Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a ‘sucker’ to pick up and transfer thin cell or tissue sheets that are intended for therapeutic purposes, such as wound healing or tissue grafting. Inspired by octopus suckers, the device can gently manipulate the delicate sheets without causing damage, and uses heating and a temperature-responsive hydrogel […]
Tag: surgery
Supportive Gel Allows for Bioprinting of Complex Shapes
Researchers at Penn State have developed a supportive gel that allows for printing of complex shapes using cell aggregates. The gel provides a supportive matrix during the printing process, and permits the researchers to place the aggregates wherever they want. This technique could pave the way for printed replacements for tissues and organs. Bioprinting, where […]
Butterfly Releases iQ+ Mobile Ultrasound for Imaging Anywhere
Butterfly Network, a company out of Guilford, Connecticut, is releasing a new generation of its popular mobile ultrasound device. The new Butterfly iQ+ features better imaging capabilities, improved ergonomics, and longer battery life. Clinicians can utilize the portable, handheld ultrasound in a variety of situations and clinical fields to image the heart, lungs, bladder, and […]
Electronic Blood Vessels to Replace Diseased Vasculature
Researchers based in China and Switzerland have jointly developed electrically conductive artificial blood vessels that may serve as implants to replace diseased native vessels. The flexible and biodegradable constructs consist of a metal-polymer conductive membrane, and an electric current can be passed through the vessel when it is implanted in the body. The electric stimulation […]
True Digital Surgery’s Robotic Digital Microscopy: Interview with Chairman and CEO Aidan Foley
The Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope from True Digital Surgery and Aesculap is now available in the United States. The system consists of a robotic arm and digital displays, and the company claims that it allows surgeons to achieve superior visualization compared with standard optical microscopes during a variety of complex surgical procedures. The Aesculap […]
Oxygen-Releasing Bioink to Enhance Cell Survival in 3D Printed Structures
Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation in Los Angeles, California have developed an oxygen-releasing bioink that may be useful in 3D printing bioengineered cell constructs. This can help live cells to survive in limited oxygen environments, such as those that exist inside of 3D printed devices, in the first days after implantation. Developing […]
Laser-Controlled Microrobots Small Enough for Injections
Microrobotics researchers have been working for decades, in a seemingly futile attempt, to keep up with the miniaturization that has been achieved in the field of microelectronics. Although rudimentary microscopic robots have been developed, they have failed to take full advantage of conventional silicon electronics and so are limited in their functionality. Specifically, no one […]
Wearable Ozone Therapy Device for Chronic Wound Treatment
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a wearable device that can administer antibacterial ozone gas to chronic wounds to help disinfect them. The technology could allow people to disinfect chronic wounds at home, and would be helpful in cases where wounds have been colonized by drug-resistant bacteria and aren’t responding to antibiotic therapy. Approximately 6 […]
Jada System for Postpartum Hemorrhage: Interview with Rob Binney, CEO of Alydia Health
Alydia Health, a company based in Menlo Park, California, has developed the Jada System, a device designed to stop postpartum hemorrhage. The condition involves heavy bleeding after delivery of a baby. Affected women can experience extended hospital stays, and, unfortunately, can sometimes die. In fact, postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal death in […]
Origami Surgical Manipulator to Perform Microsurgeries
Robotic surgical assistants, such as the da Vinci systems from Intuitive Surgical, are now routinely used during laparoscopic procedures to improve operative precision, flexibility, and to manipulate multiple tools at once. Such devices can be quite complex inside and so they tend to be quite large, often taking up much of the space of an […]
Nihon Kohden Releases Video Laryngoscope in U.S. for Faster Intubation During COVID
Critical care facilities around the world are on the front lines of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Intubation is necessary to maintain many critical patients in the ICU, but too often obtaining an airway proves to be challenging. In some patients, intubation can take over a minute or more, potentially leading to serious consequences. Now, Nihon […]
A Laparoscopy Assistance Platform to Optimize Minimally Invasive Surgery: Interview with Anne Osdoit, CEO of MastOR
Minimally invasive surgery has played a huge role in improving patient outcomes, and reducing morbidity and recovery times compared with traditional surgical techniques. However, it can be a little tricky for surgeons to operate through tiny incisions and use complicated equipment, meaning that there is often a significant learning curve and training period involved. Robotics […]
Tiny 3D Printed Cubes Serve as Scaffolding for Broken Bones
A good deal of orthopedic bone repair surgeries involve injecting powders or pastes, to serve as scaffoding, into fractures. Now a collaboration between scientists at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), University of Oregon, New York University, and Mahidol University in Thailand has led to the development of a Lego-like 3D printed scaffolding system that […]
Augmented Reality Telemedicine Shown to be Effective for Battlefield
A team of researchers from Purdue University and the Indiana University School of Medicine has recently developed and now demonstrated, in realistic simulations, a telemedical augmented reality system that can be used in very difficult and stressful situations. Called System for Telementoring with Augmented Reality (STAR), it allows remote clinicians, such as surgeons, to guide […]
EVA15 Surgical Insufflator and Smoke Evacuator for Minimally Invasive Procedures FDA Cleared
Palliare, a company out of Galway, Ireland, won FDA clearance for its flagship product, the EVA15 insufflator and smoke evacuation system. The EVA15 combines two devices into a compact package that is designed for use in laparoscopic, endoscopic, endolumenal, and robotic procedures. Smoke is a common problem in all kinds of minimally invasive procedures that […]
Spinal Cord Stimulators Give Robotic Prostheses a Sense of Touch
Upper arm prostheses that give their users a sense of touch have been developed in the past (see flashbacks below). These require careful surgical placement of electrodes near the remaining nerves within the stump and precise stimulation of said nerves. Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have achieved a remarkable feat of using existing […]
Vitls Platform Cleared in U.S. for Remote Patient Monitoring
Vitls Inc., a company out of Houston, Texas, won FDA clearance for its Vitls Platform, a combination of a vitals monitoring patch, cloud storage, and an app that lets clinicians monitor multiple patients wearing such a patch at once. The patch, which is called Tégo, keeps track of a patient’s heart and respiration rates, heart […]
Scientists 3D-Print Human Heart Pump
Scientists at the University of Minnesota have 3D printed a beating heart muscle ‘pump’ consisting of pluripotent stem cells and an extracellular matrix. The researchers grow the stem cells within the structure until they reach an appropriate cell density, and then differentiate them into cardiomyocytes. The 1.5 cm sized structure can pump fluids, and could […]
Micro-LEDs and Solar Panels Wirelessly Power Medical Implants
Researchers at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea have developed a method to wirelessly power implanted devices using light. The technique involves a micro-LED patch to transmit light through the skin and a photovoltaic system on implanted devices that can turn this light into electricity. This technology could help researchers to […]
Revolutionizing IV Access With TournIQ: Interview With Jonathan Ilicki, Co-Founder of Ortrud Medical
IV access is one of the most common clinical procedures in healthcare, with over 300 million hospitalized patients in the United States receiving a peripheral venous catheter every year. However, as many have painfully experienced, catheter insertion isn’t always successful on the first attempt. Often times, we place the blame on dehydration, our deep veins, […]