MC10, out of Lexington, Massachusetts, landed FDA clearance for its new BioStamp nPoint biometric data acquisition system. Based on the BioStampRC, it is stuck to the patient’s body and can then continuously record parameters such as the heart rate, step count, and movements during sleep. It’s intended for monitoring of patients, but also for clinical […]
Tag: Pediatrics
Enable Injections enFuse Makes Self-Administered Vaccines Less Intimidating
While most of us would prefer to take our medications orally, many kinds of drugs, such as biologics, must be injected. Biologics themselves, however, are often difficult to inject, as the effective dose is often large and the biologic is often viscous, requiring significant force and injection time to administer, meaning more discomfort. Patients needing […]
App Interprets Cries of Infants to Help Deaf People Raise Kids
Being deaf while raising a child can be a serious challenge, in part because it’s impossible to know when your child is crying and to understand what that crying is supposed to imply. Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles have now developed software that listens to a baby’s crying and interprets it based on […]
Baxter’s Spectrum IQ Drug Infusion System with Clever Safety Features Cleared in U.S.
Baxter won FDA clearance for its Spectrum IQ infusion system, which has some interesting features designed to prevent the wrong drugs and wrong dosages from being administered. The device connects to the hospital’s electronic medical record system, receiving information from it and sending its own data there for permanent storage. Baxter’s Dose IQ software within […]
Admetsys Develops Artificial Pancreas for Critical Care
Admetsys, a company headquartered in Boston, has developed a system for controlling blood glucose levels in critical care patients. Essentially an artificial pancreas, the system relies on a lab-on-a-chip that’s embedded within an intravenous catheter to measure glucose and lactic acid, automatically supplying insulin or glucose to keep the patient within normal range. Measurements are […]
Artificial Intelligence Spots Congenital Long QT Syndrome on ECGs
Clinical researchers at Mayo Clinic, working with AliveCor, the company that essentially introduced mobile electrocardiography (ECG) to the mass market, have published a study abstract demonstrating that artificial intelligence can be used to spot patients with congenital Long QT Syndrome (LQTS). The readings come from lead 1 of a 12-lead clinical grade ECG, which means that […]
Students Develop Cheap and Portable Cough Assist Device
People with cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and other chronic conditions can have serious difficulty coughing. This creates not only discomfort, but potentially dangerous complications for the lungs and heart. There are cough assist devices on the market that help, but they tent to be pricey, heavy, and require electric power. Now students at Michigan’s Grand […]
Biomarker to Differentiate Between Type 1 Diabetes and Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young
Scientists from MedGenome, Genentech and Madras Institute of Technology in India have spotted a biomarker that may help avoid misdiagnosis of Type 1 diabetes in children. Those with Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) have different treatment needs than Type 1 requires, but a genomic analysis like the one done by the researchers can help […]
“Smart” Training Devices Alleviate Concerns of Self-Injection: Interview with Noble International’s Joe Reynolds
Most patients encounter shots and injections, like the flu vaccine, in the context of a clinic or local pharmacy. However, for many patients, shots and injections are not an annual occurrence but are required frequently and, as a result, need to be self-administered at home. Biologic drugs have recently found success addressing chronic diseases but can […]
EEG Shown Effective at Predicting Onset of Autism
Diagnosing autism early in kid’s life can help to mitigate its future development. Now researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital are reporting in journal Scientific Reports that they were able to use EEG (electroencephalography) to predict the onset of autism or rule out its development with impressive accuracy. A group of children was subjected to EEG […]
A Brief Look at Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
Last month, Dexcom received FDA approval for the latest version of its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, the G6. Amongst a number of improvements to the system, the most highly-anticipated new feature was the elimination of required fingersticks to calibrate the system. We received a (non-functional) demo of the Dexcom G6 system containing the sensor […]
t:slim X2 Insulin Pump with Dexcom G5 CGM Connectivity Cleared in EU
Tandem Diabetes Care finally won European regulatory clearance to introduce its t:slim X2 insulin pump. The device can be reprogrammed and upgraded in order to be able to interface with other devices and to take advantage of newly introduced algorithms and features. As a major first capability provided by this is the compatibility with […]
Students Design Specialty Bag for Treating Children Born with Gastroschisis
Gastroschisis is a birth defect in which some of the baby’s intestines end up outside the body, protruding through a ventral opening near the navel. In developed countries this is a treatable condition that typically requires a series of surgeries and a special bag that holds the intestines in a sterile environment while they slowly […]
Brain Power Has Created A Novel Google Glass Autism App (Interview)
The month of April is Autism Month. Autism affects 3.5 million families in the United States alone, with each person uniquely on the spectrum. These people commonly experience symptoms related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity, but more well known is their struggle to decode emotions, to manage transitions and behaviors, eye […]
Device Keeps Implanted Pancreatic Islets Oxygenated and Alive
MIT researchers have developed a device to keep implanted pancreatic islets oxygenated and alive. The technique involves a replenishable oxygen reservoir and a coating that protects the cells from the immune system. In tests in diabetic rats, the subcutaneous implants kept nearly 90% of the islets alive for up to eight months, and blood glucose […]
New Glasses Slow Down Myopic Progression in Children
Scientists working at Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed a lenses for glasses that are able to slow down myopic progression in children. The center of the lens works as in a common pair of glasses, adjusting for myopia and astigmatism, while around this region the lens consists of dozens of spots of myopic defocus […]
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 […]
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) […]
Robotic Brace Characterizes Spine Deformities, Dynamically Adjusts Therapy
Engineers at Columbia University have developed a dynamic spine brace, called the Robotic Spine Exoskeleton (RoSE), that can measure the stiffness of the human torso in three dimensions and apply corrective pressure in patients with spine deformities, such as idiopathic scoliosis. Children with spinal deformities typically wear braces to help correct their abnormal spinal curvature. […]
Specially Designed Virtual Reality Game Distracts Kids from Blood Draws
At Rigshospitale, a Danish hospital for patients requiring specialized treatments, kids that fear syringes are barely aware that their blood is being taken. This is thanks to a virtual reality game developed by Khora, a nearby virtual and augmented reality production firm. The Ballade på Badebroen (Trouble on The Jetty) game was the result of trying […]