Medgadget

HAMILTON-G5 Ventilator Is a Finalist in 2008 IDEA Awards

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:54:11 -0800

Hamilton Medical's G5 Ventilator has just been recognized by the Industrial Designers Society of America with the 2008 IDEA award. The society has in particular stressed the device as "the first ICU patient ventilator to provide a new ventilation cockpit that is designed to improve safety through intuitive operation and monitoring. Closed-loop ventilation automatically applies lung-protective strategies, reduces the risk of operator error and promotes early weaning off the machine."

More about this product from company's page:

The new HAMILTON-G5 ICU ventilator was designed to be simpler for the user and safer for the patient. Rather than bringing you even more curves and loops, its Ventilation Cockpit™ integrates complex data into intuitive graphics that answer two essential questions:
* What is my patient's lung condition, and what kind of ventilation do they need?
* When should I take my patient off the ventilator?

* Ventilates virtually all intubated patients - whether active or passive and regardless of their lung disease – based on a ventilation strategy tailored to their individual condition (Arnal JM et al. Int Care Med 2004;30:84)

* Is more responsive than conventional modes in adapting to the patient's breathing activity (Petter AH et al. Anesth Analg 2003;97:1743-50)

* Requires fewer user interactions and gives fewer alarms (Petter AH et al. Anesth Analg 2003;97:1743-50)

* Facilitates shorter ventilation times (Sulzer CF et al. Anesthesiology 2001;95:1339-45, Cassina T et al. J Cartiothorac Vasc Anesth 2003;17:571-75)

* Provides ventilation at least as safely and effectively as international ventilation experts using conventional modes (Iotti GA et al. Int Care Med 2005;31:192)

Online simulator of the ventilator you can play with...

Product page: HAMILTON MEDICAL: g5...

2008 IDEA award details...

CombiCarrier II Wins Silver for Good Design

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:21:40 -0800

The CombiCarrier II is a new version of Hartwell Medical's innovative emergency stretcher, and a Silver winner of the 2008 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) in the Medical & Scientific category. (IDEA 2008 awards were announced today.) The device is designed to minimize spinal movement of patients after a potential back or neck injury by sliding the two sections of the stretcher under the person without rolling or shifting. Additionally, being made of plastic, the stretcher allows for X-rays to pass right through, allowing hospital staff to take the patient directly to radiology.

Some of the features from the CombiCarrier product page:

Approved as a full backboard and orthopedic stretcher

Patient can be rotated and slid out onto the CombiCarrier during auto extrication situations. Works like a traditional backboard.

Separates in Half for Application

Can be separated at either end. Eliminates unnecessary movement making it ideal for patients with suspected hip and pelvic injuries.

Continuous Head Support Surface

Improves neutral alignment and minimizes head movement during application and removal. Accommodates most durable and disposable head immobilizers, i.e., #445, HeadHugger™ and HeadBed II™.

Auto-Lock Latch System

Recessed side latch is positioned away from patient. Locks instantly during application, manual release required during removal from patient.

Seamless Plastic Construction

No rivets, drive screws or roll pins. High density polyethylene is easily cleaned and disinfected. Helps comply with OSHA regulations. Foam filling makes it ideal for water rescue situations.

X-ray Compatible

Clear center section provides unobstructed A/P view of patient's spine. Split-design allows for simple, easy removal and reapplication for detailed X-ray examination if necessary.

Product page: CombiCarrier...

In the Works: Tablets With Innovative Handwriting Recognition for EMS

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:41:17 -0800

Ritescript, maker of the ritePen® 3.0 handwriting recognition software out Sunnyvale, California, and ESO Solutions, a developer of EMR portable computer systems out of Austin, Texas, have agreed to team up on fully pen-based tablets for paramedics and firefighters.

A bit from the companies:

ESO Solutions provides medic-friendly, cost-effective electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) software and billing services for EMS and Fire organizations nationwide. The ESO Pro ePCR Suite is an intuitive, NEMSIS Gold application that helps emergency medical responders capture necessary patient data during emergency visits via pen-based notebook computers. The application also includes a robust quality management module, extensive ad hoc reporting functionality, interface capabilities, validation and tracking tools, and more.
Using ESO Pro Mobile on rugged pen-based notebooks in the field allows emergency responders to quickly capture patient vitals, medications, cardiac arrest treatments, electronic signatures, and other critical call data. ritePen 3.0 further enhances their ability to perform mission critical work, delivering easy text entry and medical terminology recognition as well as workflow control via handwritten shortcuts.

