Technology
BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans-illuminator Shows Off Veins When The Lights Are Out
Let’s just say that you’re a medic out there “in the field” in the middle of the night, with bad guys all over the surrounding hill tops, and they just shot one of your buddies. You managed to move the injured soldier to a safer location, and are attempting to setup an IV, but you certainly don’t want to turn on the flashlight with enemy snipers scanning every inch of the landscape.
That’s where the BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans-illuminator may be of help, as it shines infrared light through the body part where you’re trying to set the IV, illuminating the internal anatomy for your night vision goggles to see as bright as day.
Optical Detection of Electric Signals May Herald Next Generation MRI Machines
Researchers from Joint Quantum Institute (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland, College Park), the Neils Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Harvard University have described a theoretical system that may allow the detection of very small electrical signals by utilizing laser light.
The technology framework uses a nano scale mechanical membrane that vibrates in response to an electrical signal, with the frequency proportional to the signal strength. Shining a laser onto the membrane will let you measure the vibration frequency, identifying the nature of the original signal. Because these sensors can be very small and remain cool, it may be possible to reduce the size, energy requirements, and improve all sorts of characteristics of MRI machines when their superconducting magnets are no longer necessary.
Bovie J-Plasma Handpiece Greenlighted in U.S.
Bovie Medical received FDA clearance for its J-Plasma handpiece with retractable cutting feature for coagulating soft tissue during surgeries. It is available for both open and laparoscopic procedures.
The device is powered by a previously approved Bovie GS electrosurgical generator.
Modern Comedy: Dean Kamen on FDA Roadblocking Approval of Prosthetic Arm for Amputee Vets
At last year’s TEDMED, Dean Kamen certainly raised serious questions and ruffled a few feathers when he spoke of the difficulty of getting devices approved by the FDA. His talk is finally available online and it’s certainly a must see.
Medgadget Q&A About VISIUS Surgical Theatre With Intra-Operative Imaging
Intra-operative imaging has been helping surgeons work on patients with greater confidence and increased precision.
We had a chance to ask Amy Boyle, Executive Vice President, Marketing at IMRIS, about the benefits of intra-operative imaging, and specifically about the company’s VISIUS Surgical Theatre that comes with either CT or MRI scanner that can quickly slide in and out of the OR to image the patient on the table as needed.
World’s First Titanium Mandible Created, 205 More Bones Needed for a Complete Terminator
A multidisciplinary team of engineers and clinicians led by The Functional Morphology Research Group at the University of Hasselt BIOMED Research Institute has created what they believe to be the very first complete 3D-printed lower jaw. The implant was manufactured by Layerwise NV, a company based in Leuven, Belgium that specializes in additive manufacturing.
Following an MRI scan of the patient’s own diseased mandible, the new mandible was created using laser printing of titanium powder to create a custom 3D implant. The implant is a little heavier than a natural lower jaw weighing in at approximately 107 grams. It was printed in a matter of hours before being sprayed with an artificial bone coating and finally being polished.
New Plate From Suspension Orthopaedics Adds New Twist To Fixing Distal Clavicle Fractures
Suspension Orthopaedics just announced that their hybrid fixation plate for distal clavicle fractures has received FDA approval. Distal clavicle fractures are extremely difficult to fix surgically. Currently two methods are frequently used to approach this challenging problem. One method is to use a plate with screws to secure the fracture. However, this can be very difficult because there is usually very little to no bone to secure a plate to. Frequently a special hook plate must be used to achieve adequate fixation. Another method is to reconstruct the coracoclavicular ligaments, which are ligaments connecting the coracoid, a part of the scapula, to the clavicle. By reconstructing these ligaments the displaced clavicle is often brought into the appropriate position so the fracture can heal.
In order to better address these complicated fractures, Suspension Othopaedics has designed a unique plating system that creates a hybrid of these two approaches. Their device allows for both fixation to the coracoid while also having the mechanical strength of plate fixation. Hopefully with these two methods joining forces we will begin to see better outcomes for these very difficult to treat fractures.
