Medical
Effective data management for the hospitals of tomorrow
According to a recent report compiled by four leading UK organisations, patient and pharmaceutical data has ‘the potential to significantly transform healthcare’. It makes sense therefore that the huge amount of data available to today’s healthcare providers is captured and utilised effectively.
Wireless brain implant to enable latest therapies
Small, wireless and networked describes more than the latest household gadget. At Draper, medical implants are slimming down and getting connected, too. Draper’s latest system is tiny in size, but is poised to make a big impact in treating disease through its networked abilities. A driving factor in the new implant design is the growing awareness that disease often involves complex interactions between multiple systems in the body...
Fully 3D printed prototype for ‘bionic eye’
A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota have, for the first time, fully 3D printed an array of light receptors on a hemispherical surface. This discovery marks a significant step toward creating a 'bionic eye' that could someday help blind people see or sighted people see better. The research is published in Advanced Materials, a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering materials science. The author also holds the patent for 3D...
Endovascular aortic repair receives approval in the US
W. L. Gore & Associates has announced FDA 510(k) clearance, approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, and receipt of CE Mark for the innovative GORE Molding & Occlusion Balloon, a compliant polyurethane balloon catheter designed in close collaboration with clinicians to assist in the expansion of self-expanding stent grafts or to temporarily occlude large-diameter vessels.
Game connects Alzheimer’s patients to the real world
Walking around at the Electronic Entertainment Expo — commonly known as E3 — gamers stopped in their tracks when they came upon Gabriela Gomes’ booth. The video game convention draws industry juggernauts like Playstation and Xbox, but Gomes’ booth was a little different. There were no controllers or consoles. And there was no use of the latest in VR or AR, like so many of the surrounding booths at the Los Angeles...
Alzheimer’s may be predicted during eye exam in the future
It may be possible in the future to screen patients for Alzheimer’s disease using an eye exam. Using technology similar to what is found in many eye doctors’ offices, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have detected evidence suggesting Alzheimer’s in older patients who had no symptoms of the disease. Their study, involving 30 patients, is published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmolog...
Keeping cancer out of breath blocks drug resistance
A combination of existing drugs shows promise that it could reduce the size of cancerous tumours much more effectively than current treatments. As cancer patients know all too well, many effective anti-cancer drugs don’t stay effective long. Most tumours will become drug resistant over time as their cells rapidly mutate. Chemists from The University of Texas at Austin and Korea University have demonstrated a new approach to blocki...
Artificial intelligence to detect often-missed cancer tumours
Doctors may soon have help in the fight against cancer thanks to the UCF’s Center for Research in Computer Vision. Engineers at the center have taught a computer how to detect tiny specks of lung cancer in CT scans, which radiologists often have a difficult time identifying. The artificial intelligence system is about 95% accurate, compared to 65% when done by human eyes, the team said.
Sonata system receives FDA clearance to market
Gynesonics has announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market its Sonata Sonography-Guided Transcervical Fibroid Ablation (Sonata) System. The Sonata System combines a breakthrough integrated technology which is the first and only intrauterine ultrasound system with a proprietary radiofrequency ablation device, providing a transcervical, incision-free, uterus-preserving treatment for uterine fibroids.
Implant for GERD avoids swallowing complications
An implantable device has been approved for use in Europe to help treat acid reflux disease. The IM RefluxStop device from Implantica, a company based in Zug, Switzerland, is designed to avoid some of the limitations of current minimally invasive reconstructive acid reflux procedures, such as difficulty swallowing, burping, and vomiting.