. Currently, patients have to wait for many years until they are eligible for a total k (Read more...)
3D Printed Implants With Layers of Living Cells
3D printing replacement tissues and organs is still in the early stages of development, but it is clear that custom printed implants will have to integrate multiple types of cells in different locations in order to perform like native tissues. Researchers at Rice University have just unveiled a new method of 3D printing solid plastic […]
Magnetic Microbots Deliver Stem Cells to Heal Knee Cartilage
As has been widely hyped for many years now, mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to heal all sorts of damage in our bodies. The reality has been more complicated, since it is actually very difficult to get these cells to perform their magic just where we want them to. Damaged cartilage, for example, doesn’t […]
CES 2020: Sensoria Health’s Total Knee Replacement Tech
Total knee replacements (arthroplasties) have become some of the most common surgeries performed in hospitals these days. To achieve optimal results the implants themselves have to be well engineered and manufactured, and follow-up monitoring and therapy have to be done properly. Sensoria Health, an Italian company, has developed a number of techno (Read more...)
CES 2020: ReliefHeat Smartphone Controlled Heat Pad
Many people with back pain make use of heat pads and other heating devices to relieve some of the discomfort they’re feeling. This typically requires being tethered to a wall outlet for power. ReliefHeat is a battery powered device, the booth for which we discovered at CES 2020, that can be worn throughout the day […]
Microsure, a Dutch Microsurgery Robotics Firm, at CES 2020
Among the myriad of consumer gadgets at CES 2020, we ran into a Dutch maker of microsurgery robotic equipment. Microsure makes the MUSA robot, which already has the CE Mark in Europe. Here’s a company rep giving us an introduction:
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Augmedics Secures FDA Clearance for xvision, an AR Surgical Guidance System
Augmedics, a Chicago-based startup developing surgical virtual reality technologies, received FDA 510k clearance for its augmented reality (AR) xvision system. xvision is comprised of a headset that emulates “X-ray vision” during surgery by projecting 3D navigation data onto the surgeon’s retina. Designed using transparent hardwar (Read more...)
Laser Ultrasound System Images People’s Insides from a Distance
Clinical non-invasive ultrasounds require their transducers to make contact with the skin, as that allows high frequency vibrations to travel through the body. Many patients, including children, people with burns, and those with sensitive skin would rather be scanned using a contact-free system. Researchers at MIT have now shown that it is indeed p (Read more...)
Bone Bandage Soaks up Adenosine Molecules to Repair Hard Tissue
Researchers from Duke University have developed a bone bandage that accumulates pro-healing adenosine molecules to accelerate bone repair. Bone fractures are complex, difficult injuries resulting in prolonged and sometimes incomplete repair. One way of approaching new treatments for bone fractures involves delivering new bone cells, which can promo (Read more...)
Optical Coherence Tomography Finally Used to Measure Cartilage Health
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging modality that provides a micron-level look at the tissues being examined. It is used in ophthalmology to assess the eyes and for imaging the interior of arteries to help with atherectomies. Although OCT has significant potential to help clinicians evaluate the health of tissues, it has proven difficu (Read more...)
Senza Omnia Stimulator for Chronic Pain, with Widest Frequency Range, FDA Approved
Nevro, a firm based in Silicon Valley, won FDA approval for its Senza Omnia spinal cord neurostimulation system for chronic pain management. The device can deliver traditional spinal cord stimulation at frequencies below 1.5 kHz, along with Nevro’s proprietary HF10 stimulation that goes up to 10 kHz. Both low and high frequency therapies can (Read more...)
New Medical 3D Printer Unveiled by B9Creations
B9Creations, a company out of Rapid City, South Dakota, is releasing its B9 Core Med 500 medical printer, a device based on the popular B9 Core Series line of devices. The company is already well established in the dentistry field with its high precision 3D printers, but it’s now also forming a new healthcare division […]
Printed Kirigami Sensor Hugs Shoulder to Measure Recovery
The thing that separates us apes from monkeys is the range of motion of our shoulders. Able to swoop from vine to vine, apes have a very complex joint whose motion hasn’t been studied in full detail. That’s because it is very difficult to position sensors on and around the shoulder that will conform to […]
Nanomesh Loaded with Antibiotics for Targeted Wound and Infection Treatment
Antibiotics are usually only needed at particular sites, where infection is likely to start. Yet, they’re delivered throughout the entire body via pills and injections. This results in poor localized effectiveness, unnecessary effects on the rest of the body, and sometimes leads to the development of resistance. Researchers at Flinders Univer (Read more...)
Alvo Medical Shows Off Its Vision of The Future of Operating Room Design
Located in the picturesque town of Śmigiel, Poland, Alvo Medical is a family-run business that specializes in everything related to operating room layout and design. Since the company first started producing steel operating room furniture 25 years ago, Alvo has grown to become a worldwide provider of innovative healthcare solutions in the OR. (Read more...)