Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is one of the most common ways that new mothers do not survive childbirth. Although such severe, uncontrolled bleeding is extremely rare in the developed world, in places such as sub-Saharan Africa it is still pervasive. Ellavi, a uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) developed by Sinapi Biomedical, a company based in South Africa, […]
Tag: Public Health
Preserving Vaccines at Room Temperature Finally Possible
The availability of vaccines in poor and remote regions is usually the result of a lack of proper storage and transportation options. For most vaccines to survive, they must be kept cold and within a prescribed temperature range. Storage areas have to have fridges with access to reliable electricity and the delivery cars and trucks […]
ControlRad Trace Add-On for C-arms Reduces Radiation Exposure
ControlRad, a company based outside of Atlanta, Georgia, won FDA clearance for its ControlRad Trace radiation reduction solution. Designed for integration with C-arms, the product can help reduce X-ray radiation exposure to patients and nearby clinicians in most fluoroscopic procedures. The system works thanks to titanium filters that move in front of the X-ray beam, […]
Scope Pro-tech Coming Out to Protect Endoscope Tips
Meditech Endoscopy, a company out of Essex, England, just won FDA clearance for its Scope Pro-tech endoscopic tip protector. The device is designed to protect the optics found on the tips of endoscopes while they’re in storage or when they’re moved from place to place. The design of the Scope Pro-tech is such that air […]
Bioengineered Viruses Used to Kill Antibiotic-Resistant Infection
Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have achieved a world’s first of beating a bacterial infection using an engineered virus. This was done in a 15-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis who had a severe case of Mycobacterium. The girl received a double lung transplant, but then developed the infection that antibiotics could not kill. […]
Video Game Shown to Help Reduce Sugar Intake, Drop Weight, for People with Sweet Tooth
Sugar is considered to be a devil in much of the nutritional community these days. It is blamed for the obesity epidemic, increased rates of diabetes, and many other maladies that are on the rise. But the stuff is readily available just about everywhere in all kinds of enticing formats, so self-control is a major […]
Donor Kidney Transported by Drone to Lucky Recipient
Clinicians and engineers at the University of Maryland have pulled off an impressive feat of delivering a donor kidney via a drone, a kidney that was later implanted into a fortunate patient. It may seem that once you figure out how to deliver something using a drone, other things of a similar size and weight […]
PlasmaTYPHOON Endoscope Drying and Storage Device: Interview with Dr. Daniel Vinteler, CEO and Founder of PlasmaBiotics
PENTAX Medical, a global medical technology developer originally founded in Japan, provides the PlasmaTYPHOON Endoscope Drying and Storage Device through its controlling interest in PlasmaBiotics, a company based in France. The system aims to significantly reduce the risk of bacterial contamination of endoscopy equipment through a drying procedure and active storage in a biocidal environment. […]
A Visit to The applied Medical Device Institute at Grand Valley State University
Good ideas for new medical devices are a dime a dozen. Getting from an idea to an actual product is the true challenge. There are many factors to manage during the early stages of developing an idea into a product, financial potential, electronics, materials, regulatory issues, ergonomics, and clinical significance. There are now dozens of […]
Functional Clothing Fibers Protect Wearer from Chemical Agents
Exposure to chemical agents is a possibility not only during warfare, but is a reality for many working in factories and other facilities. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center have now developed a new type of coating, designed to be applied to textile fibers, […]
Amazon Alexa Now Offers “HIPAA-Eligible” Environment for Healthcare Skills
Voice assistants, such as the Amazon Alexa, have become very common in American households. They’re used to inquire about the weather, set alarms, and to search for trivia, among other things. Lately, though, voice assistants have been expanding their capabilities by integrating new apps and skills from third party vendors to do specialized tasks. While […]
UPS and Matternet Launch America’s First Medical Delivery Service Using Drones
The FDA recently allowed UPS and Matternet, a drone firm, to make regular deliveries between two buildings of the WakeMed hospital system in Raleigh, North Carolina. These are regular commercial flights that are helping WakeMed get more efficiency out of their centralized laboratory, allowing clinicians to send patient samples for analysis faster than ever before. […]
Our Visit to WIRED Health 2019 at London’s Francis Crick Institute
WIRED Health, now in its sixth year, returned to London’s Francis Crick Institute. The event was opened by Crick Institute director Paul Nurse who introduced the institute and its mission to understand the fundamental biology of human health and disease. The team at the Crick, consisting of 1500 researchers and three Nobel Prize winners, make up […]
Custom Pill Bottles Thanks to E-Paper Labels
Labels on pill bottles are designed to give the patient the necessary information, such as the drug inside and how often to take it. Prescriptions change, though, and in some cases, such as clinical trials, the regimen can vary significantly from day to day. We recently learned of a relatively new product, an electronic screen […]
Chronoprints: A Computer Vision Way to Test for Counterfeit Drugs
Counterfeit drugs are common in many parts of the world. Their existence is extremely dangerous for vulnerable patients who are robbed of their money and their health. Researchers at University of California, Riverside have come up with a way of testing drugs using cheap existing, but slightly modified, video equipment and image recognition tools. The […]
Wireless Body Network Keeps Implants and Body-Worn Devices Safe from Hackers
It’s been known for a number of years that certain implantable devices with wireless capabilities can be hacked, given certain conditions. These include cardiac pacemakers and cardioverter defibrillators, the proper functioning of which helps to keep many people alive. Now researchers at Purdue University, who have been studying this problem intensely, have come up with […]
Google and Verily Roll Out Automated Eye Screenings in India
Verily, the life sciences research arm of Alphabet, and Google, the original part of the now giant company, are launching in India a screening program to identify people with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME). The program relies on an automated machine learning algorithm, developed over the past few years by Verily and that […]
AI in Healthcare: Interview with Chris Gough, GM Health and Life Sciences, Intel Corporation
Intel has developed a suite of AI technologies and has been collaborating with numerous medtech providers to create new healthcare solutions based on data-driven strategies. AI has come on in leaps and bounds, and is beginning to make an impact in various healthcare fields. Intel aims to be at the forefront of this AI revolution. […]
Portable, Battery Powered Viral Detector Takes Only a Drop of Blood
Performing lab-quality test for many infectious diseases, particularly viral ones, is difficult in remote regions. Much lab equipment requires some kind of infrastructure, including clean rooms, trained staff, and the money. Researchers at Purdue University have developed a device that can perform RNA amplification and testing in a tiny battery-powered package. The technology relies on […]
Arbutus Medical’s New Low-Cost Surgical DrillCovers: Interview with CEO Lawrence Buchan
Arbutus Medical is a company that aims to improve access to surgical power tools for surgeons around the world. Their flagship product, the DrillCover, is a sterilizable enclosure that allows surgeons to use an off-the-shelf hardware drill for orthopedic surgery. Four years ago, we interviewed Lawrence Buchan, Arbutus’ co-founder. We caught up with him again […]