Medgadget

Let Draeger Polaris Be Your Guiding Light

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800

We are continuing to profile the latest gadgets that are being showcased at the Medica 2009 in Düsseldorf. This beautiful line of cold OR light systems, appropriately dubbed Polaris, comes from Drägerwerk AG & Co., a company better known to everyone as Dräger.

Details from the press release:

Compared with conventional light sources, the smaller LEDs of the Polaris system are considerably more energy-efficient than conventional light sources. An LED light source has a life span of about 30,000 hours (corresponding to about seven to ten years of service life in the operating room), while the life span of a conventional light source is about 1,000 hours (corresponding to about four months of service life in the operating room). The slight amount of lost heat from the LEDs is dispensed through the top of the housing.
The different Polaris models are distinguished by their illuminating power. They can be used as an individual OR light or as a satellite in multiple-light systems, and can also be equipped with an integrated camera.

This new product design received the red dot design award 2008 which, according to the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, is based on criteria such as innovation, functionality, quality and ergonomics.

The 108 light-emitting diodes of the Polaris (700 model) distribute light with a color temperature of 4,600 Kelvin. "Cold light" (without long-wave infrared content) is generated by means of a phosphor layer on the semiconductor and focused via an optical system. The LEDs are installed in the reflectors in pairs.

The individual light paths form a light cylinder which has an illumination depth of about 1,100 millimeters and a variable diameter of 220 to 290 millimeters. This ensures that the light of each LED can be focused on the OR field and that several surgeons can work simultaneously on the OR field without noticeably reducing the brightness.

Press release: Precision lighting with the new Dräger Polaris...

Product brochure... (.pdf)

DermaStream CST for Active Wound Management

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:05:44 -0800

Israel21C is reporting that EnzySurge out of Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel is expecting to begin FDA approval process for the complete DermaStream CST system. The wound healing device is designed to be placed over a wound to provide continuous cleaning and washing away of debris and extravasated fluid. Although the device itself received FDA clearance, the bio-active chemical solution that it is supposed to work with it has yet to get a green light.

The patent pending DermaStream CST device provides the mechanism for EnzySurge's proprietary Continuous Streaming Therapy™ (CST). CST is a modality based on continuously streaming of fresh therapeutic solutions to the wound bed while removing exudates by vacuum assisted drainage throughout the treatment cycle. The combination of the DermaStream CSTdesign and the CST action produces negative pressure above the wound without the need for external equipment.

DermaStream is designed to ensure ongoing, uniform flow of fresh solutions over the entire wound bed

The use of therapeutic solutions allows for a broad wound management platform

DermaStreamCST vacuum assisted drainage continuously removes exudate and infectious material from the wound environment.

Gravity-induced negative pressure removes exudates including removal of loose necrotic burden

DermaStream CST is a disposable, single patient use device. It is designed to provide negative pressure above the wound bed without expensive external equipment.

Demo video of the DermaStream CST:

Product page: DermaStream CST ...

More about EnzySurge's technology from Israel21C...

Flashback: DermaStream Chronic Wound Treatment Technology

Smartscope for Normalized Dermatology Picture Taking

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:35:21 -0800

In the last few years, dermatologists have begun using standard digital cameras to photograph skin conditions for documentation and analysis. A major drawback to this approach is the difficulty in standardizing lighting conditions, camera angles, and other parameters that can affect how the image turns out. The newly released Smartscope from Optomed out of Oulu, Finland takes away many of these uncertainties so that all images are taken at the same distance, lighting conditions, and optical settings.

The Smartscope is a cordless, hand-held digital imaging device that measures and documents skin lesions for use in diagnosing and monitoring skin diseases. A more accurate and user-friendly alternative to standard digital cameras, the Smartscope uses LED illumination to produce consistent, reliable images, which along with measurements and annotations, can be easily transferred to and stored in software that is compatible with electronic medical records. High-resolution images and detailed information captured with the Smartscope can also be printed for the patient or used in case studies submitted to medical journals.

Product page: Optomed Smartscope M3-1 ...

Smartscope brochure...

Press release: New Device Improves Quality of Imaging, Patient Experience

Myoguide EMG Amplifier/Stimulator from Intronix Tech

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:11:56 -0800

This week at Medica 2009 in Düsseldorf, a Canadian firm Intronix Technologies Corp is unveiling a new electrophysiological amplifier designed to identify where to place neuromodulator injections for muscle disorders, pain management, and cosmetic applications. The Myoguide is essentially a single-channel EMG amplifier with stimulator that sports a signal display with analysis and EMG audio, so a clinician can locate areas of hyperactive muscle fibers for treatment.

