Materials
Researchers at the New York Stem Cell Foundation have developed a technique to produce bioengineered bone grafts for large bone defects, which are currently difficult to treat using conventional techniques. To deal with bone defects, clinicians currently use either synthetic materials or bone grafts from the patient or a donor. However, these grafts can trigger an immune response, and do not always integrate with the surrounding bone. “Bone defects obtained in disease or injury are a growing issue, and having effective treatment options in place for personalized relief, no matter...
Antibiotics suffer from eventual resistance by the bacteria and the fact that they can be quite indiscriminate in who they attack, including the gut's healthy microbiome. But, there are also bacteriophages, which are viruses that can kill specific bacteria without harming any other bacteria. The problems with bacteriophages, though, is that they're hard to produce in large quantities and difficult to deliver, particularly into the lungs. Researchers at Georgia Tech are now reporting that they developed special microparticles packed with bacteriophages that can be inhaled to fight bacterial lung infections....
Some procedures in which a needle is inserted deep into the body, such as epidurals, require the physician to have a steady hand and to know what to feel for. This is not easy to train for, as one needs real patients to really train on properly. Engineers at Penn State have now developed a simulator that can be used to train how to perform epidurals and other complex needle insertions. The device is able to change the amount of pressure that is required to push it as the needle...
New Device Captures Circulating Tumor Cells Directly Within Blood Vessels
July 18th, 2018 by Editors
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are present in the blood of people suffering from most cancers, but because of their rarity their presence is very difficult to spot. A number of technologies have been developed in the past to capture and count CTCs (see flashbacks below), but they tend to still have a number of limitations. The main problem is that because CTCs are so rare, a very large amount of blood is required to have a chance of finding enough of the cells to point toward a diagnosis. Scientists at Stanford University...
Jabra Elite Active 65t Review: Amazing Sound and Fit, with Minimal Fitness Tracking
July 17th, 2018 by Ben Ouyang
The new Jabra Elite Active 65t are probably the best wireless earbuds out there right now. We had a chance to give them a try, and they proved to be a great addition to workouts, delivering high quality sound and sweat resistance. They’re the Apple AirPods that you really want. Fitness features The Elite Active 65t are the sport-compatible version of the Elite 65t series, having added coatings and sealings that make them useable in any situation. The Elite Active 65t are IP56 rated, which means they’re protected from dust...
DiLumen Stabilizes Scopes Within Large Intestine to Help Avoid Surgeries: Now Approved in Europe
July 17th, 2018 by Editors
Lumendi, a company based in Buckinghamshire, England, won European regulatory approval for its DiLumen Endolumenal Interventional Platform (EIP). The one-time-use device fits over typical endoscopes to provide stability when visualizing, diagnosing, and treating conditions within the large intestine. It works by inflating two balloons that squeeze against the lumen of the large intestine. One of the balloons is positioned ahead of the distal tip of the endoscope, while the other is located behind the tip. The two are attached to each other via two metal rods, but the endoscope's tip is...
When it comes to anti-cancer drugs, it's not only their effectiveness at killing the intended target that we want to know, but also their ability to reach and penetrate the cancer cells. Knowing whether the drug actually enters cancer cells can be as important as whether it's effective once inside. Now researchers at Francis Crick Institute and Imperial College London, both in the UK, have developed a technique that lets them measure a drug's penetration into cells in situ. This is important, as laboratory studies on small groups of cells may...
Glaukos iStent Inject Implant FDA Approved to Treat Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma
July 17th, 2018 by Editors
Glaukos, based in San Clemente, California, won FDA approval to introduce its iStent inject Trabecular Micro-Bypass System in the United States. The device, designed to treat mild to moderate primary open-angle glaucoma, is implanted alongside cataract surgeries to reduce intraocular pressure. The implant is tiny, measuring only 0.23 mm x 0.36 mm, and Glaukos believes it is the smallest device ever approved by the FDA. It's positioned to allow for fluid to move through the trabecular meshwork, producing flow in both direction within the Schlemm's canal. Some details about the study that led to the...
The humble fax machine has been a regular fixture within healthcare offices for as long as most of us care to remember. Even in 2018, with so much modern technology at our disposal, fax machines continue to dominate an otherwise rapidly evolving technological industry. One study suggests fax accounts for a substantial 75%[1] of all medical communication today. There are reasons behind this, of course. A 2017 report by IDC found that many businesses continue to use fax, not because they enjoy it, but because they’re left with little other...
Orthopedic Surgeons are Training in Virtual Reality : Interview with J&J's David Badri
July 16th, 2018 by Editors
The Johnson & Johnson Institute has recently launched a virtual reality training program designed to prepare orthopedic surgeons and nurses for a couple common procedures. The program will expand to other surgeries, but for now it's focusing on total knee replacement with direct anterior approach and hip fracture treatment with a proximal femoral nail. The hope is that using virtual reality to learn and practice surgical techniques will help improve clinical outcomes for patients. We spoke with David Badri, Virtual Reality and WW Professional Education at Johnson & Johnson, about the...
Alzheimer's disease seems to develop over many years, if not decades, before symptoms begin to show up. In order to better understand its development, researchers have been looking for new ways to track the formation of amyloid plaques within the brain, which are the best known biomarkers of Alzheimer's. Researchers at Purdue University recently developed a so-called super-resolution "nanoscope" that can show molecular-level details of the composition of tissues and recently they optimized the technology to look deep into the brain. Using the new method, researchers at Indiana University were able...
