Squishy viscera, such as the liver, can change their shape significantly from the time a CT scan is taken that spots a tumor to when it’s excised during surgery. Various tags have been developed that can be tacked onto tissue in order to use as a point to calibrate against, but this approach still doesn’t quite […]
Tag: Radiology
Researchers Develop Highly Effective Metal-Free MRI Contrast Agent
In order to better see certain features in MRI scans, patients are often injected with gadolinium-based contrast agents. They seem fairly innocuous for healthy people, but young children and those with poorly functioning kidneys can be seriously affected. Side effects such as vomiting and diarrhea can create further problems for an alread (Read more...)
Stanford Neurosurgery Department Taking Full Advantage of Virtual Reality
At Stanford Medicine neurosurgeons are relying on virtual reality to better understand the nuances of individual cases and to educate patients on their specific conditions. The system, a product of Surgical Theater, a Colorado company that we covered on a trip to the White House a few years ago, combines data from different imaging modali (Read more...)
PET Tracer to Directly Detect Blood Clots
Researchers in Germany have developed a fluorine-based tracer compound that can bind with high affinity to small clots, allowing doctors to image them using positron emission tomography (PET). Blood clots can cause heart attacks and strokes. Doctors often need to find clots using imaging techniques, so that they can treat them or identify where thr (Read more...)
MRI Compatible Biopsy Robot to Allow Precise Biopsies
Engineers at the University of Twente in The Netherlands have unveiled a new pneumatically powered robot, called Stormram 4, able to take biopsy samples while inside an MRI machine. In tests conducted by the researchers on phantom models of the breast the investigators were able to achieve sub-millimeter precision in reaching their targets. Current (Read more...)
BIOTRONIK’s Pulsar-18 Stent with Thin Delivery System for Superficial Femoral Arteries Now Available
BIOTRONIK is releasing its new Pulsar-18, a self-expanding stent designed for placement within the superficial femoral artery (SFA). This is the only FDA approved device of its kind to fit inside a 4 French sized delivery catheter, making it easier to get it through difficult lesions and place it accurately at the target location. The dev (Read more...)
CT Perfusion Technology Monitors Blood Flow to Predict Ovarian Cancer Treatment Response
Patients with advanced ovarian cancer have a very high relapse rate following primary treatment, with 60 to 85% of patients relapsing. Treatment planning is an important factor in patient care, but few reliable options exist to help physicians accurately plan treatment and select patients who are appropriate candidates for a specific therapy. (Read more...)
New MRI Technique Images Glucose in Body to Spot Tumors
Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have developed a highly sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system that can image tumors in the body, without the need for conventional contrast agents or radioactivity. Normally, doctors often inject a contrast agent into the blood before an MRI scan. The contrast agent circulates in the blood (Read more...)
Coffee Helmet for Better Nose and Throat Surgery
Engineers at Vanderbilt University have developed a silicon cap filled with coffee grounds to track patient head movements and orientation during delicate nose and throat surgery. The technology was recently presented at the International Conference on Information Processing in Computer-Assisted Interventions in Barcelona, Spain. At present, patien (Read more...)
Merit Medical’s Embosphere Microspheres for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Enlarged Prostate
Merit Medical has announced winning de novo clearance for its Embosphere Microspheres to be used for prostatic artery embolization procedures as a treatment option for symptomatic enlarged prostate. The de novo classification means that this is the first product that can be used to embolize the prostatic artery without resorting to surgery. The tin (Read more...)
LivaNova’s Seizure Fighting Vagus Nerve Stimulators Approved for MRI
LivaNova, a company with offices in Texas and Belgium that makes vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) systems that help to prevent the onset of epileptic seizures, received FDA approval for patients with the implants to be free to undergo MRI scans. While some precautions are still necessary, the previous MRI related approval required special equipment to (Read more...)
Newly Designed Nanorods Act as Dual Imaging Agents for Improved Diagnostics and Surgical Use
Scientists at the PNG College of Technology have developed new nanoscale rods that may be an effective dual-mode imaging agent for detecting cancer. The nanorods can be seen using both magnetic resonance and optical imaging techniques. Combining the two offers potentially better localization results during pre-op imaging, but can also allow for eas (Read more...)
Artificial Intelligence Helps Improve MRI Imaging of Strokes
High resolution MRI scans of the brain can take around thirty minutes to perform, but in the case of a stroke this can be much too long to wait. Typically, if MRI is used, a stroke patient is rushed through so that fewer imaging slices are taken, resulting in a much lower quality image. Compared […]
Toshiba Medical Releasing New Vantage Titan / Zen Edition 1.5T MRI Scanner
Toshiba Medical, now part of Canon Group, is releasing a new 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner with features that benefit both patient comfort and how efficiently exams are conducted. The Vantage Titan / Zen Edition 1.5T, as its name implies, offers a considerably quieter experience in certain scanning modes thanks to the firm’s Pianissimo technology. Th (Read more...)
Neurosurgical Simulator for Real-Time Guidance of Interventional Instruments
The brain is a difficult organ to operate on in part due to its jelly-like consistency and because what’s below the surface is not visible, save for pre-op imaging. Because it is so soft and gelatinous, the brain compresses as soon as an instrument touches it, which affects the location of the target and how […]
FDA Clears MAGNETOM Vida 3 Tesla MRI with BioMatrix Technology
Siemens is reporting that the FDA has cleared its MAGNETOM Vida 3 Tesla MRI scanner. The device features the new BioMatrix technology from Siemens that takes into account individual patient anatomy, physiology, and even the differences in MRI operators to produce optimal image quality. Essentially, the scanner’s table has a built-in (Read more...)
Tiny Forward Facing Ultrasound Drill to Bust Through Blood Clots
Intravascular ultrasound devices are used on a regular basis to break up blood clots. These devices deliver high frequency ultrasound energy from a side facing transducer, shaking up clots and opening up blood vessels. Because of engineering limitations that have resulted in ultrasound being emitted laterally, the clots don’t break up as well (Read more...)
BIOTRONIK’s Pacemakers Get 3 Tesla MR-Conditional Approval in Europe
BIOTRONIK won European regulatory approval allowing its Edora, Evity, and Enitra series of pacemakers to be safe for 3 Tesla full body scans, as long as certain precautionary measures are taken. This approval will allow more patients to take advantage of the high quality imaging that the more powerful MRI scanners offer, as previously these [&helli (Read more...)
OrbusNeich Is Bringing Its Sapphire PTCA Balloon Catheters to U.S.
OrbusNeich, a company based in Hong Kong, is releasing in the U.S., following FDA clearance, its Sapphire II PRO and the Sapphire NC Plus PTCA balloon dilation catheters. Both devices are indicated for dilation of coronary artery or bypass graft stenoses in cases of ischemia, and for opening up coronary artery occlusions following an infarct. (Read more...)
Ultrasound Technology Startup Sonavex Raises $3M Series A and Expands Board: Medgadget Interview
Sonavex, a Baltimore-based medical device company, has announced a raise of $3M in financing including the first close of its Series A round led by Grey Sky Partners. Recently named Maryland’s 2016 Incubator Company of the Year, Sonavex is focused on improving surgical patient outcomes with point-of-care imaging technologies. Other organizati (Read more...)