Published features of the product:

Ability to see and hear EMG signals, display real time analyzed EMG, and stimulation location capability. There are numerous advantages to embracing Myoguide for EMG guidance:
Conveniently integrated into one handheld package

Helps identify involved muscles i.e. pre-injection physiopathological evaluation, or pre-intervention evaluation. (Either by EMG or stimulation location)

pre-injection evaluation in cases where the site may be surrounded by essential nerves and blood vessels

pre-injection evaluation can lead to reduced drug dose and volume, thereby reducing the incidence of drug resistance, and limiting drug diffusion into adjacent areas.

Provides confirmation of treatment effects

Press release: ESTABLISHED CANADIAN COMPANY INTRODUCES HANDHELD NEEDLE-EMG GUIDED INJECTION SYSTEM... (.pdf)

Product page: Intronix Model 8008 Myoguide System ...

ThumBlade Scalpel Safety System

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:34:10 -0800

Here's an interesting new take on improving the safety for scrub techs, nurses and surgeons. ThumBlade™ scalpel system from Precision Medical Devices Inc. (Marlboro, NJ) is a no contact, disposable safety sheath that covers blades, and allows activation of the scalpel with just one hand. So no more sharps and no more mosquito use to mount a blade.

Medgadget has obtained the following details about the device:

Featuring patent pending innovative thumb activation independent mechanisms, PMD’s ThumBlade™ safety scalpels enable one-handed activation smoothly and safely by right or left handed practitioners with no contact with the exposed blade. This activation affords an easy, natural opening motion while keeping the other fingers out of the way. The safety sheath is made from high quality ABS composite with a completely flat and smooth top, providing a stable platform for better control during the procedure. The extra sharp blades are stainless steel, pre-sterilized, and disposable after single use. The blade sheaths and packaging are color coded by size for easy counting and safe use. The stainless steel handles are pre-sterilized for first use and can be re-sterilized and re-used. These handles, available in both #3 and #4 fitments, are premium length and back-weighted for the grip and feel practitioners prefer.

Product page: ThumBlade™ safety scalpel system...

Laser-Assisted Nanosuturing Moving Through Clinical Trials

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:09:07 -0800

Clinical researchers at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital have been developing a photochemical suturing technique that has, so far, proved valuable in early clinical trials. First, a coating of Rose Bengal, a special FDA approved dye, is applied to the bonding surfaces to be sutured. Then a green KTP (Potassium-titanyl-phosphate) laser is used to activate the dye to fuse the edges together.

"One way to describe how laser-assisted nanosuturing works is to think of the difference between Velco fasteners on shoes and shoe laces," explains Irene Kochevar, chemist and co-inventor of the technology with Robert Redmond in the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Mass General. "With the laser, you attach the tissues using a huge number of nanosutures whereas traditional suturing leaves small gaps in the wound closure."
While Dr. Sandy Tsao , a dermatologist in the Laser Center at Mass General, is still testing this treatment in a clinical trial, those being studied have had far less inflammatory response than they do to traditional stitches, as there is no allergic reaction to a foreign body being introduced to the skin.

As well as reducing inflammation, photochemical tissue bonding may also reduce the chance of infection post surgery. Since there are no openings in the skin, access to pathogens that might otherwise make their way through is blocked.

Patients also experience a cosmetic perk with this new method of suturing. Those in the study had half of the wound closed using traditional suturing and the other half using the laser. In all patients, the laser-treated side looked better than the other. There are no worries of having cross-hatch marks from actual stitching; instead, patients are left with only a single line. Patients were observed over a six-month period, with the appearance of their wound closure documented at two weeks post surgery, three months and six months.

MGH press release: Laser sutures: Closing wounds with light...

Image credit: Wellcome images: Artist's conception of nanoparticles...

NUVADERM Liquid Bandage For Scratches, Burns, Bruises Gets 510(k)

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:03 -0800

Watch out Dermabond! The FDA has given approval to Chesson Labs out of Durham, NC for company's NUVADERM™ liquid bandage. The product, approved for marketing to healthcare professionals and directly to consumers, is either sprayed or brushed on to "to cover intact skin and minor cuts, scrapes, burns or irritations of the skin, to help keep them clean and dry and help protect them from infection." The non-toxic material keeps moisture and dirt from penetrating the applied film layer while allowing oxygen to reach the wound site.

Some technical details of the NUVADERM:

NUVADERM is a single component, poly(urea-urethane) liquid emulsion polymer that is composed of large, highly complex molecules that incorporate a broad range and distribution of hard and soft segments. The different segments are tied together with urea and urethane linkages that are formed during synthesis. NUVADERM is applied topically to form a non-toxic, hydrophobic, elastomeric coating that provides a barrier against moisture but that is permeable to oxygen. NUVADERM requires no initiator or catalyst and therefore no mixing steps. It remains liquid until released into the air and therefore is applied by spraying or with an applicator brush.

Press release: Chesson Labs Liquid Bandage Product NUVADERM® Receives FDA510(k) Market Clearance (.pdf)...

Product page: NUVADERM...

