Archives: 7/2008

Informatics

Practice Fusion Wants to Disrupt EMR Market

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 31, 2008 • 11:51 am

43623emr1 Practice Fusion Wants to Disrupt EMR Market
Practice Fusion is a new web-based electronic medical records and practice management software available to all US physicians. Unlike other EMR solutions that often cost thousands of dollars to install and maintain (on top of being proprietary and bulky), Practice Fusion is free, thanks to its ad-supported business model.
Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion, explains to Medgadget:

The offering is unique in the marketplace, because it is completely free and web-based, eliminating all of the risks for physicians, making Practice Fusion one of the fastest growing medical professional communities in the country.
We generate revenue by embedding advertising, including pharmaceutical products, into our physician tools. We also incur revenue through the sale of anonymized patient data to research groups, pharmaceuticals, and health plans.
… Practice Fusion releasing a suite of physician applications, including Practice Management, Scheduling, Secure Email and Patient Management that are free and web-based. These are effectively ‘Google Apps’ for doctors – everything a practice needs to run their office, manage and schedule their patients, communicate with other members of the office – all web-based and at no cost.

43623emr2 Practice Fusion Wants to Disrupt EMR Market
Be it a market disruptor or not, there’s nothing stopping a practice from trying the software for free without investing in infrastructure.
Press release: Practice Fusion Unveils Free Applications for Physician Practices…

Anesthesiology / Cardiology / Critical Care / Medicine

ImaCor’s Disposable Transesophageal Echocardiography Probe and System Get FDA OK

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 31, 2008 • 9:50 am

34634ima1 ImaCors Disposable Transesophageal Echocardiography Probe and System Get FDA OK
Have you ever heard of a disposable TEE? The piezoelectric elements in ultrasounds are known not to be cheap. Hence we were quite surprised to learn about this newly approved product from ImaCor of Uniondale, New York, a single use (up to 72 hours) miniaturized transesophageal echocardiography probe and imaging system.
From the press release:
trans probe 1 ImaCors Disposable Transesophageal Echocardiography Probe and System Get FDA OK

ImaCor announces that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the ClariTEE™ probe and the ZuraTM imaging system. The ClariTEE probe is a miniaturized transesophageal echocardiography probe which facilitates episodic monitoring of cardiac function. The ClariTEE is a single use device that can remain indwelling for up to 72 hours, allowing intensivists and anesthesiologists to periodically assess cardiac preload and left ventricular systolic function over a prolonged period of time.
“ImaCor believes that the ClariTEE probe will be a major contribution to the care of the critically ill, especially in ICU and perioperative situations” said Scott L. Roth, MD, Chief Executive Officer and a founder of ImaCor. “Current methods of monitoring hemodynamics in this patient population are either invasive, inconclusive, or both. The ClariTEE probe is minimally invasive and allows physicians to directly visualize cardiac size and function, and to assess changes as pharmacologic interventions are made,” adds Roth.

34634ima2 ImaCors Disposable Transesophageal Echocardiography Probe and System Get FDA OK

"This is a technology that intensive care physicians have been waiting for,” says Dr. Alexander Levitov, Critical Care section chief at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Virginia. Levitov adds, “The ClariTEE probe has the potential to become the standard of care in managing hemodynamically unstable patients in the ICU.”

We contacted ImaCor to inquire about the pricing of the device, but no one at the firm was available to comment.
Press release: ImaCor receives 510(k) clearance of its ClariTEE probe and Zura Imaging System (.pdf)…
Product page: ClariTEE Probe and Zura Imaging System…

Telemedicine

Wireless Health Monitoring Comes to Life

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 31, 2008 • 9:14 am

Wellness Connected Products Wireless Health Monitoring Comes to Life
Tele-monitoring health devices are becoming quite the rage these days, seeing how wireless technologies and standards have matured. A&D Medical is taking advantage of the trend and will begin offering under their LifeSource brand a blood pressure monitor, a body weight scale, and an “activity monitor” (probably a standard pedometer), all of which send their data to a computer through a USB stick.
From the press release:

A family of three products are being unveiled, including the Wireless Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor, Wireless Precision Scale, and Wireless Activity Monitor. Utilizing FitLinxx, Inc.’s proprietary wireless technology all of the Wellness Connected products will be linked to provide users a comprehensive picture of their wellness. A complete record of blood pressure, weight, and activity transmits to a user’s computer automatically, where custom software saves and charts daily progress. Consumers can also conveniently send data to Actihealth(TM) internet service for enhanced functionality, to access their personal wellness information from anywhere, and to share their progress with family, friends, support groups, and medical professionals

Press release: LifeSource(R) to Unveil New Telehealth Technology at 2008 NACDS Conference

Dentistry

Accupal: Your Dentist’s New Best Friend?

