Bone infections are quite common following orthopedic surgery or as a result of injury or disease. They can be incredibly difficult to treat, and heavy duty antibiotic regimens coupled with debridement surgery is the current approach. Even after all that, inflammation is a frequent side effect. Now, researchers at Georgia Tech have created a hydrog (Read more...)
Tag: Plastic Surgery
3D-Printing Utilized to Grow New Human Hair
Researchers from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center have developed a tissue engineering and 3D printing method to grow new hair follicles and stop hair loss. Their work, recently published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that they were able to grow human hair follicles in a dish and on mice for the first time. These hair [… (Read more...)
Researchers 3D Print Materials to Mimic Soft Tissues and Create Custom Braces
3D printing is already widely utilized in medicine during cardiac surgeries, to make orthopedic implants, and as guides to accurately put them in place. Typically, the devices that are printed are rigid, but the body is mostly made of soft tissues. Engineers at MIT have been working on offering clinicians a way to use additive […]
Engineers Create Cross-Linked Hydrogels to Lure Stem Cells Into Wounds
Hydrogels have become a popular material for new treatment strategies targeting a variety of diseases. They can deliver encapsulated therapeutic molecules, degrade in the body at a predefined rate, and can be biocompatible. However, each application requires the hydrogel to have appropriate strength, consistency, and the ability to carry growth fac (Read more...)
Nexus Ultrasonic Surgical Platform from Misonix FDA Cleared
Mixonix, a Farmingdale, New York company that specializes in ultrasonic devices for surgical applications such as osteotomies and debridements, won FDA clearance for the new Nexus surgical platform. The Nexus combines the capabilities of Mixonix’s three existing products, namely BoneScalpel, SonicOne and Sonastar, into a single system that ca (Read more...)
Bioabsorbable Wound Dressing with Nanoscale Chitosan to Rapidly Stop Bleeding
Chitosan is a sugar compound derived from the exoskeletons of shrimp, crab, and other shellfish. It is used extensively in medicine, including in dressings, because of its well known hemostatic properties. These properties work at the nanoscale, so delivering tiny bits of chitosan to the site of a wound can help improve how it works […]
Prevena Negative Pressure System FDA Approved for Superficial Surgical Site Infections
KCI, now a part of the Acelity Company, has announced that its PREVENA negative pressure incision management system is the first to receive FDA’s indication to help with reducing superficial surgical site infections in those at high risk of post-op infections. The approval comes under the FDA’s de novo pathway that was designed to bring (Read more...)
Prevena Negative Pressure System FDA Approved for Superficial Surgical Site Infections
KCI, now a part of the Acelity Company, has announced that its PREVENA negative pressure incision management system is the first to receive FDA’s indication to help with reducing superficial surgical site infections in those at high risk of post-op infections. The approval comes under the FDA’s de novo pathway that was designed to bring (Read more...)
CleanCase Device-Specific Smart Sterile Covers Going on Sale
SteriDev, a Lansing, Michigan firm, is releasing the first device-specific sterile mobile device coverings. The CleanCase coverings are FDA-compliant and allow surgeons, technicians, and other clinical staff to use smartphones and tablets even in the operating room (OR). These days, it can be quite a hassle to bring a smartphone in the OR, making i (Read more...)
Surgical Electricity Used to Molecularly Reshape Tissues
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Occidental College have identified and are studying a new way performing surgery using electricity. Some tissues, such as the ears, cornea, and joints, have a collagen-rich extracellular matrix that can be manipulated using an electric current. The idea is that if you deform a piece of tissue, (Read more...)
Electronic Wound Monitoring Bandage Tracks Lactate, Oxygen Levels
Healing large and complex wounds requires vigilant monitoring and frequent dressing changes. This generally means pain, might require general anesthesia, and can even be emotionally disturbing to patients. A less invasive method of wound monitoring, that lets the wounds remain undisturbed, is badly needed. As wounds heal, the chemical composition o (Read more...)
Electrospinning Gun Protects Wounds with Nanofiber Mesh
An Israeli company called Nanomedic has begun showing off its impressive device for applying an electrospun material to the surface of wounds. Electrospinning involves using electricity to produce extremely fine polymer threads. This technology is almost always used during manufacturing. The SpinCare product is the first portable electrospinning de (Read more...)
Device Helps Make Incisions Along Skin Tension Lines to Reduce Scarring
Surgeons working on delicate areas and visible areas of the body, particularly in plastic and cosmetic surgery, have to keep in mind the direction of skin tension lines. These are formed by collagen fibers that are aligned within the dermis of the skin. If incisions are made against the grain, more visible scars will be […]
Handheld Skin Bioprinter Heals Deep Open Wounds With Patient’s Own Cells
The human organism has a number of physiologic processes that work together to heal skin wounds. Sometimes wounds are so large and difficult that these healing mechanisms simply can’t access damaged tissues. Researchers at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina are now reporting the development of a bioprinter (Read more...)
Digital Thermography and Machine Learning Team Up to Improve Burn Wound Care
A team at McGill University in Canada and the Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi in Mexico have developed a system for analyzing thermographic scans of burn wounds to improve how they are analyzed and how patients are treated. The team used digital infrared thermography, a non-invasive imaging technique, to study wounds when they were pre (Read more...)
Platform Wound Dressing, a Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Device Doesn’t Need Gauze or Foam
Applied Tissue Technologies, based in Hingham, MA, won FDA clearance for its Platform Wound Dressing (PWD), the first embossed negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device that doesn’t require using any foam or gauze. The PWD has an adhesive base and an embossed membrane that keeps the wound isolated from the outside environment. T (Read more...)
iCertainty Contact-Free Perfusion Imaging System Cleared in U.S.
RFPi, a company out of Greenville, North Carolina, won FDA clearance for its iCertainty blood flow and perfusion imaging system. The technology gives clinicians the ability to essentially watch as blood saturates or drains in tissues being worked on, something that typically has to be done using invasive means. The new technology avoids injection o (Read more...)
First Device for Predicting Risk of Pressure Ulcers FDA Cleared
Pressure ulcers are a common malady for bedridden patients, a situation that clinicians have been struggling to improve significantly. There are devices that sense how long a part of a body has been pressed on for too long, beds that deflate and inflate different areas to provide temporary respite, and clinical routines that help to […]
Soliton Acoustic Shockwave Device to Aid in Tattoo Removal
Soliton, a company based in Houston, Texas, has developed an acoustic shockwave device to assist in laser tattoo removal. At present, laser tattoo removal takes a significant number of sessions, with long waits between visits and a significant overall cost. This new device aims to allow numerous laser passes per session, and the company claims [&he (Read more...)
Cynosure TempSure RF Platform Now Available for Aesthetic Procedures in Plastic Surgery, Dermatology, Gynecology
Hologic announced that its Cynosure division is releasing the recently FDA-cleared TempSure RF platform for surgical and non-surgical aesthetic applications. The device provides 300 watts of energy at 4 MHz, allowing for precise work in creating fine incisions in delicate tissues such as eyelids, ears, and even labia! Hologic believes its device ca (Read more...)