Prescient Surgical, based in San Carlos, California, just won FDA marketing clearance for its CleanCision Wound Retraction and Protection System. The device, which combines a retractor with infection control mechanisms, aims to prevent surgical site infections, a common, dangerous, and costly problem. The CleanCision System protects surgical w (Read more...)
Tag: Urology
CompactCath, a Discreet, Compact, Hygienic Urinary Catheter Cleared in EU
The San Francisco Bay Area may be best known for information technology startups, but there are other small companies around that develop very different technologies. CompactCath has created a urinary catheter that solves some of the persistent issues that users of such devices have to face every day, and the company just announced that its [&helli (Read more...)
Stratasys Releases Line of Custom Built 3D Printed Anatomy Models
Stratasys, one of the big 3D printing companies, has announced the release of its new BioMimics line of 3D printed human anatomy models. The products are designed to be used in clinical training and to help design and test new medical devices. The company is first releasing bone and heart models, with vascular structures expected […]
Meet Versius, Cambridge Medical Robotics’ More Portable and Cost Effective Robot for Minimal Access Surgery
Cambridge Medical Robotics (CMR), based in the UK, is working on revolutionizing the world of surgery by delivering what the firm believes is the next generation surgical robot. More versatile, affordable, and easier to use than other robots on the market, CMR’s Versius system is already generating significant interest. The company announced (Read more...)
microMend, a Novel and Time-Saving Wound Closure Device
Sutures and staples are the usual options for closing wounds postoperatively, but they can be painful and require surgical skills. The microMend Skin Closure Device, produced by Seattle-based KitoTech Medical, provides a potentially better alternative. The design of the microMend is conceptually similar to a bandage, like Steri-Strip. The device is (Read more...)
Healcerion Receives FDA Clearance for New SONON 300L Wireless, App-based Ultrasound System
Healcerion, based in South Korea, was the first company to receive FDA clearance for their wireless, app-based ultrasound system back in 2015. The groundbreaking work done by South Korean engineers and scientists laid the foundation for the development of an ultrasound transducer that works with most smartphones or tablets. Since introducing the SO (Read more...)
Butterfly iQ, a Whole Body Ultrasound That Fits in a Pocket
Butterfly Network, a firm based in Guilford, Connecticut, won FDA clearance and is introducing its Butterfly iQ portable ultrasound system. It consists of a portable transducer that connects directly to an iPhone, and an iOS app to display the images and to control settings. The device actually works as three different transducers thanks to an [&he (Read more...)
Robotic-Assisted Surgery – Current Challenges and Future Directions: Interview with Dr. Mona Orady
During the last decade and a half, robotic-assisted surgery has led to smaller scars, less pain, and faster recoveries for patients. Concurrently, surgeons using this technology have benefited from being able to perform surgeries in a more comfortable position, while also experiencing greater visualization and enhanced precision. With all of these (Read more...)
Esaote Unveils Its Flagship MyLab9 Ultrasound System
Esaote, the Italian ultrasound manufacturer, has just unveiled its brand new high-end MyLab9 ultrasound system. The device is designed for all sorts of diagnostic imaging procedures and clinical environments. The MyLab9 features non-composite single crystal probe technology and “Ultra-engine” platform that together generate high qu (Read more...)
TransEnterix Gets FDA Clearance for Senhance Surgical Robot
TransEnterix, a North Carolina firm, won FDA clearance for its Senhance Surgical Robotic System. This is only the second company that’s offering an abdominal surgical robotic system to receive FDA’s green light, following Intuitive Surgical‘s da Vinci systems, the first of which was introduced nearly two decades ago. The multi-por (Read more...)
Organoids of Human Kidneys Help to Study Renal Diseases
Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic condition in which the tubules of the kidneys grow to become deformed, leading to cysts to grow on the organ. Studying this disease has been a challenge because of the difficulty of modeling it in the laboratory. Now researchers led by a team at the University of Washington have […]
Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy Now Cleared in EU for Robotic-Assisted Surgeries
Mauna Kea, a French firm, having recently made available its Cellvizio system in the U.S., now also won European CE Mark approval for the technology to be used during robotic-assisted surgeries. The Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) System allows urologists to analyze the cellular structure of tissues as part of retroscopic and cys (Read more...)
FlexVR: A New, Portable, Robot-Assisted Surgical Simulation System – Interview with Dr. Jeff Berkley, CEO and Founder of Mimic Technologies
We are entering a new era in health care, where innovative technologies are frequently developed and introduced to health care workers. One of the most groundbreaking developments has been the use of robots to assist surgeons with complicated procedures. However, optimal training of physicians is crucial to ensure this technology is utilized in a s (Read more...)
Hitachi’s Compact Supria True64 CT Scanner Cleared in U.S.
Hitachi has announced that the FDA granted the company clearance for its Supria True64 CT scanner. The device is designed to take less room in a busy clinical environment and to provide a 64-slice image quality using a 40 mm detector and 64 separate detector and electronics processing channels. Hitachi notes that many compact CT scanners [&hel (Read more...)
LessRay Radiation Reduction System for ORs Using Fluoroscopes
NuVasive, a company based in San Diego, California, is now making available its LessRay radiation dose-reduction system. It consists of a computer cart that connects to an operating room’s fluoroscopy system. The fluoroscope can be set to a lower level of X-ray exposure, and the LessRay, using its proprietary software algorithms, then correct (Read more...)
Mauna Kea’s Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy Released Through Cook Medical
Cook Medical has announced that it’s making available the Cellvizio Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) System from Mauna Kea Technologies, a company based in Paris, France. Using the system, urologists can microscopically analyze the cellular structure of tissues during ureteroscopic and cystoscopic procedures without taking any samples (Read more...)
Surgical Pen Can Identify Cancer in Real-Time
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a hand-held surgical “pen” that can analyze tissue samples and tell a surgeon if they are cancerous in just a few seconds. During surgery to remove a tumor, surgeons need to know if they have removed the entire tumor margins, as leaving just a small […]
Ultravision Removes Smoke from Surgical Scene: Interview with Managing Director of Alesi Surgical
Smoke in a surgical field is a common problem, particularly during laparoscopic and robotic procedures, that arises from the use of electrosurgical instruments, lasers, and other devices. Typically, smoke is vented out through one of the instrument ports, too often with slow and imperfect results. Alesi Surgical, a company out of Cardiff, Wale (Read more...)
Magnamosis, a New Magnetic Way to Connect Intestines, Proving Itself in Clinical Trial
An intestinal anastomosis is a fairly common surgical procedure usually done during intestinal resections, bypasses, diversions, etc. Typically stapling or suturing is performed to connect proximal and distant parts the intestine, but a new method that uses magnets shows a clinical promise. A new study just published in Journal of the American (Read more...)
Ethicon Releases PROXISURE Advanced Laparoscopic Suturing Device
Ethicon, part of Johnson and Johnson, is releasing in the U.S. its new flagship laparoscopic suturing device, the PROXISURE. It features the use of curved needles that come inside of single-use cartridges which slip onto the tip of the main device. The tip itself moves in all kinds of ways, articulating 45° in both directions and [… (Read more...)