From the announcement by Medtronic:

LUCAS 2 builds upon the well-proven LUCAS™ 1 technology, but differs from its predecessor in that it is an electric rather than a pneumatic device. LUCAS 2 can be powered either by battery alone or using a wall or car electricity outlet. The battery is the latest in rechargeable, Lithium Ion Polymer technology and operates for up to 45 minutes (typical) on a single battery. LUCAS 2 is equipped with Smart Restart functionality. When a battery needs to be replaced, LUCAS 2 does not have to be powered down, only put into the pause mode, and when the new battery is inserted, the start position will stay the same within 60 seconds from the pause. Operation can be quickly resumed, saving time for medical personnel. LUCAS 2 offers other new features such as alerts and pauses to aid ventilation during compressions with an unsecured airway (e.g. bag-valve-mask) and quieter operation.

LUCAS 2 weighs only 17.2 lbs (7.8kg) and fits into a compact backpack measuring just 25.6h x 13w x 19.8d inches (65h x 33w x 25d centimeters).

Within the past month, LUCAS 2 has also received a CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark in Europe and marketing approval from Health Canada. Physio-Control plans to begin shipping to the U.S. markets in the fall.

Here's a video loop demonstrating the operation of LUCAS 2:

Product page: LUCAS™2 Chest Compression System...

Press release: FDA Grants LUCAS™ 2 Chest Compression System 510(k) Clearance in the United States...

Features:

Scanning Technique Videos are designed to provide expert techniques and tips for point-of-care ultrasound applications.

Video Case Studies provide an in-depth look into specific cases that you may encounter in your practice.

Clinical Image Gallery is designed to give you a look at expert ultrasound images for anatomy recognition and as a quick comparative reference for you to compare your results to.

Quick-Start Guides are abbreviated user manuals designed to give new SonoSite users a digital roadmap of their system's controls and features to help navigate the user interface.

The Reimbursement Guides are designed to provide general coverage and payment information for diagnostic ultrasound and ultrasound-guided procedures so you have accurate coding and billing information.

The SonoAccess News Feed keeps you up-to-date on the latest SonoSite news.

Watch video here demonstrating the app...

Product page: SonoAccess™ Ultrasound iPhone App

Download link @ AppStore...

Voice or touch activated

Programmable to your voice and language

Adjust system controls from a radius of 10 meters

No need to break the sterile field

Drop-tested to 3 feet

Works with M-Turbo® and S Series™

Press release: SonoSite Begins Customer Shipments Of Ultrasound Remote Control

Product page: SonoRemote

Flashbacks: M-Turbo™: New Portable Ultrasound from SonoSite ; SonoSite S-ICU™ Ultrasound Tool; S-Nerve™ from SonoSite; The SonoSite® MicroMaxx™; Titan

Features of the aScope:

Lightweight ergonomic handle design for enhanced intubation comfort that fits small as well as large hands.

The intuitive handle design gives enhanced comfort for health care professionals.

Camera technology instead of fiberoptic bundle technology for robustness.

Endotracheal tube retention rings for a stabile and secure parking.

Anaesthetic channel with both a swivel for flexibility and a luer-lock for safe connection.

No new operation techniques to use the new Ambu® aScope™. It is easy and uncomplicated.

Packaged sterile and ready for use after connection with Ambu® aScope™ Monitor.

Significantly lower start up investment.

Single patient use only.

Press release: Ambu introduces single-use videoscope - Ambu® aScopeTM

Product page: Ambu aScope...

Ambu aScope datasheet...

From the press release:

The new Rad-8 combines the unmatched sensitivity and specificity of Masimo SET® Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry—clinically-proven to reduce false alarms by over 90% and increase capture of true desaturation events by 98%—with enhanced functionality to help clinicians better capture, analyze, and report vital oxygen saturation, pulse rate, and perfusion data for improved sleep disorder detection.