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 31, 2008 • 8:47 am

ACCUPAL ProductShot2 Accupal: Your Dentists New Best Friend?
Michael Zweifler, a dentist out of Little Rock, Arkansas, has developed an injection prep tool that readies the gums before the needle goes in with a bit of ultrasonic vibration and a tad of topical gel. Once the shot is administered, the patient supposedly feels little to no pain.
From a press release sent to Medgadget:

ACCUPAL incorporates four known and proven pain-reducing theories into one economical, user-friendly device:
1. ACCUPAL incorporates the “Pain Gate” theory to energize the dental tissue in and around the site to be punctured by the needle.
2. ACCUPAL’s ultrasonic tissue stimulation disrupts the tissue injection site to allow standard topical gel to pre-condition the injection site, thus further reducing the needle’s pain-producing effects.
3. ACCUPAL vibrates the needle at the injection site. The pain-reducing effects of direct needle vibration are well documented as having a positive effect on injection comfort.
4. ACCUPAL ensures that the clinician inserts the needle bevel at its narrowest point, which provides the most minimally invasive path possible and reduced tissue damage to deliver a comfortable palatal injection every time.

Product page with a video demonstration of the device: Accupal

Orthopedic Surgery

TriboFit Hip System Features Microelastohydrodynamic Lubrication (no more, no less!)

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 30, 2008 • 1:51 pm

62543acet1 TriboFit Hip System Features Microelastohydrodynamic Lubrication (no more, no less!)
Over at Israel21c we found an interesting article about a company called Active Implants Corp. (AIC) that tries to commercialize a new, potentially revolutionary, 62543acet2 TriboFit Hip System Features Microelastohydrodynamic Lubrication (no more, no less!)hip replacement device called TriboFit® Hip System. The system is different from all the other ones because, in addition to standard acetabular cup and femoral head, the device features a proprietary TriboFit® Acetabular Buffer™, made of a gelatinous-like hydrophilic substance that is supposed to imitate the fluid film layer naturally present in joints. Some clinicians who already used the device reported that potential advantages of the system include “minimal reaming and a press-fit surgical technique. Furthermore, by ensuring that microelastohydrodynamic lubrication is maintained, friction can be nearly eliminated, thus decreasing the potential for wear.”
According to Israel 21c, the device received the European CE Mark in September 2006. The company hopes to gain FDA clearance in the US soon.
To learn more: Active Implants…
Abstract at European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology: TriboFit Total Hip System for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures in the Elderly: Preliminary results (.pdf)

Radiology

RFID for Safer CT Contrast Agent Delivery

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 30, 2008 • 12:30 pm

Optivantage 142 RFID for Safer CT Contrast Agent DeliveryCovidien Imaging Solutions is releasing a new RFID (radio frequency identification) tracking system for its contrast agent injector system, OptiVantage DH. The technology comprises of an RFID tracker chip within the injection syringe, and a communication system that writes dosing information into the chip during fill-ups.
From the press release:

The RFID-enabled system creates an intelligent interface between the contrast media syringe and the power injector that helps radiology technologists to better ensure that each patient receives the prescribed concentration and programmed dose of a contrast media-related drug during a procedure. The interface allows the injector to physically alter the RFID label on a syringe once it is used, which can substantially reduce the probability of life-threatening air injections or air embolisms caused from using an empty, used syringe. It also helps reduce the potential for infection from cross-contamination by automatically preventing the injection of contents from a previously used RFID-labeled syringe in another patient exam. Covidien’s system also indicates if the drug in an RFID-labeled syringe is past its expiration date. Additionally, the system automatically transfers drug and achieved exam protocol information onto a printed label for the patient record, which reduces the need for manual data entry, thereby offering the potential to help increase efficiency and accuracy.
As the pioneer in prefilled syringes for contrast imaging, Covidien has assisted medical professionals by giving them tools to help reduce the risk of certain medication-dispensing and mislabeling errors that may occur when syringes are manually filled from multi-dose packaging. Additionally, RFID-enabled Ultraject prefilled contrast media syringes combined with the RFID-enabled Optivantage DH power injector help radiology facilities address Joint Commission (formerly known as JCAHO) and U.S. Pharmacopoeia 797 standards, which are aimed at ensuring compliance with labeling and unit-dose requirements, as well as the use of aseptic techniques.

