Archives: 2/2005

ParkWalker virtual imagery glasses

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 6:44 am

parkwalker 2 ParkWalker virtual imagery glasses BBC News reports about the Parkinson’s hope over ‘glasses’:

A pair of glasses which use virtual imagery could help people with Parkinson’s disease cope with walking problems, scientists say.
The device uses light to project images in front of the user, helping them to focus and control their movement.
Researchers at Oxford Computer Consultants are now putting the headset forward for clinical trials.

Some people with the disease suffer from freezing, which renders them unable to move once they stop.
The headset, which could cost

Radiology

Sensation 64 CT scanner

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 5:11 am

CT Sensation64 Sensation 64 CT scanner The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Little Rock Cardiology Clinic began using a new “64-slice” CT scanner that “can in four seconds capture a 3-D image of the heart.” The system is one of eleven systems installed in the United States.
Siemens, the manufacturer of SOMATOM Sensation 64, describes the basic tech specs of the system:

Unprecedented Image Quality and Detail
Obtain 64 slices per rotation with previously unknown sharpness, diagnostic detail and clarity with the industry’s highest routine isotropic CT resolution of below 0.4 mm voxel size — enabled by the revolutionary z-Sharp Technology.
Benchmark in Speed
Routinely scan a submilimeter thorax in only 4 seconds and utilize ultimate performance for all ECG gated scans with the 0 MHU STRATON® achieving the industry’s fastest CT rotation of 0.33 seconds.
Seamless workflow
Enhance clinical performance and dramatically reduce post-processing time by up to 30% with Speed4DTM Technology.
Leading-edge clinical applications
Increase diagnostic confidence and expand your clinical spectrum with a broad portfolio of advanced syngo® applications.

More at Siemens…

Informatics

Composite Health Care System II (CHCS II)

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 4:12 am

military records Composite Health Care System II (CHCS II) The American Medical News of AMA reports about Pentagon’s universal electronic medical record system:

Imagine this: A patient you’ve never met comes into your office after having last seen a doctor more than 6,000 miles away. But even before you speak to him, you know his complete medical history, from his allergies to the diagnosis from his last x-ray.
An automated reminder e-mail informs you the patient is due for a vaccination booster and a follow-up to some lab work that his previous doctor ordered months ago. When the patient’s checkup is complete, all of the necessary evaluation and management codes for the visit are automatically compiled and ready to be sent electronically to the appropriate payer. Now the next physician to treat this patient will know everything that you’ve done without ever having to give you a call.
You might think this scenario is a long way off, but the U.S. military health system is already putting these concepts into practice. Advances that are occurring behind the scenes — as well as lessons that are being learned — could be invaluable to doctors who don’t have a military rank in front of their names.
Physicians from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to the Naval Medical Center San Diego are already cutting their teeth on the Defense Dept. system. Officials who are following its progress say the results are very encouraging. The effort has attracted the attention of several large health care systems, such as Mayo Clinic, Partners HealthCare System and Kaiser Permanente, which have initiated discussions with military health leaders in the hopes of possibly adapting parts of the system for their patients.

Partners HealthCare System is, of course, a coop of Harvard’s Brigham & Women’s and the Massachusetts General hospitals.
To test the system yourself, you can play the Java applets at this DoD website…

Neurology

Brain-computer interface system: promising results

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 3:43 am

array cyber Brain computer interface system: promising results The company behind the BrainGate Neural Interface System, covered in an earlier post, reports positive results from the pilot study:

The poster, titled “Feasibility Study of the BrainGate™ Neural Interface System for Individuals with Quadriplegia,” includes preliminary data from one patient with a three-year-old spinal cord injury. The reported results were recorded over a six-month period. The surgery to implant the BrainGate sensor was performed in June 2004 at Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, R.I. …
The signal processing function of the BrainGate System was confirmed by its ability to reliably detect, transmit and analyze brain (neural) signals from the area of the brain that controls the movement of the hand and arm. Subsequent to the implant procedure, the patient was immediately able to send signals from this part of his brain in a controllable and meaningful fashion in response to directional commands even though he had not moved his arm in over three years due to a spinal cord injury. This capability has been maintained over a six-month period, and is continuing. A system has been developed to generate cursor control from these neural signals, enabling the patient to perform tasks and operate basic computer functions in numerous trials. The patient’s control of the cursor was immediate and intuitive, and the patient was able to perform tasks while speaking and moving his head, without disruption.
These results are preliminary and represent the early outcomes from a single patient.

More at Cyberkinetics…

OTC

Ear Vacuum Cleaner 3

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 3:24 am

vacuum ear Ear Vacuum Cleaner 3
Japundit reports:

Shaped to fit the hand comfortably, the Ear Vacuum Cleaner 3 is suitable for use by pickers of all ages, from small children to senior citizens.
The silicon rubber nozzle of the Ear Vacuum Cleaner 3 is soft enough to slip comfortably into the year without fear of injury.
Though it is compact and runs on two alkaline AA-size batteries, the Ear Vacuum Cleaner 3 delivers amazingly strong suction that keeps your ear canals clear of wax and other debris, which (according to the manufacturer) helps to avoid middle ear infection.
Comes with a cleaning brush and two nozzles.