Check out this video overview of the handwritten character recognition capabilities and features of ritePen:

Press release: ESO Solutions Chooses ritePen for ESO PRO™ ePCR Suite...

ritePen 3.0 software overview...

More at emrupdate.com...

Human Powered Ambulance for Third World Villages

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:33:03 -0800

Yanko Design profiles a concept by Benoît Angibaud of an ambulance to be engineered for people living in poor remote areas. The vehicle would be both pedal and solar powered, and is essentially a stretcher on wheels. We can envision small villages having one of these to transport patients to a regional clinic. On a sunny day, of course.

Noninvasive Continuous Glucometer for the Battlefield

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:31:51 -0800

At Georgetown University scientists have been working on a DARPA sponsored project to develop a miniature glucose monitoring device that is essentially non-invasive and can be worn on the body for continuous testing. There is no question that if developed, this technology would be quite useful at the home front as well.

The biosensor device works to painlessly remove this outer-dermis, or dead-skin layer, by using a “micro-hotplate” (or micro-heater), which measures about 50 microns square and is carefully controlled to apply a small amount of power. (To imagine how small this area is, note that the period at the end of this sentence is about 10 times larger than the hotplate). For 30 milliseconds (that’s 30 one-thousandths of a second) the “hotplate” is turned on to a temperature of 130 C. Sounds hot, but in such a small spot, and for such a short time, a person cannot even detect the heat, or feel any pain, as it is applied to the outer layers of skin.
This hotplate causes a tiny micro-pore to form through which a little bubble of fluid passively emerges. The bio-sensor then reads the glucose levels in the sample fluid through tiny electrodes coated with a substance that reacts specifically to the glucose.

The bio-sensor project initially began through funding from the military, with the intention of developing a miniature device to remotely monitor the health status of soldiers in a battlefield. This tiny prototype chip, which acts as a patch on the skin and is called the B-FIT (Bio-Flips Integrable Transdermal MicroSystem), can obtain samples of fluid from under the skin one time every hour for a 24-hour period.

To support the design and development of the device, Currie and Paranjape received a Department of Defense contract for $3 million over 3 years from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

Full story at Georgetown: Monitoring Diabetes Without Pain and Blood: Biosensors Offer New Alternatives ...

CPR pad Assures Correct Compressions

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:08:15 -0800

Ryan Helps, a designer out of Leicester, UK, has created a model of a CPR assist device that addresses the common problems that people have when performing chest compressions. The CPR pad would help with locating where to position the hands on the chest, timing of when to press, and would measure and provide feedback on the proper compression pressure applied.

DARPA Wants Silly Putty for Serious Situations

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:53:54 -0800

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is soliciting proposals to develop a "fracture putty" material that would be used for quickly repairing broken bones while providing cast-like support for the fracture.

From DARPA:

DARPA wants to develop a dynamic, putty-like material which, when packed in/around a compound bone fracture, provides full load-bearing capabilities within days, creates an osteoconductive bone-like internal structure, and degrades over time to harmless resorbable by-products as normal bone regenerates. The agency believes that a successful "Fracture Putty" could rapidly restore a patient to ambulatory function while normal healing ensues, with dramatically reduced rehabilitation time and the elimination of infection and secondary fractures.
Potential solutions for Fracture Putty could involve novel bioresorbable adhesives that bond preferentially to bone rather than to soft tissues, that have bone-like mechanical properties, and work in the wet biological environment; load-bearing biomaterials with high mechanical strength and high porosity that match the mechanical properties of bone; biomaterials that create hierarchical bone-like internal structure; and biomaterials that adapt to biochemical cues. Mathematical models for dynamically remodeling systems with complex stimuli will also be necessary to achieve Fracture Putty's development.

Press release: DARPA SOLICITS PROPOSALS TO DEVELOP "FRACTURE PUTTY" (PDF)

Full Service Emergency Contact

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:20:38 -0800

The 7/7 terrorist bombings in London, which, besides killing dozens of people, dispatched many unconscious victims to the hospital, prompted a campaign of getting everyone to record their emergency contact details in their cell phones. The idea is to have everyone use the name ICE, which stands for In Case of Emergency, as a standard codename for first responders to quickly find and contact.

