Psychiatry
Magstim, a company Wales, UK firm that just won FDA clearance for a 3 minute magnetic stimulation protocol for major depression, is releasing a new navigation system for the Horizon transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) platform. The StimGuide was developed specifically for use by clinicians, as opposed to researchers, to help deliver consistent results when treating depression using the Horizon. Accurately targeting small volumes within the brain requires accurate positioning of the electromagnetic coils, which typically involves the use of MRI imaging prior to a procedure. The StimGuide works to make...
When we are at a party and talking to someone, our brain is able to identify a single speaker's voice and focus our hearing on it, helping us to listen more closely and ignore the other voices nearby. For the millions of people with hearing impairment who use hearing aids, they often lose this ability, and instead hear the entire party boosted up louder. This makes communicating with one individual in a crowd very challenging. To address this problem, researchers from Columbia University have developed a new hearing aid that...
Masimo won FDA clearance for its Radius PPG wireless pulse oximetry sensor. The device features Masimo's SET Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion technology that stays accurate as the patient moves around and about. The tetherless product allows patients to freely move about the clinic, going to the bathroom without having to disconnect from the monitor, and in the process saving time for nurses. The technology also helps to keep track of patients while they are on those journeys, which in themselves can provide interesting clinical information. Data from the Radius...
Impella CP with SmartAssist: A Newly FDA Approved Heart Pump with Optical Positioning Sensor
May 20th, 2019 by Medgadget Editors
Abiomed, the maker of popular left ventricular assist devices, is releasing its newly FDA approved Impella CP with SmartAssist device. The pump features an optical sensor that physicians can use to position and reposition the device without relying on a cath lab, X-ray, or ultrasound imaging. The sensor can be used either during initial implantation of the pump or while the patient is in the ICU, if necessary. The pump can deliver up to 4.3 liters of blood per minute, which is about 85% of a normal full cardiac cycle,...
Magstim FDA Cleared for 3 Minute Magnetic Stimulation Protocol for Major Depression
May 20th, 2019 by Medgadget Editors
The FDA has cleared Magstim, a company based in Wales, to introduce its intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) as a treatment for Major Depressive Disorder. The therapy is available on the company's Horizon transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) systems and only takes about three minutes per session. Previously, so-called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) using the Horizon would take up to 38 minutes to complete, and even accelerated TMS would require 19 minutes. This is certainly a major benefit to patients and providers, as patients don't have to put up with...
RhythmAnalytics Detects Cardiac Arrhythmias Using AI, Now FDA Cleared
May 20th, 2019 by Medgadget Editors
Biofourmis, a company with offices in Singapore and Boston, won FDA clearance for its RhythmAnalytics cloud-based software that uses artificial intelligence techniques to automate the interpretation of cardiac arrhythmias from ECG tracings. The system can detect more than fifteen different types of arrhytmias including using beat-by-beat morphology analysis to spot ventricular arrhythmias, ventricular ectopic beats, and all non-paced arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation (AFib). The system was trained by feeding it over a million single-lead ECG recordings, harvested from a variety of wearable monitoring devices. Deep-learning algorithms were used to identify...
Zebra Medical Vision, an Israeli firm, landed FDA clearance for the HealthPNX automated chest X-ray analysis software that can independently spot signs of pneumothorax (PNX), colloquially known as collapsed lung. The software can help radiologists quickly and confidently identify the cause of a patient's symptoms, allowing for emergency treatment to begin ASAP. Due to a gas buildup within the pleural space, there's a slight contrast gradient that appears on chest X-rays. This is hard to spot and requires a trained, keen eye. The HealthPNX system processes the digital X-ray image...
During epileptic seizures, the brain's excitatory neurons go haywire, generating extreme amounts of electric activity. There are already electronic devices available that help to prevent and mitigate seizures, but so far they're only effective in some patients while having all the downsides of a serious implantation. A team of European researchers from Sissa (International School for Advanced Studies) in Italy , and the Universities of Trieste, Manchester, and Strasbourg, have now shown that tiny flakes of graphene may be effective at halting seizures. Moreover, the same particles may end up...
Magnetic Beads Strip Blood Samples to Allow Circulating Tumor Cell Isolation
May 17th, 2019 by Conn Hastings
Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a microfluidic chip to isolate circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples. Unlike other devices, this new chip uses magnetic microbeads to strip all the cells from the blood, leaving only the CTCs, in a technique the researchers have called “integrated ferrohydrodynamic cell separation”. The device is highly efficient and isolates almost all the CTCs in a blood sample (over 99%). CTCs could allow clinicians to diagnose cancer. They also represent a mechanism underlying metastasis, and so are a therapeutic target in...
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a smartphone app that can detect ear infections. By holding the phone and a small paper cone close to the ear of a patient, a clinician can use the app to diagnose an infection. The app emits a sound through the phone’s speaker, and the microphone picks up the noise that is reflected back from inside the ear. By analyzing the reflected sound, the app can predict the likelihood that there is a buildup of fluid behind the eardrum, a sign of...
