New Drug Clears Atopic Dermatitis in Clinical Trials

Posted on November 12, 2016 by

Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as atopic eczema, is a type of inflammation of the skin (dermatitis). It results in itchy, red, swollen, and cracked skin. Clear fluid may come from the affected areas, which often thicken over time. The condition typically starts in childhood with changing severity over the years.In children under one year of age much of the body may be affected. As people get older, the back of the knees and front of the elbows are the most common areas affected. In adults th...

Wireless Brain and Spine Implant allows primates with spinal cord injurie to walk

Posted on November 11, 2016 by

The research is a step toward the development of a system that might help in rehabilitating people who have suffered spinal cord injuries. An international team of scientists has used a wireless “brain-spinal interface” to bypass spinal cord injuries in a pair of rhesus macaques, restoring intentional walking movement to a temporarily paralyzed leg. The researchers, who describe their work in the journal Nature, say this is the first time a neural prosthetic has been used to restore walking m...

Green City Solutions has engineered a street installation that uses biotech moss to combat pollution in urban cities

Posted on November 10, 2016November 10, 2016 by

University of Dresden is supporting the City Tree developers Victor Splittberger and Peter Sänger by using a special programme to research how pollution could be most effectively filtered from the air. The programme can be employed to numerous locations worldwide. The CityTree structure is an amalgamation of sorts: a green, free-standing contraption that’s seemingly part tree sculpture, part park bench and part skate ramp. Its verdant wall stands about 13 feet high, and its square face st...

Vacuum-Operated Auto Retractable Safety Syringe that retract the used needle into the barrel of the syringe

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

Vacuum-Operated Auto Retractable Safety Syringe - 2010 Award Winner The purpose of this safety syringe is to prevent needle stick injuries. The Vacuumed Auto Retractable Safety Syringe is a patented disposable syringe that is designed for one-handed operation and incorporates vacuum-operated automatic retractable technology. It is the ONLY Syringe that uses vacuum force (instead of spring) to retract the used needle into the barrel of the syringe after an injection is administered. Th...

Northwestern Longitudinal Study Links Air Pollution With Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

An increased concentration of air pollution within metropolitan areas is associated with progression in coronary calcification and with acceleration of atherosclerosis, according to a study published in The Lancet. In the prospective, 10-year cohort study, Northwestern Medicine scientists and collaborators at other institutions repeatedly measured coronary artery calcium by CT scan in 6,795 participants aged 45 to 84 years, who were enrolled in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Ai...

PIEZO1 Sensor for blood flow discovered in blood vessels

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

Physical forces like blood pressure and the shear stress of flowing blood are important parameters for the tension of blood vessels. Scientists have been looking for a measurement sensor for many years that enables the translation of mechanical stimuli into a molecular response, which then regulates the tension in blood vessels. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now discovered just such a sensor in the inner layer of the blood vessel wall: t...

BioTrace Medical has received FDA clearance for Tempo cardiac pacing lead

Posted on November 8, 2016 by

BioTrace Medical, Inc. today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for the company’s Tempo® Lead, an innovative temporary pacing lead designed for use in procedures in which temporary pacing is indicated, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and electrophysiology (EP) procedures. BioTrace Medical’s Tempo® Lead incorporates innovations designed for secure and stable cardiac pacing with the goal of reducing complications and allowing patients to a...

Cardiocity limited has developed ‘RhythmPad’ that screens hypertension through simple hand placement.

Posted on November 7, 2016 by

Lancaster (UK) based Cardiocity Limited have developed their second variant of the RhythmPad product range to successfully screen from Hypertension through simple hand placement. The RhythmPadGP is a simple USB connected lead1 and 6 lead screening tool. In under 30 seconds the subject’s lead1 and 6 lead ECG may be obtained and analysed giving instant outputs ranging from Sinus Rhythm to Atrial Fibrillation through to Right Bundle Branch Block. The RhythmPadGP makes screening for cardia...

Fraunhofer researchers are developing 3D printed bespoke insoles for diabetes patients

Posted on November 6, 2016 by

The importance of foot comfort cannot be overstated, especially for those suffering from conditions such as diabetes. That is, while ordinary discomfort in shoes can be frustrating to anyone, it can actually be dangerous for those with diabetes, as atrophied nerve endings in the foot caused by the disease can dull or eliminate the sensation of pain, which can in turn result in serious foot injuries or wounds. Custom padded insoles have been an important part in curbing this problem, though un...