TeDan Surgical Innovations Launches Phantom Series MIS Anterior Hip Retractor System
TeDan Surgical Innovations has launched the Phantom Series MIS Anterior Hip Retractor System, a hip retractor that enables surgeons to perform entire anterior approach hip replacements without a fracture table or a surgical assistant.
The anterior approach for hip replacements is gaining popularity because it minimizes muscle damage, expediting patient recovery time and reduces post-operative discomfort. The Phantom MIS obviates the need for a fracture table and additional surgical assistants for this procedure as is usually necessary. It utilizes a system of adjustable surgical arms with attachable retractors that were designed for increased visibility and help decrease wound size and minimize tissue trauma.
Operating Rooms on Wheels Help Hospitals Renovate, Offer Emergency Relief When Needed
What does a hospital do when it needs to conduct major renovations while continuing to be able to conduct surgeries? Turns out one company makes mobile surgery trucks that offer a complete surgical theater and can be setup in an hour by just a couple of people.
The Miami VA Medical Center is actually using five of these Mobile Surgical Units from MMIC (Mobile Medical International Corporation) to continue operating on patients without missing a beat. Of course, these are also useful in disaster relief and for military operations.
Medgadget Exclusive: Interview about the Healthbots
We are only two months into 2012 and it’s clear that the Quantified Self movement is increasingly gaining traction. More devices are emerging to help people quantify everything from anxiety to weight, and blood glucose to sleep patterns. But what about people who cannot use the devices or are not ambulatory themselves?
A team led by Professor Bruce MacDonald at the University of Auckland in New Zealand has been working to create a corp of medical robots – Healthbots – to help these people. Medgadget had the opportunity to interview Professor MacDonald about the Healthbots, what they do, and when we can expect to see them available to help those in need.
Squid Fitness Shirt Helps You Lift More To Get You In Shape
Wearable fitness products are all the rage these days, but most of the ones on the market only track heart rate and location, and sometimes temperature and orientation. Students from Northeastern University in Boston have developed Squid, a sensor-laden compression shirt, smartphone app, and internet portal that measures and records muscle activity. The shirt contains four EMG sensors (the “tentacles”) that track muscle activity, essentially recording the number of repetitions of a resistance exercise. It also monitors heart rate activity so you can get a complete overview of your weight lifting sessions. All the data syncs with a companion smartphone app that in turn syncs to Squid’s internet portal. It’ll keep track of your workout history, but you’ll probably want to keep your workout partner to motivate you to do that one last rep.
Here’s a video about the Squid:
Interview with QuantiaMD, the Largest Online Network of Physicians
Given all of the recent media buzz surrounding Facebook – the Emperor of all Social Networks – we at Medgadget wanted to reflect some of that light onto the social networks that are most influencing medicine today. One such network is QuantiaMD, whose membership exceeds 150,000 physicians, according to the company, or one in five in the US!
We have previously covered two apps developed by the company: DiabetesIQ and Pri-Med. This editor first met up with QuantiaMD’s CEO, Eric Schultz, and Chief Communications Officer, Mary Modahl, at the mHealth Summit and just touched base again to produce the interview below.
Biomask Improves Facial Burn Treatment Results For Soldiers
It’s estimated that 85 percent of injuries to our armed forces in the field cause damage to the extremities or the face. Innovations in regenerative medicine are moving along at an amazing pace, but the common current facial burns treatment typically involves removing damaged areas, followed by skin grafting, which usually leads to disfigurement and the possibility of speech impediments and scarring.
A new project called Biomask, a collaboration between engineers at the University of Texas, Arlington, Northwestern University regenerative medicine specialists, leaders in burn treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center and consultants Army Institute of Surgical Research, seeks to improve burn treatment outcomes with the latest in medical electronics and regenerative medicine.
Two Cornell Engineers Combine Forces to Design Low-Cost, Portable Pathogen Detector
Dan Luo, a Cornell University professor of biological and environmental engineering, and Edwin Kan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, have collaborated on a handheld pathogen detector that could someday give health care workers in the developing world speedy results in the field when identifying such pathogens as tuberculosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV. The work is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Grand Challenge program to develop “point-of-care diagnostics” for developing countries.
