Canon Medical is releasing a new line of ultrasounds, called the Aplio a-series. Presented at this year’s American Society of Echocardiography’s annual meeting, the Aplio a450 and Aplio a550 are designed to be competitively priced while offering multi-purpose advanced imaging, including cardiac imaging. Built with some features taken from Canon’s more advanced ultrasounds, the a-series, […]
Tag: Radiology
Method Makes PET Tracers out of Common Biomolecules
Researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed new radioactive tracers to track pharmaceuticals in the body and to image cancer. The findings, reported in journal Science, describe the new chemistry they have developed, along with data that demonstrate that the team was able to radioactively tag compounds that have […]
Contrast Agent Uses Heart’s Electricity to Activate Itself
Imaging the heart for signs of disease is still quite rudimentary. While CT, ultrasound, and PET (positron-emission tomography) scanners generate impressive looking graphics, they’re a long way from giving doctors a true representation of the anatomy and function of the heart and nearby vasculature. Contrast agents are widely used to allow these modalities to produce […]
Mimics Enlight Cardiovascular Planning Software Gets FDA Clearance
Materialise, a 3D printing company with a focus on patient-specific parts, has received FDA clearance for its Mimics Enlight cardiovascular planning software suite. The product’s initial application will be in planning complex transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) procedures. Developed with the help of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and in particular Dr. Dee […]
Ultra-Thin Probe Assesses Tissues Deep Within Lungs
Assessing the health of tissues deep inside the body is a major need and challenge in medicine. Imaging modalities such as MRI, CT, and ultrasound provide very little information about the composition and environment of tissues being examined. Now, researchers at the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, and Bath University, all in the UK, have […]
New AI Tool, HeadXNet, to Help Detect Brain Aneurysms
Researchers from Stanford University have developed a new AI tool, dubbed HeadXNet that detects brain aneurysms from computed tomographic angiography (CTA) scans. Their work, recently published in JAMA Network Open, demonstrates that their AI tool helped radiologists identify 6 more scans with aneurysm for every 100 scans already diagnosed with aneurysm. This is an exciting […]
Crisper MRI Now Possible Thanks to Helical Resonator Metamaterials
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a complicated imaging modality and improving it requires a deep understanding of the physics involved. Scientists at Boston University have been working on improving MRI’s signal-to-noise ratio using special metamaterials that are made of arrays of helical resonators. Each of these resonators is just a piece of plastic with copper […]
GORE CARDIOFORM Approved by FDA to Treat Atrial Septal Defects
The GORE CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder has been approved by the FDA to treat ostium secundum atrial septal defects (ASD) via percutaneous closure procedures. In a clinical study of the device in 125 patients with ASD, ranging in age from 2 to 84, all who successfully received the implant maintained the closure when evaluated six months […]
Mid-Infrared Imaging Made Practical for Medicine by Danish Researchers
Different wavelengths of light reveal the world in unique ways, but some are hard to see using the human eye and modern imaging technologies. Mid-infrared light, for example, can be used to look at a variety of biological processes in the body, but it is hard to track when it’s used to film at a […]
Study of People with Extra Fingers Points to New Approaches for Development of Prosthetic Devices
Kids with extra fingers on their hands usually have them removed soon after birth, but some get to keep them into adulthood. This condition, known as polydactyly, is usually looked upon as a disability that has to be studied and addressed. Researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany, Imperial College London, and the Université […]
Patches Made of Heart Tissue Going to Clinical Trials
Stem cell therapies to heal damaged hearts have proven to be lacking so far, probably because simply injecting new cells into afflicted regions isn’t enough. Researchers from Imperial College London have now created patches made of cardiac tissue to sew over damaged areas of the heart. These patches, which can beat on their own to […]
IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plug Cleared in U.S. for Peripheral Arteries
Shape Memory Medical, a company out of Santa Clara, California, won FDA clearance for its IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plug. The new device is to be used as an adjunct to the firm’s IMPEDE Embolization Plug, which is already FDA cleared. The two devices have been developed to cause deliberate obstructions or to reduce blood flow in […]
New Device Monitors Blood Flow Through Radial Artery to Prevent Occlusions Post PCI
Following transradial percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), the radial artery can occasionally occlude, potentially resulting in serious complications. Radial occlusion is treated by applying compression, but clinicians have no idea whether nor how much blood is flowing through the artery. Moreover, once an occlusion happens in the radial artery, it cannot be used again as an […]
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, […]
Philips Unveils IntraSight Multi-Modality Imaging Platform
For years, catheter-based minimally invasive procedures have depended on X-ray imaging to guide physicians toward the treatment site. New tools, including intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and fractional flow reserve (FFR), which measures blood pressure inside a vessel, are giving physicians additional perspectives. Using these modalities in a single procedure therefore requires coherently combining all the information […]
Neuroform Atlas Stent System FDA Approved to Treat Brain Aneurysms with Embolic Coils
The FDA has issued Stryker with approval for the company’s Neuroform Atlas Stent System. It is indicated for treatment of wide-neck, intracranial aneurysms in conjunction with embolic detachable coils, so far only the second stent approved for such procedures. The nitinol Neuroform Atlas stent is used to hold tiny metal coils inside an aneurysm, working […]
Impella CP with SmartAssist: A Newly FDA Approved Heart Pump with Optical Positioning Sensor
Abiomed, the maker of popular left ventricular assist devices, is releasing its newly FDA approved Impella CP with SmartAssist device. The pump features an optical sensor that physicians can use to position and reposition the device without relying on a cath lab, X-ray, or ultrasound imaging. The sensor can be used either during initial implantation […]
FDA Clears Software to Spot Collapsed Lung in Chest X-rays
Zebra Medical Vision, an Israeli firm, landed FDA clearance for the HealthPNX automated chest X-ray analysis software that can independently spot signs of pneumothorax (PNX), colloquially known as collapsed lung. The software can help radiologists quickly and confidently identify the cause of a patient’s symptoms, allowing for emergency treatment to begin ASAP. Due to a […]
Medtronic Unveils Telescope Guide Extension Catheter for Delivery of Coronary Tools
Medtronic announced that it’s releasing its new Telescope Guide Extension Catheter, a device that helps to support coronary interventional instruments and extends access to difficult to reach lesions. The Telescope GEC already has regulatory clearances in the United States and European Union. The device features a solid, round pushwire with a coil-reinforced hydrophilic-coated distal segment. […]
FDA Approves More Accurate GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Stent Graft with ACTIVE CONTROL System
Gore just announced winning FDA approval for its GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Stent Graft with ACTIVE CONTROL System. The thoracic endovascular aortic repair system is based on the Conformable GORE TAG Device, but with a new, more robust control mechanism that helps to position the implant with greater accuracy and confidence. The implant itself is the […]