TransEnterix Completes Successful Pre-Clinical Robotic Surgical Procedures

Posted on November 6, 2016 by

TransEnterix Completes Successful Pre-Clinical Robotic Surgical Procedures; Management Affirms FDA Timeline A medical device company that is pioneering the use of robotics and flexible instruments to improve minimally invasive surgery, today announced the successful completion of four general surgery and urology procedures using its SurgiBot system patient-side robotic surgery system. Management also stated that the preparation of its FDA 510(k) filing is proceeding as planned, and affi...

University of California San Diego Engineers Have Developed New Magnetic Ink to Print Self-Healing Devices That Heal in Record Time

Posted on November 3, 2016 by

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a magnetic ink that can be used to make self-healing batteries, electrochemical sensors and wearable, textile-based electrical circuits. The key ingredient for the ink is microparticles oriented in a certain configuration by a magnetic field. Because of the way they’re oriented, particles on both sides of a tear are magnetically attracted to one another, causing a device printed with the ink to heal itself. The device...

Kent University research suggests, transcranial direct current stimulation improves isometric time to exhaustion of the knee extensors

Posted on November 2, 2016 by

Research led by the University shows that stimulation of the brain impacts on endurance exercise performance by decreasing perception of effort. Researchers led by Dr Lex Mauger from Kent’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences found that tDCS delayed exhaustion of the leg muscles by an average of 15% during an exercise task, and that this was likely caused by the participants feeling less effort during the exercise. However, tDCS elicited no significant effect on the neuromuscular response t...

Iron-munching microbe discovered

Posted on November 1, 2016 by

Newly discovered archaebacteria converts methane into carbon dioxide with the help of iron A microbe that ‘eats’ both methane and iron: microbiologists have long suspected its existence, but were not able to find it - until now. Researchers at Radboud University and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen discovered a microorganism that couples the reduction of iron to methane oxidation, and could thus be relevant in controlling greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. ...

Nanofiber Coating Prevents Infections in Artificial Joints

Posted on November 1, 2016 by

In a proof-of-concept study with mice, scientists at The Johns Hopkins University show that a novel coating they made with antibiotic-releasing nanofibers has the potential to better prevent at least some serious bacterial infections related to total joint replacement surgery. A report on the study, published online the week of Oct. 24 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted on the rodents’ knee joints, but, the researchers say, the technology would have “broad appli...

New Tools for Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

As the focus on hospital-acquired infections intensifies, some medical device manufacturers are considering deep UV light emitting diodes for smaller, portable disinfection devices. Here's how the technology can be used in medical device design. Mark Pizzuto According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) one in every 25 hospital patients in the United States will contract a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) during their visit. Often expensive and sometime...

Reducing Stroke Risk – St. Jude Medical’s Amplatzer PFO Occluder for patent foramen ovale (PFO) has received FDA approval.

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

St. Jude Medical's Amplatzer PFO Occluder for patent foramen ovale (PFO) has received FDA approval, the company announced on October 28. The device, made of two nitinol mesh disks with thin polyester fabric, can now be used in the United States to close the PFO—a congenital hole in the tissue between the heart's left and right atria—in patients who have suffered an ischemic stroke, in order to reduce risk of recurrent stroke. Although PFO is relatively common, observed in about a quarter of a...

‘Thromboelastography’ method of testing visco-elastic properties of whole blood clot formation under low shear stress

Posted on October 29, 2016 by

Thromboelastography (TEG) is a method of testing the efficiency of blood coagulation. It is a test mainly used in surgery and anesthesiology. Thromboelastography is a viscoelastic hemostatic assay that measures the global visco-elastic properties of whole blood clot formation under low shear stress. it shows the interaction of platelets with the coagulation cascade (aggregation, clot strengthening, fibrin cross linking and fibrinolysis). https://youtu.be/SjH05uGSGv0 EG® measures the ph...

University of Alabama research have found vaccination of newborn mice with bacteria suppresses asthma as adults

Posted on October 29, 2016 by

The hygiene hypothesis proposes that a 20th century surge in allergies and asthma is because people are living in increasingly hygienic environments. Rather than the rural farm life of the agricultural 19th century, families live in urban and suburban communities, have fewer children who can exchange infections, bathe and wash their hands more frequently, and use antibiotics excessively. This all means reduced infant exposure to microbes that would have tempered excessive immune reactions, such ...

FDA approves Merck’s Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) Checkpoint Inhibitor

Posted on October 26, 2016 by

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA, Merck & Co., Inc.) for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test. This is the first FDA approval of a checkpoint inhibitor for first-line treatment of lung cancer. This approval also expands the indication in second-line treatment of lung cancer to include all patients with PD-L1-expressing NSCLC. The FDA approval ad...