Technical Data Sheet (.pdf)...; Anti-Microbial Data (.PDF)...

Wooden Legs Have Come a Long Way

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:48:57 -0800

Wooden legs sure have come a long way since they were first used as artificial prostheses. In the latest issue of Journal of Materials Chemistry, there is a report on the recent developments at the Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics in Italy in which scientists have turned wood into something similar to bone, a material that may one day be used to create custom replacement parts.

Researchers heated the wood to decompose organic material to leave only the carbon template. Then, they reacted the template with calcium, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate that was then converted to hydroxyapatite. This hydroxyapatite scaffold mimics the structure of bone. The advantage of this process is the architectural make-up of the wood's structure that affords the ability of cells and blood vessels to grow through it, much like real bone.

'Current [hydroxyapatite] production processes do not generate an organised hierarchical structure,' says Anna Tampieri. 'Materials able to maintain adequate properties at extremely high temperatures and mechanical stress are highly sought after for use in several different applications, such as space vehicles. An intriguing possibility is that of simultaneously achieving high values of strength and toughness, for which ordinarily there is a trade-off. In addition, new materials with extreme physical properties, such as thermal expansion or piezoelectricity, can be obtained.'

Advanced Ceramics @ Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics...

DOD Helping to Get Skin Harvesting Kit to Market

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:32:21 -0800

As the Obama administration continues to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon is working on medical technology that can help soldiers recover and rehabilitate faster than ever before. Shrapnel wounds and burns caused by explosions often require grafting the damaged areas with regrown skin cells. To make this process easier and faster, Avita Medical out of Nedlands, Australia has created a kit called ReCell for harvesting autologous skin cells by clinicians even in the field. The Pentagon believes in effectiveness of this technology so much that a grant of $1.45 million has been provided to Avita by the United States Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) to speed up FDA approval.

ReCell is an innovative single-use medical device for harvesting autologous skin cells. Developed as an 'off the shelf' kit, ReCell enables a thin split thickness biopsy, taken at the time of procedure, to be processed into an immediate cell population for delivery onto the wound surface. Once processed, the cell suspension is available for immediate use and can cover a wound up to 80 times the area of the donor biopsy.
ReCell enables the delivery of keratinocytes, melanocytes, fibroblasts and Langerhans cells harvested from the epidermal-dermal junction for application onto a wound surface in order to promote effective wound healing. Melanocyte repopulation may result in the reintroduction of pigmentation into hypopigmented areas.

ReCell has been generally used to treat smaller wounds such as small burns and scalds, donor sites, glabrous injuries, mild to moderate scars, hypopigmentation (hypopigmented scars, iatrogenic hypopigmentation and Vitiligo) and prophylactically in cosmetic rejuvenation procedures.

As the ReCell device enables cell processing at the site of treatment without the use of specialised laboratory staff, the process is both cost and time efficient.

Advantages include:

Improved wound healing time and scar quality.

Repopulation of melanocytes to reduce hypopigmentation.

On-site processing for immediate application.

Increased viability through immediate harvest and application.

Ability to be processed by clinician not specialised laboratory staff.

Info page: ReCell

LiquiBand Optima Takes MDEA Award

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:04 -0800

Medlogic Global Ltd. out of Devon, UK has been awarded a prize in the 2009 Medical Design Excellence Awards, in the Critical-Care and Emergency Medicine Products category. The winning product is LiquiBand® Optima wound-closure adhesive, a superglue for the skin. The product features strong, fast adhesion with no pain and some antibacterial properties, for easier application and avoidance of scars.

From the product page:

LiquiBand® Optima contains the Octyl-Blend10TM cyanoacrylate monomer that combines the fast setting wound closure properties of butyl-cyanoacrylates with the more flexible wound dressing capabilities of octyl-cyanoacrylates. This new formulation has a number of advantages, not only for the patient, but also aids the clinician in treating patients wounds quickly and safely. LiquiBand® Optima is a pre-assembled device that can be used straight from the pack and has a unique winged actuator that provides an easy ‘click-and-use’ functionality. This new precision applicator design allows precise control, thus enabling the clinician to perform quicker, safer and more precise wound closure that helps achieve excellent cosmetic results.
Unlike some competitor products, LiquiBand® Optima is a NO-STING formulation making it ideal for use on younger patients and those who have fear of suture needles. The fast set time of LiquiBand® Optima of 10 seconds provides ease of use and safe cosmetic wound closure. In addition, the microbial barrier and waterproof properties of the polymerized Octyl-Blend10TM monomer helps to protect the wound against infection. The Octyl-Blend10TM formulation of LiquiBand® Optima allows the product to be stored at ambient temperature and does not require refrigerated storage (unlike some other marketed products).

Product page: LiquiBand® Optima ...

2009 MDEA Winners...

Press release: 32 Innovative Products Win Medical Design Excellence Awards...