The superior fidelity of Masimo SET has been clinically-shown to outperform other pulse oximeters in the accurate identification and quantification of brief dips in oxygen saturation due to apneas and hypopneas—an important marker and measure of severity for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) diagnosis and treatment. In fact, previous research conducted at Montreal Children's Hospital in Quebec found that using a Masimo pulse oximeter with very short averaging time was not only more accurate in detecting true desaturation events, including brief dips in oxygen saturation as well as larger ones, but could also "significantly reduce workload and improve reliability of desaturation detection" over other pulse oximeters. Study findings confirmed that Masimo detected 98.6% of true desaturations, while the N-395 detected only 45.3%, leading researchers to conclude that "the sensitivity and motion artifact rejection characteristics of the Nellcor N-395 oximeter are not adequate for a pediatric sleep laboratory setting."2

And, based on clinician input, Rad-8 now features an intuitive user-interface and easy menu navigation to save time and enable faster, easier set-up, and operation, while one-touch quick access buttons allow clinicians to engage special features in an instant. New user-selectable alarm settings make it quick and easy for clinicians to set and save configurations for specific patient monitoring needs and unique clinical applications. In addition, 72-hour trending, configurable Sleep and Home modes, and enhanced data collection/reporting compatibility make the new Rad-8 the ideal patient monitoring solution for sleep center, home, sub-acute, and transport applications.

Press release: Masimo Debuts New Rad-8® Pulse Oximeter to Largest Gathering of Sleep Specialists from Around the World at SLEEP 2009

Product page: Rad-8...

Rad-8 data sheet (.pdf)...

Due to the larger size of previously available pediatric TEE transducers, small babies have been impossible to image during critical cardiac catheterization or surgical procedures. As a result, high-risk procedures have been done routinely on these tiny patients without transesophageal echocardiography images available to the interventionalist or surgeon.

"The microTEE probe is a major advance in our ability to provide intra-operative cardiac imaging in newborn babies and infants,” said Dr. Girish Shirali, M.D., director of pediatric echocardiography at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Children’s Hospital. “We are delighted with the image quality, and the miniaturization of the probe has already proven invaluable to our pediatric interventionalists in high-risk cath lab procedures. Finally, our smallest and sickest patients can be imaged intra-operatively just like everyone else.”

Building on Philips’ existing 2D technology, the microTEE transducer is roughly one-third the size of previous pediatric TEE transducers, allowing physicians to ‘turn on the lights’ for the first time for their tinier patients and providing the images they need during interventional procedures. Available globally in summer 2009, the new microTEE is also entering trials for adult patients requiring TEE imaging but who have difficulty tolerating standard TEE probes.

Press release: Philips announces world's smallest multiplane transesophageal transducer

Product page: iE33 Echocardiography System

Bottom image: This ventricular septal defect on a 5.4 kg infant is viewed side-by-side in 2D and color flow Doppler modes available on the Philips microTEE transducer.

About the product from the manufacturer:

Hemoglobin in the blood absorbs infrared light. When the AccuVein AV300 is held about seven inches above the skin, veins appear noticeably different than the surrounding tissue. The vasculature shows up clearly on the skin's surface, aiding in vein location to collect a blood sample or administer IV medications.

* Easy to learn and use – No pre-use calibration or adjustments are necessary- it can be used immediately.
* Small size –The AV300 fits in your hand and weighs only 10 ounces.
* Hands-free option –Either hand-hold the AV300 or set it in a hands-free accessory.
* No patient contact –Because the AV300 has been designed to be non-contact, it may not have to be sterilized after every use.
* Works in light or dark –Use the AV300 in light or darkly lit environments.
* Rechargeable battery –The AV300 doesn't need to be plugged into an electrical outlet.
* Real world ruggedness – Designed to take the wear and tear of hospital and field applications.
* Movement tolerant –Because the AV300 shows the veins in real time, when operated properly, the device can accommodate patient movement.

Video below the fold demonstrating the AV300:

The Signos weighs half of a pound and is the size of most smartphones. It will be available with both a 3.5MHz or a 7.5MHz transducer that can be swapped. The company promotes this device for fast paced and active medical environments such as emergency departments and rural medical clinics.

Portable and Affordable: The Signos device is the size of a PDA, weighs less than one pound and features superb image resolution. The Signos is the world's smallest and most affordable ultrasound system available today.

Signos Is Ready When You Need It: With a sleep time of up to 14 days and the ability to power up in less than 1 second from sleep mode, the Signos brings ultrasound to your triage diagnostic care whenever and wherever you need it allowing you to visualize acute pathology on the spot.

Increase Clinical Utility with Added Versatility and Applications: Increase the number of procedures and applications you can perform with either a 3.5MHz or a 7.5MHz transducer. Signostics makes switching from 3.5MHz to 7.5MHz frequencies simple with our easy to use screw on/off transducers.

See More, Do More with MotionScape and SectorView Technology: Signos uses MotionScape and SectorView technology to facilitate a wide range of high resolution clinical applications, including ultrasound guidance for needle placement, AAA exams, FAST exams, bladder volumes and more.