Luo has devised a novel method of detecting harmful pathogens by essentially “amplifying” pathogen DNA. With just a single strand of pathogen DNA, special double Y shaped DNA strands can be formed that will quickly polymerize and create clumps that are easily detectable. Kan has developed the detector part of the system, which measures the mass and charge of the polymerized Y-DNA. The chip is based on the popular and inexpensive CMOS technology found commonly in electronic devices, which gives the device the ability to be easily integrated into a cellphone or small computer.
Nanodiamond-Toughened Orthopedic Implants Show Promise in Study
Metal-on-metal implants have been making headlines in publications such as The New York Times as a result of adverse events associated with them, which include bone and tissue damage. The debris produced by the implants is frequently linked to such problems.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are working to limit such wear by investigating the use of nanodiamond coatings on metal implants. In an early study published in the journal Acta Biomaterialia, the researchers found that the “[n]anostructured diamond coatings improve smoothness and wear characteristics of the metallic component of total hip replacements and increase their longevity.”
Corning Shows Us a Future Made of Glass
Corning lately may be best known for their ultra-durable Gorilla Glass found on Apple products as well as other smartphones and computers, but it also has a historic and revered research and development arm that was responsible for the glass found in innovations that include the original Edison lightbulb and the first liquid crystal displays. Corning is also dedicated to supporting the life sciences industry: PYREX, for example, is a common glass found in today’s laboratories.
The 104-year old R&D research arm recently released a video of its glass-filled vision for the next 104 years. Some of the concepts presented are already in development, but one intriguing section in the middle of the video visualizes the use of Corning glass in the medical lab. We’ll start you off at the 3:07 mark and you’ll see glass used in futuristic, transparent medical terminals and tablets. You’ll also see glass (which is antimicrobial) used in a holographic examination table integrated with a cool-looking MRI scanner.
U.S. Army’s New Standard Issue Individual First Aid Kit
The U.S. Army has been trying to improve first aid medical response of soldiers in the field, and has developed the latest Individual First Aid Kit, or IFAK, to meet the unique needs that presented themselves in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the IFAK is bulky and gets in the way of other equipment, so developers at Natick Soldier Systems Center have completely redesigned the pack to store it in the small of the back while making it easily accessible from either side by the soldier injured or another trying to help him.
Check-Cap X-ray Radar Pill Sliding Toward Commercial Introduction
GE has announced investing into an Israeli company called Check-Cap that’s developing swallowable endoscopic capsules for imaging the insides of the GI tract. Check-Cap seems to be a direct competitor of the better known Given Imaging, also an Israeli firm, that’s been producing its own PillCams for visualizing everything from the esophagus to the small intestine and beyond.
While PillCams use light in the visible spectrum and a traditional image sensor, the Check-Cap delivers low energy X-rays that provide a much different look at the internal anatomy. Because X-rays penetrate through soft material, food intake shouldn’t be a problem for the device, and all the typical preparation for a GI tract analysis may not have to apply.
Heart Stop Beating, a Film by Jeremiah Zagar
Drs. Billy Cohn and Bud Frazier at the Texas Heart Institute were faced with a patient last March who’s heart was about to succumb to the point that even a left ventricular assist device wouldn’t be sufficient to keep him alive. Described as a story of “two visionary doctors from the Texas Heart Institute who in March of 2011 successfully replaced a dying man’s heart with a ‘continuous flow’ rotor-driven device of their own design, proving that life was possible without a pulse or a heartbeat,” the film was directed by Jeremiah Zagar, whose feature-length documentary “In A Dream” was nominated for two Emmy’s in 2010.
Next Generation LipiFlow for Evaporative Dry Eye Cleared in U.S.
TearScience of Morrisville, NC received FDA clearance for the new version of the LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System for evaporative dry eye. The condition leaves patients with too few tears, making the remaining ones feel too salty. The system heats and massages the eyelids, helping unblock the flow of lipids from the meibomian glands found under the eyelids.
The new generation of LipiFlow provides the ability to two treat both eyes simultaneously, cutting treatment time in half, to about 12 minutes. It also sports a new interface that displays treatment temperature, pressure sequence and treatment time remaining, while recording all the data for easy sharing with the clinic’s electronic medical record system.
