Archive for February 2018
SherpaPak and SherpaPerfusion Donor Heart Transport Coolers Cleared in Europe
Paragonix Technologies, based in Braintree, Massachusetts, won European approval to introduce its SherpaPak and SherpaPerfusion cardiac transport systems. The devices are intended for maintaining hearts while they’re being transported from harvest in preparation for transplantation. The SherpaPak device relies on hypothermic static preservation to transport donor hearts, while the SherpaPerfusion uses hypothermic oxygenated perfusion preservation for the…
Read More3D Printing Your Own Medical Devices – Why Not?
“Why aren’t you using additive manufacturing to make your medical devices?” Scott Taylor, Chief Technology Officer at Poly-Med Inc. (Anderson, SC), a supplier of bioresorbable polymers, posed that question to conference attendees at the recent co-located Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West and PLASTEC West event in Anaheim, CA. Armed with two compelling case studies, he went on to explain…
Read MoreThe FDA Has Approved the First Blood Test for Concussions
Researchers are only now starting to unravel the potential long-term ramifications of a seemingly minor traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, to our health. Part of the difficulty has been in even figuring out when someone has a concussion in the first place, leading to lots of unnecessary and not entirely risk-free brain imaging tests. But a new blood…
Read MoreEye Scan to Predict Heart Disease
Alphabet’s health science company Verily has announced a wide range of projects, from developing smartwatches made for medical studies to mass-producing infected mosquitoes to curb their population. Scientists from the division now have a new endeavor: Assessing heart disease risk by staring into patients’ eyes. In a paper (PDF) published today in the Nature journal Biomedical Engineering, researchers explained their method: An AI algorithm evaluated eye scans and,…
Read MoreWorm’s Living in Woman’s Eye Lead to Interesting Discovery
(CNN) Imagine looking into your irritated eye for a pesky eyelash, only to pull out a translucent, wiggling worm nearly a half inch long. “I looked at it, and it was moving,” recalled 28-year-old Abby Beckley of Grants Pass, Oregon. “And then it died within about five seconds.” Now, imagine doing that not once but 14…
Read MoreApple iWatch Capable of Detecting Diabetes within 85 Percent Accuracy
It’s only been a few months since the Apple Watch began testing the waters as a tried-and-true medical device. But already, the wearable is proving its mettle. As per the latest study from Cardiogram founder Brandon Ballinger, the Apple Watch is capable of detecting diabetes with an 85 percent accuracy rate. There is a caveat to…
Read More3D Printing Promises a Revolution in Orthopaedic Device Manufacturing
FDA guidance is a first step 3D printing promises to be a revolution in orthopaedic device manufacturing. In 3D printing, parts are built up layer-by-layer by adding to a workpiece using a variety of materials and energy sources. 3D printing is more technically called additive manufacturing (AM) to distinguish it from traditional machining, which “subtracts”…
Read More5 Innovative Medical Device Projects Receive $200k Funding at Pitt
Even the highest-tech medical devices began purely as ideas — conceptual, back-of-the-envelope notes that traveled a complicated road from abstract notion to widespread usage. For six years running, the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Medical Innovation (CMI) has encouraged products along this path by annually providing $200,000 in grants to Pitt researchers. “These are the kinds…
Read MoreSelf-Healing Flexible Medical Devices? The Key is Repetition
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Medical devices powered by synthetic proteins created from repeated sequences of proteins may be possible, according to materials science and biotechnology experts, who looked at material inspired by the proteins in squid ring teeth. “The question we had was whether we could make flexible and self-healing medical devices to work on…
Read MoreSecond Sight Touts 1st-in-human Orion Cortical Implant
Second Sight Medical (NSDQ:EYES) today announced the first trial implantation of its Orion cortical visual prosthesis system and updated on implantations of its Argus device and enrollment in an upcoming study. The first implantation procedure was performed late last month by Dr. Nader Pouratian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the Sylmar, Calif.-based company said, as…
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