ICEsaves, a tiny startup focused on extending the ICE concept, wants to become everyone's universal emergency contact. Because family and friends, who are usually the emergency contacts, are often either unavailable or don't know your medical particulars, their help can be lacking at a critical moment. ICEsaves offers to keep critical health information, like drug allergies and diabetes status, in their database that first responders can access by telephoning the service.

The service is free and the amount of information you submit about your medical history is purely up to you. Considering the simplicity of ICEsaves, it has a good chance of becoming the standard emergency contact for a lot of people with chronic conditions.

ICEsaves...

Photo by Kocharhook...

Draeger Carina Ventilator Gets FDA Approval

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:57:20 -0800

Pictured here is a newly approved compact "sub-acute" ventilator from Dräger Medical.

The following is from the press release and the product brochure:

The Carina ventilator offers both invasive and non-invasive capabilities in one device. Its latest technology, known as "Synch Plus," will compensate for leakage and provide effective breath delivery. The Carina is well-suited for the emergency room, general ward, ICU, or sub-acute facilities as it features an internal battery and can operate independent of a high-pressure gas system...

The SyncPlus function features automatic leakage compensation and automatic termination criteria. As a result, it precisely synchronizes ventilation to the patient's breathing requirements... even in the presence of changing ventilation patterns or mask leakages. Its sophisticated trigger function helps to minimize the work of breathing. And, its automatic ramp adjustment optimizes the inflation pattern to the patient's changing needs for increased comfort during ventilation...

Carina's internal battery lasts about one hour, and the external battery option offers eight additional hours of battery life...

While Carina delivers all the performance and sophistication most ventilation situations require, it features the marvelous quiet blower. As a result, this uncompromising value offers the tranquil environment for patients and staff.

Press release: Draeger Announces FDA Clearance for New Ventilator ...

Product brochure: Carina™ (PDF)

Product page: Carina...

The Third Install in the US of Aquilion ONE CT from Toshiba

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:11:49 -0800

Toshiba's gargantuan dynamic volume system called AquilionONE, the device that features a coverage area of 320 detectors rows in addition to a respectable 650 lb table capacity, has now been installed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, according to a press release obtained by Medgadget. This is the third install of this device in the US. We first covered AquilionONE CT back in November 2007, when it was first unveiled at the RSNA 2007 conference. So when two days ago we were all excited about high demand for 256-slice CT scanners, we should have have kept a more proper perspective: the 320-slice system is also here to stay, albeit initially in smaller numbers. A representative for the company, tells Medgadget: "The Aquilion ONE has a coverage area of 320 detector rows, can capture actual organ movement (like blow flowing through the heart) and can image an entire organ in one gantry rotation. Additionally, the Aquilion ONE can capture the heart in one heart beat."

Cardiac: Coronary artery bypass evaluation acquired using Aquilion ONE.

From the press release:

As a testament to the growing demand to improve patient care while reducing healthcare costs, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has installed the Aquilion ONE™ dynamic volume CT system at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston.
"In one of the country's leading medical teaching hospitals, we hope the Aquilion ONE's ability to image an entire organ and show function for the first time will mean faster, more accurate diagnosis, better patient outcomes and ultimately lower healthcare costs for our patients," explained Dr. Vassilios D. Raptopoulos, interim radiologist-in-chief, Department of Radiology and director, CT services, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "We are grateful to be one of the first teaching hospitals in the United States using this advanced technology."

Toshiba's Aquilion ONE dynamic volume CT system utilizes 320 ultra-high resolution detector rows (0.5 mm in width) to image an entire organ in a single gantry rotation. The result is unparalleled in diagnostic imaging today and produces a 4D clinical video showing up to 16 cm of anatomical coverage, enough to capture the entire brain or heart, and show its movement such as blood flow.

"The Aquilion ONE has the potential to provide a single, comprehensive exam that can replace a variety of duplicative and invasive procedures," added Dr. Raptopoulos. "Its versatility and ability to diagnose disease fast will be used within our radiology department to detect and treat life-threatening conditions, including cancer, heart disease, stroke and other neurovascular conditions."

To get impressed, head on to the Aquilion ONE Clinical Movie Theatre at Toshiba, and check out some of the studies presented there...

Product page: Aquilion ONE...