Press release: Ground-breaking system helps reduce the risk of potentially life-threatening medical errors, infections in CT imaging procedures
Product page: OptiVantage DH…

Neurological Surgery / Radiology / Vascular Surgery

V Series Neuro Clot Retrievers from Concentric

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 30, 2008 • 11:59 am

merci%20retriever V Series Neuro Clot Retrievers from Concentric
Concentric Medical, maker of brain clot removing devices out of Mountain View, California, is releasing a new line of clot retrievers, the V series, to be used with the firm’s Merci catheter system.

The distal end of the latest Retriever is tightly coiled, which resists stretching and assists in dislodging clots. The proximal end of the V series Retrievers is more loosely coiled, which facilitates wrapping and holding a dislodged clot. Similar to Concentric Medical’s L family of Retrievers, the V series of Merci Retrievers incorporate filaments that provide an additional mechanism for securing blood clots during retrieval from the brain. The V series of Merci Retrievers will be available in diameters of 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 millimeters.
The Merci Retriever® is made with a flexible, shaped Nitinol wire that allows delivery of the Retriever in linear form using standard catheterization techniques. A neurointerventionalist makes a small puncture in the groin to introduce the Merci Retriever into an artery leading to the brain. The Merci Retriever returns to its original shape when deployed in and around the blood clot in the brain.

Press release: CONCENTRIC MEDICAL LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION FAMILY OF NEUROVASCULAR RETRIEVERS
Product page: V Series

Telemedicine

World’s First Robotised Tele-Ultrasound Exam via Satellite

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 30, 2008 • 10:23 am

3564est Worlds First Robotised Tele Ultrasound Exam via Satellite
Robosoft, a French firm that stands behind ESTELE, a remotely operated robotic echo system profiled by us back in April 2007, has just announced the world’s first robotised tele-ultrasound examination via satellite. According to the press release, the company has partnered with the European MARTE project (MOBILE And ROBOTISED TELEECHOGRAPHY) and Microsoft Robotics, which provided its Microsoft® Robotics Developer Studio software.
More from the announcement:
543766echo2 Worlds First Robotised Tele Ultrasound Exam via Satellite

This demonstration was accomplished with an ESTELE robot entirely controlled by the robuBOX®.
For the demonstration, ROBOSOFT made the ESTELE robot available to the project partners. Within a month after familiarization with the software development tools for the robot, researchers at PRISME developed and implemented the software for internet communication via satellite between a control station in France and a remote robot carrying an ultrasound probe used to examine a patient onboard a ship sailing the Mediterranean.
"These kinds of projects show the soundness of the generic approach used in the robuBOX", says Vincent Dupourqué, CEO of ROBOSOFT. "The standard tele-ultrasound robot was originally delivered for use in a classic video-conferencing system over the phone lines. Thanks to the robuBOX development toolkit, included with the standard robot, a customer can add his own functionalities, and can also integrate the robot into a larger system". For this project, the PRISME Institute handled adapting the robot software using Microsoft® Robotics Developer Studio.
The ESTELE robot is an example of cooperation between research and industry: designed, developed, and patented by a public-sector research laboratory, it was industrialized and marketed under licence by ROBOSOFT. It is controlled by the robuBOX, a "universal robotics engine" adapted for the expanding market for service robots. Several robots equipped with preliminary versions of the robuBOX have already been deployed: Estele, the tele-ultrasound robot used in this project; robuCAB, an autonomous GPS guided vehicle; as well as general-purpose mobile platforms such as the robuLAB10 for domestic help or the robuROC for security and military applications. The robuBOX, which allows customers to build numerous advanced robotics applications, was developed and can be modified using Microsoft® Robotics Developer Studio (see http://www.microsoft.com/robotics).

Press release: World’s first robotised tele-ultrasound examination via satellite…
YouTube video (in French): ESTELE tele echography robot…
Flashback: ESTELE: Expert System for Tele Echography

Surgery

Single-insertion, Multi-sample Biopsy with Flash

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 30, 2008 • 9:04 am

4334rub1 Single insertion, Multi sample Biopsy with Flash
Here’s what a rep for Rubicor Medical, Inc., a Redwood City, California firm, told us about company’s new innovative device called Flash, a single-insertion, multi-sample breast biopsy gadget that collects cored samples from different locations in a special chamber:

Flash is the only breast biopsy device of its kind, which allows the physician to easily take and view multiple samples with a single insertion and one-touch operation. Guided by ultrasound, Flash utilizes real-time visualization and automated sampling to obtain solid, contiguous biopsy cores. Other biopsy devices and techniques require several individual insertions into the patient’s breast to retrieve adequate samples for pathology analysis.

4334rub2 Single insertion, Multi sample Biopsy with Flash
Product page that features a video animation of the device: Flash…

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