Stanford University scientists have developed a novel approach to halting the growth of cancer cells while preserving normal function in healthy cells. The research was published in journal Science, and though it was so far conducted only on groups of cancer cells outside a body, the findings are incredibly promising. The new approach focuses on manipulating signaling pathways within cellular membranes that are involved in the growth of cells. Receptor proteins within membranes of cancer cells are often mutated or expressed in higher than normal concentrations, resulting in them effectively...
Artificial Intelligence to Speed up Alzheimer's Disease Research
May 16th, 2019 by Siavash Parkhideh
Researchers from UC Davis and UC San Francisco have developed a new artificial intelligence tool to scale up Alzheimer’s research. They have created a deep learning system to identify amyloid plaques in brain slices of patients, spotting specific subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease, in the process enabling precision medicine and faster research. The team used a database of example images to train their machine learning algorithm to identify different types of brain changes seen in Alzheimer’s diseases. This includes discriminating between so-called cored and diffuse plaques, and identifying abnormalities in blood...
Medicine
Military-Specific Augmented Reality Patient Simulation: Interview with Dr. Kevin King, CEO of MedCognition
MedCognition, a Texas-based startup, has been awarded a contract to develop military-specific augmented reality patient simulations for the US army, in conjunction...
May 24th, 2019
Electronic Wristband With Flexible Batteries Helps Maintain Body Temperature
It has been well known that using localized cooling and heating can help people regulate their body temperature, reduce muscle fatigue during exercise, and generally...
May 24th, 2019
NightWare Gets FDA Breakthrough Status for App to Stop Nightmares of PTSD Sufferers
Nightmares are a regular part of life for many people that suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They can be very hard to control, since dreams seem to...
May 23rd, 2019
Cardiology
New Device Monitors Blood Flow Through Radial Artery to Prevent Occlusions Post PCI
Following transradial percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), the radial artery can occasionally occlude, potentially resulting in serious complications. Radial...
May 24th, 2019
Philips Unveils IntraSight Multi-Modality Imaging Platform
For years, catheter-based minimally invasive procedures have depended on X-ray imaging to guide physicians toward the treatment site. New tools, including...
May 22nd, 2019
Masimo Radius PPG Wireless Oximeter FDA Cleared
Masimo won FDA clearance for its Radius PPG wireless pulse oximetry sensor. The device features Masimo's SET Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion technology that...
May 21st, 2019
Surgery
LifeFlow Next Gen for Sepsis and Shock Makes Infusions Easier and Safer
410 Medical, a Durham, North Carolina firm, is releasing a new version of its LifeFlow rapid infuser for treating patients during sepsis or shock. The LifeFlow Next...
May 21st, 2019
Haemonetics TEG 6s Hemostasis Analyzer Cleared for Trauma Testing
Haemonetics won FDA clearance for its TEG 6s Hemostasis Analyzer System to be used in adult trauma settings to evaluate the viscoelasticity of patients'...
May 16th, 2019
Prevena Negative Pressure System FDA Approved for Superficial Surgical Site Infections
KCI, now a part of the Acelity Company, has announced that its PREVENA negative pressure incision management system is the first to receive FDA's indication to help...
May 16th, 2019
Emergency Medicine
Military-Specific Augmented Reality Patient Simulation: Interview with Dr. Kevin King, CEO of MedCognition
MedCognition, a Texas-based startup, has been awarded a contract to develop military-specific augmented reality patient simulations for the US army, in conjunction...
May 24th, 2019
LifeFlow Next Gen for Sepsis and Shock Makes Infusions Easier and Safer
410 Medical, a Durham, North Carolina firm, is releasing a new version of its LifeFlow rapid infuser for treating patients during sepsis or shock. The LifeFlow Next...
May 21st, 2019
Masimo Radius PPG Wireless Oximeter FDA Cleared
Masimo won FDA clearance for its Radius PPG wireless pulse oximetry sensor. The device features Masimo's SET Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion technology that...
May 21st, 2019
Radiology
New Device Monitors Blood Flow Through Radial Artery to Prevent Occlusions Post PCI
Following transradial percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), the radial artery can occasionally occlude, potentially resulting in serious complications. Radial...
May 24th, 2019
ControlRad Trace Add-On for C-arms Reduces Radiation Exposure
ControlRad, a company based outside of Atlanta, Georgia, won FDA clearance for its ControlRad Trace radiation reduction solution. Designed for integration with C-arms,...
May 23rd, 2019
Philips Unveils IntraSight Multi-Modality Imaging Platform
For years, catheter-based minimally invasive procedures have depended on X-ray imaging to guide physicians toward the treatment site. New tools, including...
May 22nd, 2019
Anesthesiology
LifeFlow Next Gen for Sepsis and Shock Makes Infusions Easier and Safer
410 Medical, a Durham, North Carolina firm, is releasing a new version of its LifeFlow rapid infuser for treating patients during sepsis or shock. The LifeFlow Next...
May 21st, 2019
Masimo Radius PPG Wireless Oximeter FDA Cleared
Masimo won FDA clearance for its Radius PPG wireless pulse oximetry sensor. The device features Masimo's SET Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion technology that...
May 21st, 2019
Automated Machine for Pumping Bag Valve Masks
Bag valve masks help paramedics, anesthesiologists, and others to oxygenate the lungs, but being manual devices the operator oftentimes has to do additional tasks, such...
May 2nd, 2019
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