Stereotaxis, a company that has developed robotic magnetic navigation technology to deliver catheters to the heart during ablation procedures, is introducing its latest generation system. The new Stereotaxis Genesis RMN platform features smaller magnets that can rotate around their center of mass, and which are positioned inside robotic arms that can move in a very […]
Tag: Radiology
Technique Combines Tumor Scans with Math Algorithms to Create Comples Tumor Models
Tumors can have a great deal of internal complexity, something which plays a central role in how cancer grow and protects themselves from attack. Understanding the structure of different types of tumors and how they come about may give researchers a way to address tumor growth. Currently, tumor models are fairly basic and don’t really […]
High Strength VICI Venous Stent Approved by FDA to Treat Iliofemoral Obstructive Disease
Boston Scientific won FDA approval for its VICI VENOUS STENT for treating iliofemoral venous obstructive disease, a condition in which the veins in the pelvic region become blocked due to a clot or pressure from nearby anatomy, such as caused by May-Thurner syndrome. Because this stent is expected to be positioned in a place where […]
Focused Ultrasound, Guided by MRI, to Treat Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is related to the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain, so any serious attempt at dislodging these plaques may help reverse the progression of the disease. The perennial problem with delivering drug therapies to treat brain conditions is the blood-brain barrier that prevents most molecules from penetrating through its defenses. For example, drugs […]
Hologic Releases Trident HD Specimen Radiography System for Breast Tissue Analysis
Hologic is releasing its Trident HD specimen radiography system for use in stereotactic breast biopsies and for verifying tumor margins during breast-conserving surgeries. It has regulatory clearances in the United States and Europe, where it is now being made available. Such devices are typically used within the surgical environment to inspect excised tissues, to make […]
Attain Stability Quad MRI SureScan, World’s Only Active Fixation Left Heart Lead, Approved in U.S.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices are implanted into heart failure patients to try to improve the efficiency of the heart. How well the therapy ends up working depends very much on the positioning of the electrodes of the leads that stretch into the heart. Quadripolar leads, having two more electrodes than typical, provide a great […]
UC Davis First to Get Canon’s Ultra-High Resolution CT
Clinicians at the University of California, Davis Health are now scanning patients using an Ultra-High Resolution CT scanner, the only of its kind in the United States. The Aquilion Precision from Canon Medical Systems is able to resolve things down to the 150 micron level, allowing for diagnostic insights previously impossible. The capability is made […]
Underwater Contact-Free Ultrasound Scans Giant Pregnant Manta Rays
Scientists from the University of Cambridge and the Manta Trust, a charity that helps to preserve manta rays and their environment, have teamed up to actually scan living and swimming manta rays using ultrasound. The team used the world’s first and only contactless underwater ultrasound machine, which allowed them to look at a fetus of […]
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 it […]
Imperative Care Gets FDA Clearance for ZOOM Stroke Clot Remover
Imperative Care, a company based in the Silicon Valley area, won FDA clearance for its ZOOM Aspiration System for removing stroke-causing clots. The system is designed to work particularly well with Imperative’s access catheters, which are long and highly flexible devices made to reach deep into the brain. The ZOOM is comprised of the ZOOM […]
Guerbet’s SeQure and DraKon Peripheral Microcatheters Cleared in Europe
Guerbet, a French firm, won European regulatory approval to introduce its SeQure and DraKon peripheral microcatheters on the continent. The devices are indicated for infusion of contrast media, drugs, and embolic materials as part of vascular embolization procedures. The devices were originally developed by Accurate Medical Therapeutics, an Israeli firm that Guerbet purchased. Both the […]
Synaptive Medical to Release MRI for Head Scans in Emergency Rooms
Synaptive Medical, a company based in Toronto, Canada, will soon be releasing its Evry device, an MRI machine dedicated to performing head scans in the emergency room. The first installation of this unique device will be at the QEII Health Sciences Centre (QEII) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At QEII it will be used as part […]
Tack System for Repair of Angioplasty Endovascular Tears FDA Approved
Balloon catheters have revolutionized the treatment of vascular diseases, but when they’re used to push plaque against the walls of vessels tears can form. These tears can have significant impact on the integrity and hemodynamics of vessels and therefore on the health of patients. Stents can be used to address these, but stents are typically […]
EnVisio Surgical Navigation System for Breast Lumpectomies Cleared in U.S.
Elucent Medical, a firm based in Eden Prairie, MN, won FDA clearance for its EnVisio Navigation System. The technology involves placing a wireless SmartClip implantable marker within the breast that identifies the location of the tissue to be removed. Normally guidewires are used to locate the target tissue, which extend out through the skin. The […]
Butterfly iQ Multi-Purpose Pocket-Sized Ultrasound Now Available in Europe
Butterfly Network, a company based in Connecticut, finally won the CE mark and is releasing in Europe its Butterfly iQ portable ultrasound system. The product consists of a transducer that plugs right into an iPhone or iPad via the Lightning port, and uses a matching app to display live images, change settings, and review previously […]
BIOTRONIK Releases Carnelian Support Catheter to Help Treat Difficult Peripheral Lesions
Calcified and tortuous peripheral vasculature can be very difficult to get instruments into, even before therapy can be administered. BIOTRONIK is releasing a new device specifically designed for exchange and support of guidewires within the peripheral vessels, which the company claims will allow physicians to access sites that were otherwise exceedingly challenging. The new Carnelian […]
Stentrode Minimally Invasive Brain-Computer Interface Going on Trial
High fidelity brain-computer interfaces generally require the placement of an implant beneath the skull, a highly invasive and potentially dangerous procedure. A new device, developed at the University of Melbourne in Australia, combines the ease of delivery of a vascular stent with the capabilities of a neural array, and it is about to be tried […]
Vector Flow Imaging Used to See Blood Flow in Humans for First Time
Vector flow imaging (VFI) is a technology that utilizes ultrasound to visualize the direction and speed of blood flow, independent of the orientation of the ultrasound probe. It works in any direction and at any angle, but its application in clinical practice has been slow because of limitations of the technology. Now researchers at the […]
FluoroShield Reduces Radiation Exposure from Fluoroscopes, Gets FDA Clearance
Radiation reduction continues to be an important goal in electrophysiology labs, cath labs, and other interventional rooms. To advance this mission, the FDA just gave clearance to Omega Medical Imaging, a company out of Sanford, Florida, for its FluoroShield radiation exposure reduction system. The FluoroShield uses a very fast collimator coupled with a bunch of […]
New CNS Drug Delivery System by Alcyone Lifesciences Given Breakthrough Designation by FDA
Alcyone Lifesciences recently obtained Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for their novel implantable intrathecal bolus drug delivery catheter and port system, the ThecaFlex DRx System. The system is intended for use in conditions that require prolonged medication administration directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), such as some cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, these patients […]