More at device’s website (Japanese only)…
(hat tip: GadgetMadness)

OTC

“Tooth Tunes” by Hasbro

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 1:24 am

MK AE110A Tooth Tunes by Hasbro WMMNA reports:

Hasbro plans on launching a musical toothbrush called “Tooth Tunes” reports the WSJ.
“When pressed to the teeth, the toothbrush renders a recorded riff from a pop star that lasts two minutes — precisely the amount of time dentists say children should spend brushing their teeth.
How does it work? “The two-minute recording is stored on a microchip no bigger than a dot atop the letter i. Push a button on the toothbrush, and a minicomputer starts playing the song. Sound waves are transported through the transducer to the front teeth, traveling from there to the jawbone and then to the inner ear.
Hasbro is in talks with several recording artists about getting rights to their recordings. Many artists would probably consider a gig in a toothbrush beneath their talents. But others might welcome the daily exposure in their young fans’ lives.”

Pretty nifty and pretty useless.
(hat tip: Gizmodo)

Society

WSJ: FDA steps up medical-device industry monitoring

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 12:45 am

The Wall Street Journal reports that the FDA is starting to police the medical-device industry a little bit more closely. Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc. is a case in point:

U.S. regulators are looking into past promotional practices at Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., which several years ago offered doctors $1,000 if they implanted a pain-management device in certain patients for a five-day trial, according to a person familiar with the situation. Although the scope of the investigation couldn’t be determined, ANS, of Plano, Texas, disclosed in its quarterly earnings report last week that it had been subpoenaed by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding its promotional practices.
Documents recently reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, labeled “ANS Sales Bulletin,” outline how doctors would be encouraged to implant the ANS device in patients who had failed to get better on a competing device made by Medtronic Inc. (Usually patients try the spinal stimulator for five days, and if it alleviates their pain, the device is permanently implanted, in a short surgical procedure.) The documents referred to the initiative as the “Renew ReTrial Program” and said it was an “initiative” intended “to collect data to compare the efficacy” of the competing devices.
The doctors were to collect information about the patient’s condition and response to the ANS device and report back to the company. They would be paid only if they implanted the device in at least five patients. The documents said doctors would be compensated for providing “data collection and management of the trial process” on a one-page form, according to a review of the documents and the person familiar with the matter.
Physicians, or more commonly the universities or hospitals they work for, do get paid for conducting large-scale clinical trials that can involve hundreds or thousands or patients and take months or years to complete. A question that investigators have studied in prior cases has been whether payments to individual doctors constituted compensation for clinical trials, or inducements to use a medical device or drug.

Uncategorized

Medtronic recalls some LIFEPAK ® 500′s

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 28, 2005 • 12:28 am

medtronic500 Medtronic recalls some LIFEPAK ® 500s Medtronic has announced the recall of some LIFEPAK ® 500 defibrillators. According to the company, only 1,924 first-generation LIFEPAK 500 AEDs that were manufactured in 1997 are affected. Watch out for this malfunction:

The AED may continue to display a “connect electrodes” message and may not analyze the patient’s heart rhythm even when the electrodes are properly connected. Failure to analyze the patient’s heart rhythm will inhibit defibrillation, if it is needed.

More here…

Neurology

New nerve stimulator for drop foot sufferers

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 25, 2005 • 6:15 am

EUREKA (a pan-European network for market-oriented, industrial R&D) has announced that a Dutch-UK project “has developed a nerve stimulator implant that helps drop foot sufferers walk more easily and faster”.
Further details:

The partners in EUREKA project E! 2526 IMPULSE have developed an implanted nerve stimulator which helps patients with drop foot to walk much better. Over 500,000 people suffer from a stroke each year in Europe and 10% of stroke victims are left with drop foot, which causes severe walking problems.
“The new system, in contrast to the surface stimulators, has an implanted component that is directly attached to the appropriate nerves, eliminating the problems of electrode placement. Also, the electrical stimulation is not painful as the stimulation current does not pass across the skin,” explains Hermens.
The project used technology developed by the UK project partner, FineTech Medical, through its work on bladder stimulation. The device is implanted during surgery and produces the dual, balanced signals required to produce the correct walking action.
A clinical trial is currently testing the device and patients’ reactions to it. Feedback is excellent – patients are able to walk better, faster and further, with a more normal gait.
Although the device is a world first and is expected to generate a market of 30,000 units a year, the partners first have to explain the benefits to patients and demonstrate the surgical procedure to clinicians.

More at the Project E! 2526 IMPULSE…

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