Image Collection: Using the included microSD card you can save up to 20,000 images on the Signos device. With the free SigViewer Software you can quickly and easily upload data and images to your computer for reports, archiving, printing or email.

Signostics Medical has not disclosed a price point or time line for for the Signos release as of yet, but their video support for the device indicates that this is something that is very close to being ready for commercialization.

Press release: Signostics Receives FDA Clearance for World's Smallest Ultrasound Product...

Product page: The Signos device...; Product brochure (.pdf)...

Signostics Medical: Signos

Flashback : Mobile Clinical Imaging On a Smart Phone

NASA Tech Briefs explains what the device is all about:

Developed by Thomas Lach of Deca-Medics Inc., Columbus, OH, LifeBelt overcomes a critical limitation of “hands-only” CPR: the average rescuer is only capable of producing effective chest compressions for about two minutes, far shorter than the typical eight to ten minute emergency response time. With LifeBelt, half as much force is needed, resulting in less fatigue and longer-duration compressions – increasing the likelihood of a successful resuscitation.

The compact, lightweight device is designed to attach quickly, enabling a rescuer to start CPR in 15 seconds or less. An intuitive readout warns if the compression depth is too deep or shallow, giving the rescuer confidence that he or she is pushing properly.

“Most cardiac arrests don’t occur in a hospital or controlled environment,” said Mr. Lach. “They happen at home or at work. This is an easy-to-use product for all of us.”

Product page: LifeBelt...

Full story@NASA Tech Briefs: Life-Saving CPR Device Wins Create The Future Design Contest...

Press release: Deca-Medics Wins NASA Tech Briefs 'Create the Future' Competition With CPR Aid Designed In SolidWorks 3D CAD Software...

More about this fascinating technology, taken from Maquet's website:

NAVA: Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) is a new approach to mechanical ventilation based on neural respiratory output.

The act of breathing depends on rhythmic discharge from the respiratory center of the brain. This discharge travels along the phrenic nerve, excites the diaphragm muscle cells, leading to muscle contraction and descent of the diaphragm dome. As a result, the pressure in the airway drops, causing an inflow of air into the lungs.

Conventional mechanical ventilators sense a patient effort by either a drop in airway pressure or a reversal in flow. The last and most slow reacting step in the chain of respiratory events is used to sense the patient effort. Hence, creating a system that is sensitive to hyperinflation, intrinsic PEEP and secondary triggering problems.

With NAVA, the electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi) is captured, fed to the ventilator and used to assist the patient’s breathing. As the ventilator and the diaphragm work with the same signal, mechanical coupling between the diaphragm and the ventilator is practically instantaneous.

SOME OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS

Improved synchrony: In NAVA the ventilator is cycled-on as soon as neural inspiration starts. Moreover, the level of assistance provided during inspiration is determined by the patient’s own respiratory center demand. The same applies for the cycling-off phase - the ventilator cycles off inspiration the instant it is alerted to the onset of neural expiration. By utilizing the Edi signal, maintenance of synchrony between the patient and the ventilator is improved.

Lung protection: With NAVA the patient's own respiratory demands determine the level of assistance. NAVA gives the opportunity to avoid over or under assistance of the patient.

Unique monitoring capability: The Edi signal is a new unique parameter in mechanical ventilation. It can be used as a diagnostic tool to monitor the electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi). The Edi curve and its associated value can thus be used as a powerful monitoring tool in all ventilation modes, providing information on Respiratory Drive, Volume requirements and the effect of the ventilatory settings, and to gain indications for sedation and weaning.

NAVA for infants: The Edi signal provides a tool that allows the clinicians to interpret the background of the chaotic breathing pattern so often seen in the infants. The direct access to the respiratory center output gives prompt information on the effect of any intervention relating to ventilation of the lung. PEEP adjustment and the degree of unloading can now be based on informed decisions.

Patient comfort: With NAVA, the respiratory muscles and the ventilator are driven by the same signal. The delivered assistance is matched to neural demands. This synchrony between patient and ventilator helps minimize patient discomfort and agitation, promoting spontaneous breathing.

Decision support for unloading and extubation: The Edi signal can be used as an indicator to set the support level from the ventilator, and to optimize unloading. As the patient’s condition improves, Edi amplitude decreases, sulting in reduction in ventilator-delivered pressure. This pressure drop is an indicator to consider weaning and extubation.

Press release: VENTILATION PROVIDED BY BRAIN SIGNALS HELPS INFANTS IN CRITICAL CONDITION...

Technology page: NAVA...