FDA Cleared – Colorado Therapeutics Xenograft Dry for Immediate Implantation

Posted on October 26, 2016 by

Colorado Therapeutics LLC, a privately held medical device company with a proprietary technology platform for the production of innovative cross-linked tissue products, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for a novel xenogenic biologic tissue matrix. The Colorado Therapeutics xenograft implant is intended to be used for implantation to reinforce soft tissue where weakness exists and for the surgical repair of damaged or rupt...

Brown University – Machine learning technique helps identify cancer cell types

Posted on October 25, 2016 by

Identifying whether a potential drug is having an effect on cancer cells is not always obvious. If enough cells change their morphology, it’s fairly easy to see the change under a microscope. Spotting individual cells that are unique among millions of others is what researchers at Brown University have been working on. They developed a high speed vision system that outlines cells that just went through an epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Within tumors such cells lead to greater malignanc...

Electronic nose helping tell if meat, poultry or fish in their fridge has gone bad

Posted on October 25, 2016 by

Food Safety has become one of the major priorities of the EU, with impact in public health and economy. The seriousness with which the Food Safety issue is addressed in Europe is reflected in the stringent national legislations and EU directives that have been issued over the recent years. The numerous food scandals that have The numerous food scandals that have been occurred during the last decade have increased consumers’ awareness concerning food safety, leading to calls for tighter food s...

The quantum sniffer dog

Posted on October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 by

As humans, we sniff out different scents and aromas using chemical receptors in our noses. In technological gas detection, however, there are a whole host of other methods available. One such method is to use infrared lasers, passing a laser beam through the gas to an adjacent separate detector, which measures the degree of light attenuation it causes. TU Wien's tiny new sensor now brings together both sides within a single component, making it possible to use the same microscopic structure for ...

OrCam My Eye Helps Patients with Low Vision to Read Text and Recognize Objects in Everyday Life

Posted on October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 by

Approximately 2% of Americans have a visual disability— vision that cannot be corrected even with the strongest prescription—and in developing countries where infectious disease or untreated cataracts are more common, the percentage is often higher. Many different diseases and conditions can cause low vision, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cone dystrophy (a genetic mutation affecting the cone cells of the retina). People with low vision find everyday act...

Bluetooth Electric Toothbrushes

Posted on October 24, 2016 by

One may not think that the humble toothbrush is a particularly glamorous health device, but if you scour the Dentistry category here on Medgadget, you’ll quickly discover how important oral health is to your overall health. So important is dental health that October in America has been designated National Dental Hygiene Month. To help commemorate this important month, we were given two electric toothbrushes that have evolved into the “smart” category. These smart toothbrushes feature Bluetooth t...

Gold Nanoparticles Fight Off Pancreatic Tumor Growth

Posted on October 24, 2016 by

Recent research suggests that nanotechnologies may lead to the development of novel cancer treatment. Gold nanoparticles with their unique physical and chemical properties hold great hopes for the development of thermal-based therapies against human malignancies. This review will focus on various strategies that have been developed to use gold nanoparticles as photothermal agents against human cancers. Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that li...

Touch Surgery, Episurf Medical Release Episealer Surgical Training Simulation

Posted on October 23, 2016 by

Touch Surgery, based in London, UK, is a mobile-first platform for the surgical community. Their services provide a virtual simulation environment to help surgeons learn and practice procedures, with the intent of driving better decisions and practices in the operating room. Since the mobile application’s initial release in 2010, Touch Surgery has amassed 1.3 million users globally and purportedly has been used in every country worldwide. In addition to its utility in training surgeons, the p...

Washington University Medical School detailed brain map unveiled

Posted on October 19, 2016 by

For years, doctors have had reliable charts of the body and its organs -- blood circulation, digestive system, nerves and the like -- but always with one frustrating grey zone: the brain. On Wednesday, a team of neuroscientists, computer specialists and engineers said they had compiled what "could be the most accurate map yet" of the mysterious expanse between our ears. In the process, they discovered nearly 100 previously unreported regions of the organ's wrinkly outer layer -- called the...

NASA – Electroactive Material for Wound Healing

Posted on October 15, 2016 by

This technology is a device that uses electrical activity to facilitate the wound healing process while protecting the wound. The bandage is made of an electroactive material (pictured above) that is stimulated by the heat of the body and the pressure of cell growth, thus no external power source is required. NASA has developed a high-tech electroactive bandage that creates an electric charge to help promote the healing process of wounds. Electroactive material is so sensitive that a push ...

White House’s precision medicine initiative

Posted on October 12, 2016 by

Far too many diseases do not have a proven means of prevention or effective treatments. We must gain better insights into the biological, environmental, and behavioral influences on these diseases to make a difference for the millions of Americans who suffer from them. Precision medicine is an emerging approach for disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person. While some advances in precision medicine have be...