Stryker's Blood Flow Diverting Stent for Large and Giant Brain Aneurysms Approved in U.S.
July 16th, 2018 by Editors
Stryker won FDA pre-market approval for its Surpass Streamline Flow Diverter, a device indicated for treatment of large and even giant unruptured intracranial aneurysms. This is only the second flow diverting stent to be approved in the U.S., the first being from Medtronic. "Surpass Streamline is the first flow diverter indicated for large and giant posterior communicating artery aneurysms. These unruptured aneurysms are more challenging due to their location and surrounding anatomy. Having Surpass approved for this and other locations is an important advantage for physicians and patients," in a published...
Medicine
Microparticles Carrying Bacteria-Killing Viruses Halt Deadly Pneumonia
Antibiotics suffer from eventual resistance by the bacteria and the fact that they can be quite indiscriminate in who they attack, including the gut's healthy...
July 18th, 2018
Improving Medication Compliance with Smart Pill Bottles: Interview with AdhereTech CEO Josh Stein
Compliance with medications is considered one of the best ways for patients to stay on track in managing their health. However, driving adherence is a complex problem...
July 13th, 2018
Noble Announces Launch of AdhereIT Platform for Real-Time, Error-Correcting Self-Injection
Earlier this year, Medgadget spoke with Noble International about the company's self-injection trainers designed to mimic the patient experience with prefilled...
July 13th, 2018
Cardiology
Medtronic's HVAD Heart Pump FDA Approved for Less Invasive Implantation
Medtronic's HVAD System, a left ventricular assist device, can now be implanted via a thoracotomy, a less invasive procedure than a median sternotomy. Moreover, a...
July 12th, 2018
Healcerion 300L Wireless Portable Ultrasound Now Available in U.S.
Healcerion, the South Korean firm that introduced truly wireless ultrasound probes that work with smartphones and tablets, is releasing its SONON 300L ultrasound in...
July 11th, 2018
TEECAD Camera Gives Vision to TEE Probes
A young medtech company called Visura Technologies, based outside of Chicago, won FDA clearance for its TEE Camera Assist Device, TEECAD for short. The device is...
July 10th, 2018
Surgery
DiLumen Stabilizes Scopes Within Large Intestine to Help Avoid Surgeries: Now Approved in Europe
Lumendi, a company based in Buckinghamshire, England, won European regulatory approval for its DiLumen Endolumenal Interventional Platform (EIP). The one-time-use...
July 17th, 2018
Healcerion 300L Wireless Portable Ultrasound Now Available in U.S.
Healcerion, the South Korean firm that introduced truly wireless ultrasound probes that work with smartphones and tablets, is releasing its SONON 300L ultrasound in...
July 11th, 2018
Latest Air-Powered Robot for Breast Biopsies Inside MRI Unveiled (Video)
Most breast biopsies are currently performed using ultrasound and handheld needles, guided by previously taken radiological images. The problem is that humans...
July 10th, 2018
Emergency Medicine
EchoNous Vein Portable Ultrasound for Peripheral IV Placements
EchoNous, a Seattle-based firm, landed FDA clearance for its EchoNous Vein ultrasound for peripheral IV catheter delivery. It can visualize veins up to five...
July 12th, 2018
Healcerion 300L Wireless Portable Ultrasound Now Available in U.S.
Healcerion, the South Korean firm that introduced truly wireless ultrasound probes that work with smartphones and tablets, is releasing its SONON 300L ultrasound in...
July 11th, 2018
The World's First Wireless, App-Based Ultrasound: Interview with Dr. Ryu, CEO of Healcerion
Healcerion, based in South Korea, was the first company to receive FDA clearance for a wireless, app-based ultrasound system back in 2015. The groundbreaking work...
June 29th, 2018
Radiology
Stryker's Blood Flow Diverting Stent for Large and Giant Brain Aneurysms Approved in U.S.
Stryker won FDA pre-market approval for its Surpass Streamline Flow Diverter, a device indicated for treatment of large and even giant unruptured intracranial...
July 16th, 2018
Spectral X-Ray Scanner Gives Detailed New View Inside The Body
An amazing new X-ray scanner has been tried for the first time on a human, producing 3D color images with incredible detail. The spectral (multi-energy) scanner was...
July 12th, 2018
EchoNous Vein Portable Ultrasound for Peripheral IV Placements
EchoNous, a Seattle-based firm, landed FDA clearance for its EchoNous Vein ultrasound for peripheral IV catheter delivery. It can visualize veins up to five...
July 12th, 2018
Anesthesiology
Syringe Simulator Replicates Feeling of Needle Insertion
Some procedures in which a needle is inserted deep into the body, such as epidurals, require the physician to have a steady hand and to know what to feel for. This...
July 18th, 2018
EchoNous Vein Portable Ultrasound for Peripheral IV Placements
EchoNous, a Seattle-based firm, landed FDA clearance for its EchoNous Vein ultrasound for peripheral IV catheter delivery. It can visualize veins up to five...
July 12th, 2018
Healcerion 300L Wireless Portable Ultrasound Now Available in U.S.
Healcerion, the South Korean firm that introduced truly wireless ultrasound probes that work with smartphones and tablets, is releasing its SONON 300L ultrasound in...
July 11th, 2018
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