Biologics, Wound Care, Infection Prevention

That we now call “intergenerational fairness” has suffered a lot lately, and it’s not about to be improved by the news that the Baby Boomers are sucking the blood of the young. Although, in fairness, they are only after the plasma. In Monterey, California, a new startup has emerged, offering transfusions of human plasma: 1.5…

Researchers at Ohio State have created a brand new piece of medical technology that has the potential to save lives quickly and effectively in a brand new way. It is called Tissue Nanotransfection (#TNT) and it was created by the school’s Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies (CRMCBT). What is TNT and how does it work? This new…

How would you feel if the stethoscope used by your doctor to listen to your heart and lungs was teeming with potentially unfriendly bacteria? You know the drill. A stethoscope is one of the first medical devices anyone encounters, at any age during a doctor’s appointment. The scope rests lightly on your back or your…

Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new type of rubber that is as tough as natural rubber but can also self-heal. The research is published in Advanced Materials. Self-healing materials aren’t new — researchers at SEAS have developed self-healing hydrogels, which rely on water to incorporate reversible…

Terri Bryant was working at a cheese factory in 2000 when she injured the delicate, rubbery discs between her spinal bones. That was the start of her chronic pain. Two years later, she had back surgery and started regularly taking fentanyl, a powerful prescription opioid medication. Her pain persisted even after a second surgery in…

The golden orb-weaver spider from Tanzania spins such strong webs that Tanzanian fishermen use them for fishing. Their spider silk is more tear-resistant than nylon and four times more elastic than steel, is heat-stable up to 250° C, extremely waterproof and, on top of that, has antibacterial properties. These characteristics also make it attractive from…

Would you be more likely to get your flu vaccine if, instead of getting a shot, you could simply stick a patch on your skin? A small new study suggests that such a patch is safe to use and that people preferred it to a shot. In the study, which was a phase I clinical…

Dawn Nagel, a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., knew she was going to have a busy day, with more than a dozen patients showing signs of sepsis. They included a 61-year-old mechanic with diabetes. An elderly man recovering from pneumonia. A new mom whose white blood cell count had shot up after…

Medtronic PLC has quietly signed up more than 140 U.S. hospitals and clinics in a program that aims to cut infection rates in heart devices using its innovative dissolvable surgical envelopes and rebates. Replacing heart devices that have become infected is estimated to add more than $1 billion in expenses to the U.S. health care…

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday published a list of reusable medical devices that hold the greatest risk of infection transmission or poor performance if not appropriately reprocessed, reports Regulatory Focus.   The agency will now require device makers to submit validated instructions for use — along with validation data regarding the cleaning, disinfection,…